Frikadellers

Two days after my last post, I went into labor and baby Gwendolyn was born on December 8.  She has been taking all of my time.  Maybe an apology is in order for not posting sooner, but she is so cute, and I'm kind of tired.  My mom made frikadellers when I was a kid, little meatballs in a sweet sauce. Traditional frikadellers are a Danish pork/veal meatball in brown gravy.  Now my mom's version is different.  I asked about the history and she said my grandmother made them with a sweet sauce and found the recipe and used it because it was Danish. My mom is the youngest of three daughters, so I decided to ask her older sisters about the recipe. The middle daughter, Julene, responded to my request and told me the history of the recipe.  My Aunt Julene's husband worked for Hunt-Wesson, and the company had a campaign promoting Hunt's Ketchup and a frikedeller recipe was created and shared.  My uncle Val changed the recipe to include apple sauce, which is the sweet element in the sauce.  This recipe is a family favorite thanks to my Uncle Val.  My fikedellers are a little different from frikedellers that my family grew up eating.

 Tender meatballs with a sweet tangy sauce, reminds me of my mom and childhood.

Ingredients:

1/3 lb. ground Veal
1/3 lb. ground Pork
1/3 lb. ground Beef
3 large Honeycrisp Apples
1 Yellow Onion
1 Egg
3 Slices of Bread
1/2 cup Ketchup
1/4 teaspoon Nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt
1/2 teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
Olive Oil

Wash, core and cut apples into big chunks.  Place in pressure cooker with 1/4 cup
ketchup and brown sugar.

Cook on high for 8 minutes.

Puree apple mixture with an immersion blender.

Chop onion in blender.  Remove from blender and put in a mixing bowl.  Chop bread
in blender.  Remove crumbs to bowl with the onions. 

Mix onion, bread crumbs, meat, salt, pepper, egg, and nutmeg together.

Heat 1/4 inch of Olive Oil in 12 inch skillet over medium heat.

Form meat into 1 inch balls and cook in skillet until browned on all sides.

Pour apple tomato sauce on frikadellers.  Cover pan with lid and cook for 8 minutes.

Enjoy!

Frikadellers

Ingredients:

1/3 lb. ground Veal
1/3 lb. ground Pork
1/3 lb. ground Beef
3 large Honeycrisp Apples
1 Yellow Onion
1 Egg
3 Slices of Bread
1/2 cup Ketchup
1/4 teaspoon Nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt
1/2 teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
Olive Oil

Process:

Wash, core and cut apples into big chunks.  Place in pressure cooker with 1/4 cup ketchup and brown sugar.

Cook on high for 8 minutes.

Chop onion in blender, remove from blender and put in a mixing bowl.  Chop bread in blender, remove crumbs to bowl with the onions. 

Mix onion, bread crumbs, meat, salt, pepper, egg, and nutmeg together.

Heat 1/4 inch of Olive Oil in 12 inch skillet over medium heat.

Form meat into 1 inch balls and cook in skillet until browned on all sides.

Pour apple tomato sauce on frikadellers.  Cover pan with lid and cook for 8 minutes.

Enjoy!

Golubtsi

My sister-in-law Rachelle, asked me if I was going to make a Russian recipe in honor of the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, and actually, I had thought about it.  This recipe according to Natasha of Natasha's Kitchen is a classic Russian/Ukrainian dish. This morning was exciting, when I went shopping for this recipe.  I felt like a New Yorker.  I still couldn't get my van out of the ice and snow, so I took my son to preschool on the MTA bus.  Thankfully the butcher shop I have chosen to go to is just down the street from the preschool.  I came prepared, wearing a backpack for my shopping trip.  I went to the butcher and asked for the meat needed for tonight's and tomorrow's dinner.  It was fun watching the butcher prepare the meat.  He was very nice.  After I went to the butcher, I went down the street to a grocery store next to the train station and bought the other ingredients for my Russian inspired meal.  I needed to go to the train and refill my MetroCard before I could go home.  It was cold, but I loved filling my backpack and walking around town like a true New Yorker.  On we go to the recipe.  Golubtsi is basically Russian stuffed cabbage.

 It tasted really good.

 Ingredients for this recipe are: 1 small head of cabbage, 1 1/2 cups carrots, 1/2 lb. ground pork,
1/2 lb. ground turkey, 1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice, 1 1/2 cups marinara sauce ( I used homemade, recipe found here), 4 tablespoons vinegar, 2 tablespoons butter(not pictured), 4 tablespoons olive
oil (not pictured), 1 egg, and 1 1/2 tablespoons salt.

Preheat oven to 450 Fahrenheit

Fill stock pot with water 2/3 full.  Add vinegar and 1 tablespoon salt to water.   Cover with lid.
Turn on burner to medium-high.  Bring water to boil.

 Grate all the carrots.  Saute half with 2 tablespoons oil and 1 tablespoon butter over medium-low
flame until tender.

 Add 3/4 cup marinara sauce and simmer for 1 minute.

 Put rice, meat, egg, carrot marinara sauce and 1/2 tablespoon salt in bowl.

 Mix it until it looks like this.

 Water is boiling, after removing core of cabbage add to water with core facing up. 

 Boil cabbage for five minutes.  Flip over and begin peeling off each layer, with tongs I was able
to peel two layers after five minutes.  

 Remove middle vein with paring knife.

 Add a golf ball size amount of meat mixture to cabbage leaf half.

 Fold leaf over meat.

 Now roll.

 Done, repeat with the second leaf.  Once you have filled to leaves you can peel two more and
repeat same process.  Each two layers will be ready after filling the previous two leaves.

 Place filled cabbage leaves in a oven safe dutch oven or other oven safe dish with lid.  After all the filling has been used, keep the pot of water on the stove.

 Saute other half of carrots in 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter over medium
flame until tender.

 Add remaining 3/4 cup marinara sauce and simmer for 1 minute.

 Pour 1 1/2 cups cabbage water and remaining 3/4 cup marinara sauce over rolls in the dutch oven.

Bake for 20 minutes then lower temperature to 350 Fahrenheit and bake 1 additional hour.

Serve immediately.

Enjoy!