meatballs!

when i joined marin sun farms' meat csa back in march, i signed up for "package #3," which is one of the smaller boxes: every month 2 lbs of steaks, 4 lbs worth of roast/braise meats, and 5 lbs of ground meat. i thought for sure i would have a problem figuring out what to do with the 4-lb roast every month, but in reality it hasn't been one at all since we have regular weeknight dinners with the sweenlinghouses.

in fact, the actual problem has been what to do with all the ground beef. there's just two of us at the house of froon, so eating our way through 5 lbs of ground beef every month is no easy feat. adding to this is the reality that most cookbooks i own don't really have much in the way of ground-beef recipes. you'd think it was a low-brow ingredient or something. hunh. wait a minute... ok, so now it's all starting to make sense. hmmm.

well, i don't really know what cookbook writers have against ground beef. maybe it's one of those things where they're supposed to act like it's not worthy, but at home, where they're away from prying eyes, they eat mounds of mounds of it. (real appetizing visual, right? :) kinda like what i'm convinced people who SAY they don't like pigs in blankets actually DO when they come face to face with said tasty morsels at parties (eat mounds and mounds of them, in case you were wondering. but i know you know this, since i've already shared with you my theory.).

the reality, as far as i can tell, is all of us meat eaters love ground beef. no, seriously. don't be such a snob. show me a carnivore who says s/he doesn't love a juicy burger and i'll show you a big fat liar. ok, maybe not LITERALLY "big" and/or "fat," but definitely a liar. c'mon, admit it, you've stood in the massively long line at an in n' out, marvelled - probably while also expressing annoyance - at how long it was, yet found yourself still standing in it anyway, all in the name of being able to get your grubby little paws on one of those perfectly-wrapped, egg-bun encased numbers. yummmmm. and if you *won't* admit it: LIAR! [+ accusatory finger jab!]

anyway, i digress. i wasn't trying to point out all the liars among us (and how many of you are out there? show of hands, please.). the point i was trying to make is there is a serious shortage of ground-beef recipes; this is somewhat unfortunate for mwah, since i happen to have an oversupply of ground beef. that said, i do have a few that i love; meatloaf, as you already know, is one of them. spaghetti with meatballs is another; recipe below.

personally, i recommend when you make this dish that you make lots of meatballs (reflected in my recipe) because you can use the "extras" for tasty things like, say, meatball subs. GENIUS! which, by the way, is what i had for lunch today (meatball sub, not a genius.). even yif really liked it, and let me tell you: he is one PICKY eater. honestly, i never thought i would say this, but p must be a very patient, er, "lady." (i'm SO going to regret complimenting her. i just know it. ;)


Spaghetti with Meatballs

Tomato Sauce
2 tbsps olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
1 28-oz can whole, peeled tomatoes
1 28-oz can diced tomatoes
2 tbsps tomato paste
2 tbsps chopped fresh basil
1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano
2 tbsps sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Meatballs
1 1/4 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1/2 cups milk
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 medium onion, very finely chopped
6 tbsps basil, finely chopped
2 medium eggs
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1-lb hot Italian sausages, casings removed
1-lb ground beef

1-lb spaghetti
Grated Parmesan cheese

Tomato Sauce
Heat oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and onion and sauté until onion turns translucent, about 5 minutes. Add rest of sauce ingredients, except salt and pepper. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer until sauce thickens and reduces by about 1/2 (1 1/2 hours or so). Season with salt and pepper to taste. Keep warm.

Meatballs
Preheat oven to 350°F. In a medium bowl, mix breadcrumbs and milk together and let stand for 5 minutes. Add the rest of the meatball ingredients and blend well (using your hands is easiest). Form into 1 1/2" meatballs and place them on a baking sheet and bake until meatballs have browned on edges and are cooked through, about 25 minutes.

While meatballs are baking, bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add spaghetti and cook until al dente. Drain pasta then mound in 6 dishes. Top each with meatballs and sauce. Pass Parmesan cheese so people can garnish as they desire. Serves 6, with enough extra meatballs and sauce for a sandwich or two.

cheese, glorious cheese!

for those of you who don't know me very well, you should know i love cheese. and by "love" i mean if possible, i would eat as much as i could every single day. now, i have my share of delusions, but fortunately, thinking i still have a fast metabolism isn't one of them. good thing, too, because one day i would wake up and wonder how the fudge i had "somehow" turned into a sphere.

anyway, because i actually have a grip on reality in this one aspect of my life, i limit how much cheese i eat - probably with one meal every few days or so. ok ok, so sometimes it's more often than that; after all i've never met a cheese platter i didn't like. *sigh* being "over-30"... never mind lines, wrinkles, and grey hairs (btw, i found a couple the other day. i pulled them out - grey hairs, i mean, not lines or wrinkles - but i have a baaad feeling that solution just isn't going to scale.), it's the FOOD you have to give up that really sucks. *sniffles*

self pity aside, one of my favorite ways to consume cheese is via mac & cheese. over the years, i've tried lots and lots of recipes. and when i say "lots" i mean LOTS. oh the hardships i've endured. the pain.... the suffering... if you only knew. (NOT) i've decided after all this experimenting that a really sharp cheddar truly is the best when it comes to mac & cheese. and believe me, i've given it a serious go; i'm an equal opportunity lover when it comes to cheese - sizes, colors, shapes. if you're cheese, i already love you.

below is my favorite recipe, developed over the years. i'm not going to pretend it's low fat or anything, so don't go eating this every night and then wonder why YOU'RE turning into a sphere. all that aside, this is a great dish to make for a weeknight dinner, because it's fast and easy to make. i like to serve this with steamed broccoli on the side. after all, why not try to squeeze in a little healthy, right? deeeeelish!


Caroline's Favorite Macaroni & Cheese

3 cups small elbow macaroni
1 cup fresh white breadcrumbs
6 tbsps unsalted butter
4 tbsps flour
1 cup whole milk
2 cups chicken stock (substitute vegetable stock for vegetarian version)
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
1 green onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, minced

4 cups coarsely grated extra-sharp cheddar cheese

salt and white pepper to taste

Melt 2 tbsp butter and in a small bowl mix into fresh breadcrumbs. Set aside. Bring a pot of salted water to boil in a medium saucepan. Cook pasta until al dente and drain. In a medium saucepan, melt remaining butter over medium-high heat. Add garlic and onion and cook until onion is softened and turns translucent. Then add flour and whisk until mixture turns golden, about 3 minutes. Gradually whisk in milk and then broth. Continue to whisk and bring roux to boil. Add green onions and whisk until they turn bright green, about 1 minute. Remove from heat. Add cheese; stir until melted.

Preheat broiler. Stir in macaroni to cheese sauce and mix well. Season to taste with salt and pepper then spoon into 4 individual gratin dishes. Sprinkle crumbs on top and broil until crumbs are golden brown and cheese is bubbly, about 2 minutes. Serve immediately; be careful, dishes will be HOT! Serves 4.

the secret is in the sauce

every thursday, we try to have dinner with our friends matt and katie sweenlinghouse (sween + garlinghouse... now that they're engaged we can give them a proper last name :). we take turns with hosting, and whoever hosts does the cooking. and, of course, since this is the sweenlinghouses we're talking about: before, during and after dinner, we drink plenty of wine and/or beer.

our actual hit rate has been more like two thursdays a month, which is still pretty good if you ask me. (and you were asking me, right?) we didn't actually have dinner with them tonight (...), but we did last thursday. well, ok, so actually only *I* had dinner with them; kevin couldn't go b/c he had to work late. (excuse me, but do you MIND not looking at me like that?!? a girl has to eat!)

anyway, last week was a little impromptu, so even though we had dinner at katie and matt's, i cooked b/c i had already had a pork leg "scheduled." (i plan our food for the week on the friday before and buy all the ingredients over the weekend.) below is the recipe from dinner. you really can't go wrong with it, as it's marinated overnight in a pool of deliciousness, which is then turned into an even delicious-er sauce. we ate it with crispy roasted baby red potatoes and baby carrots, but of course feel free to serve it with whatever sides you prefer.


Honey & Dijon-Mustard Roasted Pork

1 bottle of amber ale
1 cup Dijon mustard
3/4 cup honey (I like orange blossom raw honey from Marshall's Farm)
1/2 cup olive oil (try Stonehouse)
3 tbsps chopped fresh rosemary
4 cloves garlic, crushed

1 4-lb boneless pork leg

1 cup half & half
salt and pepper to taste

Place first 6 ingredients into a medium bowl and whisk until blended. Pour marinade into a gallon-sized ziploc bag, place pork inside bag, remove air and seal shut, making sure pork is immersed in marinade. Refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Reserving marinade, transfer pork to rack in roasting pan and roast until meat thermometer registers 150°F. Let rest for 15 minutes.

While meat is resting, strain marinade into medium saucepan; add half & half and any juices from roast pan. Boil until sauce reduces to about half, about 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Slice pork and arrange on serving platter. Serve with sauce on side. Serves 6.

two out of three ain't bad

i'm not ashamed to admit that i love meatloaf. (no, i don't mean the singer, i mean the dish.) there are some who will deny that they, too, enjoy a good meatloaf, but i'm willing to bet big money these same people are the ones responsible for all the missing "pigs-in-blanket" appetizers at parties. it's an eternal mystery how no one will admit to liking those tasty morsels, yet they're always the first disappear. hrm, hrm... now, either i'm eating way more than i realize OR others are also gorging themselves. (ok, so i'm willing to entertain the idea that maybe it's BOTH) *i*, on the other hand, have NO problem fessing up to my love for pastry-wrapped mini hot dogs.

but we were talking about meatloaf.

meatloaf - despite its somewhat yucko name (i mean, really, i don't blame anyone for not finding the word "meatLOAF" very appetizing) - is actually a very tasty food. and leftovers always make for yummylicious sandwiches for lunch later in the week. (mmmmm, meatloaf sammishes, mmmmm) the key to a good meatloaf is to make sure it stays moist. the two ways to do this are 1) make sure your wet : dry ingredient ratio is in balance and 2) don't overbake it. much like you can ruin a great batch of brownies by overbaking, you can do the same to meatloaf.

below is my favorite meatloaf recipe. *sigh* every time i make it, i'm reminded of the apartment i lived in for both my junior and senior years in college (111 dryden rd, for those of you who're familiar with ithaca, ny). it was here that i really started to try to cook things other than desserts and realized i actually enjoyed it. and to think, this was only last year. haha, folks, just kidding. hard to believe it's been over 13 years. (just nod your heads and agree. that's right, it's very hard to believe. now, tell me how young i look. excellent, excellent. ;)


Caroline's Meatloaf
1 lb ground beef (I use meat from Marin Sun Farms)
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium eggs, lightly beaten
2/3 cup fresh salsa
1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 350 deg. Combine all ingredients into bowl and mix until well combined (just use your hands, it's the most efficient). Place mixture in a 1-lb loaf pan and shape to fit evenly. Bake for an hour, or until meatloaf registers 160 deg with meat thermometer. Serves 4; serve with salsa instead of the usual (boring) gravy or ketchup. If you're lucky, there might be enough leftovers for a sandwich or two!

turning a lemon into lemonade

tonight we had green garlic and potato ravioli in an onion cream sauce. the pasta was actually leftover from a batch i made a couple weeks ago that i stored in the freezer for a weeknight, which made dinner prep literally a "20 minuter," as my friend larry likes to say.

the night i actually made the ravioli (using green garlic from tairwa farms that i got from the sf farmers' market), i served it "in brodo" - just a simple chicken broth with fresh mushrooms and asparagus tips. to be honest, it was only so-so; not enough flavor. no, i didn't say there wasn't enough salt; i'm saying there wasn't enough FLAVOR. the green garlic-potato filling was so light, and the broth was so light... bleh. the whole thing was just so disappointing that i almost threw out the rest of the ravioli. but, i'm kind of a pack rat, so away i froze them, hoping i could figure out what to do with them another day.

fast forward to this past sunday when i was on the plane back from arizona, trying to come up with the weekly grocery list for lunch and dinner. i realized i could make my life easier by using the ravioli one night. i thought over what kind of sauce i could make, and that's when it dawned on me: why not make a creamy sauce to round out the lightness of the ravioli? i couldn't do anything to make the *filling* any richer, so if the mountain wouldn't come to mooner, then mooner could go to the mountain. i was pretty sure because the ravioli were so light that the cream sauce wouldn't overwhelm.

well, turns out i was right. (but hey, when am i ever wrong?;) the sauce made a HUGE difference. this time, the ravioli was AMAZING. i happily ate every single one of them, and so did kevin. (the first time we had them, i had to force the last few down.) now i feel good about sharing the ravioli recipe, because i know you'll enjoy these also as much as we did tonight.

btw - if you really prefer to serve the ravioli in a broth, i would very much recommend that you add cheese to the filling. i think something like a soft goat cheese (i absolutely LOVE laura chenel's chevre) would work really well.

the ravioli recipe is adapted from alice waters' Chez Panisse Vegetables cookbook. for the onion & cream sauce, you should feel free to add additional ingredients to it: a little pancetta would taste great (ease up on the salt and butter, and even the parmesan cheese if you do add it, though), as would some fresh wild mushrooms (porcini, shitake, chanterelle... any of those would be awesome).

enjoy!


Green Garlic & Potato Ravioli

8 green garlic, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced
2 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 lb russet potato, peeled and cubed
1 tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh marjoram
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground pepper

1 lb fresh pasta sheets
1 medium egg, lightly beaten with 2 tsps water

Cook green garlic with 1 tsp salt and just enough water to cover the green garlic in a small saucepan over medium heat until very soft. Remove from heat and cool.

Meanwhile, bring salted water to boil in a large pot and cook potatoes until they're fork tender. Drain potatoes, then pass with green garlic through a food mill. Add herbs, olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste and stir to combine.

Unroll a little less than half the pasta on lightly floured surface. Mound 2 tsps of filling at about 1" intervals (the width of the pasta I use made two rows). Brush egg wash on pasta around the filling. Lay the other half of the pasta on top of bottom layer, making sure to ease pasta along the mounds of filling and patting down edges. Use a knife and cut raviolis into squares; use tines of fork to seal ravioli edges shut. Allow ravioli to dry slightly.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a gentle boil. (Now is the time to start the sauce, recipe is below.) When water comes to boil, add about 6 ravioli at a time and cook until they rise to surface. Remove using slotted spoon and transfer to colander to drain. Makes enough ravioli for 4.

Note: If you have any filling leftover (you probably will), you can either fry up some mashed potato pancakes for another meal, or use it as topping for shepherd's pie (just add a little milk and butter to it first).


Onion & Cream Sauce

4 tbsps unsalted butter
1 medium onion, very finely chopped
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup half and half
1/4 cup coarsely grated Parmesan cheese
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Finely chopped chives for garnish

Green garlic and potato ravioli

In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add onions and saute until edges begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Add chicken stock, half & half, and cheese, and bring to boil. Boil until sauce thickens slightly, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Add ravioli to skillet and stir until just coated with sauce. Divide pasta and sauce among 4 pasta dishes. Sprinkle tops with chives. Serves 4.

peas 'n carrots

you know how there are allegedly 5 food groups? well, until the end of february, we only ate really 4 of them: meat, potatoes, bread, and cheese. ...hmmm, maybe most of those aren't actually food "groups." (cheese *should* be a food group, though, don't you think?) ok, so we only SORT OF ate from 4 of those 5 food groups. anyway, that was then. now since i make dinner almost every night, i've been trying to work a variety of fruits and vegetables into our meals.

we're fully into the swing of spring, so more and more fruits and vegetables are appearing at the saturday farmers' market. over the last few weeks, two vegetables in particular we've enjoyed quite a bit are sugar snap peas and baby carrots. i usually get the snap peas from iacopi farms and baby carrots from star route farms (who also has the BEST lettuce ever: little gems, which are heirloom baby romaines.)

[btw, by "baby carrots," i mean actual baby carrots, not those cut and reshaped-into-small-nib normal carrots that are sold in bags as "baby carrots" at the grocery store.]

we had both snap peas and carrots tonight with our ny strip steaks from marin sun farms. for the snap peas, i blanched then sauteed them with a little lime zest and extra virgin olive oil; as for the carrots, i glazed them with some raw honey from marshall farms and a little bit of straus creamery butter. recipes below. enjoy!


Sugar Snap Peas with Citrus-Zest Olive Oil
1 pound sugar snap peas, ends trimmed
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Freshly grated zest from 1/2 lime or lemon
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Have ready a large bowl of ice water. In a large saucepan, bring salted water to boil. Blanch snap peas for 1 minute, then drain and immerse in ice water. Drain peas again. In a medium skillet, heat oil over medium heat with zest, then add snap peas and stir until heated through. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serves 4.


Raw-Honey Glazed Baby Carrots
1 lb baby carrots, carrot greens trimmed to 1/4"
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp raw honey

Preheat oven to 375 deg. On stovetop, melt butter with honey in a baking dish until butter is melted; stir to combine. Add carrots, toss to coat evenly, then place in oven. Bake for 5-10 minutes or until carrots are just tender. Serves 4.

the happy couple

this weekend, kevin and i went to prescott, az, to visit his mom. she took a picture of us, which i think came out really well. let me know if you agree.

what's that? you didn't know kevin is taller than i am? well, he is - i'm 5'5" and he's 5'10". you can clearly see he's about a head taller than i am in the pic. and you know what they say: "pictures don't lie." btw, i think kevin is pretty photogenic; don't you?