Meatball Swril

     

     With it being fall break & some or our kid's friends over for a sleep over I made spaghetti & meatballs with a little twist. Well actually a swirl. From a discussion I had with my father in-law when he tried my meatball cupcakes we decided I could do this in all sort of different treat forms, such as "Ding Dong's" from the Little Debbie Snacks (a.k.a. "Ring Dings" if you are used to the Drake's Cakes brand), or "Swiss Rolls" also from the Little Debbie Snacks (a.k.a. "Yodels" from Drake's Cakes). 

     This was a perfect time to try it. I have kicked this idea around a bit not sure if it would work out because of the meat shrinkage during cooking. I was pleasantly surprised that this did not happen! In fact it could not have worked out better. 

     I used the same recipe as with the meatball cupcakes, then I patted it down with my hands onto a sheet of parchment paper. Next I used a rolling pin to spread it out a little bit more and smooth out the meat for even thickness. The meat was the chocolate cake part of the Swiss Roll. For the cream I used just Mozzarella cheese. I had to cut this thin so it would roll & layed it on top of the meat. I was worried there wouldn't be enough cheese but there was. Turning over the end of the parchment paper to get the roll started, once it was started I was able to just using my hands to roll it up. At the end I pressed down a bit to seal the meat roll together. I put it in a standard meatloaf or bread pan that was greased with cooking spray. I poked some holes in it with a bamboo skewer for even cooking through out. Set the oven to 375 and backed for 45 minutes. After that time I take it out and carefully drain the excess grease then top with spaghetti sauce (this is the chocolate coating) and put it back in the oven for another 10-15 minutes. 

    Paired it with some pasta and garlic bread, it was a BIG HIT! All though I must admit the cupcake form is easier to eat & portioned well. The kids got a great kick out it. To help me explain the concept to the kids I bought some Swiss Rolls to show them, & we had those for dessert. I think that was their favorite part. Up next will be some Pomegranate Pork. Enjoy!

Breakfast Pizza

     Last weekend was my youngest's 5th birthday. So with family & friends in town I decided to do a morning meal this time to change it up. Making pizza's for breakfast. Nothing really much needed in a way of recipe for this one.
     I must made a pancake for the pizza crust & topped it with eggs (open omelet style) in place of pizza sauce. I used bacon, sausage & green bell peppers for the toppings (all pre-cooked). To top it off I used colby jack cheese (it is what we had in the fridge). This was one delicious dish and have given me another great inventive way to eat your average breakfast food (we'll save that for another post).
     What I love about this dish is the almost unlimited choices of cheese & toppings you can do for this dish. Just as with pizza an omelet is a great canvas for almost any other kind of meat, veggie combination. Have fun with it. I just used what we had in the fridge at the time for this one, but man have we thought of some cool ideas for next time.
     Wanna know a secret? This also gave me another idea for a new way to eat breakfast. I think I will save it for another post though. Here is the hint, to get really really fluffy pancakes (if you use a pre-made mix) use 1/3 milk & 2/3 water for the wet portion of the directions. The more milk you add the thicker the pancakes will be. Speaking of pancakes, just one last thing. The guy Jim who inspired me to do fun pancakes is coming out with a book. He does some really cool things with pancakes, check him out at www.jimspancakes.com 

Not Your Average Grilled Cheese

     Who doesn't love a grilled cheese? Such an favorite of kids all over this great land. Even the adults like them. I decided to mix it up by giving it an Italian twist. Using garlic butter instead of regular butter & two different Italian cheeses then pairing it with meatballs n marinara sauce. This was one yummy dish. It can be described as garlic cheesy bread with meatballs, but oh is it just divino!
     For the butter I just added some garlic powder & Italian herb mix (dry) to a stick of room temp. butter & stirred to combine. For the cheese I used Mozzarella & Fontinella. Now this was a match made in heaven, let me tell you. I tried doing this style before, but used just Mozzarella cheese. This did not work, there needed to be a counterpoint to the Mozzarella. I thought of using Parmesan cheese, but it being a hard cheese I did not think it would be work out for the dish. So after some careful research I chose Fontinella. The next time you make any kind of cheesy bread or pizza, add this to the mix, it will not be disappoint.
     I cheated with the meatballs due to time this time and used pre-cooked from the store. I, however, did not skimp out on the sauce. I have never made it from scratch but I do like to "doctor" up the cheap stuff. I use the cheapest canned sauce & add spices/herbs to the mix to get it tasting right. All of it is to taste so it is tough to convert into measurements. There is one ingredient that no one seems to think about that I just love to use. Add some cumin the next time you make spaghetti sauce. It doesn't take much just about a teaspoon or so & adds a nice finishing touch to it.
     I originally intended this dish to be a lunch & was worried about it being filling enough for dinner, but man it was more than filling. I almost added noodles, but that would have been a mistake. In the picture I added sliced meatballs to half of the sandwich & the other half not. I personally prefer it without the meatballs in it, but hey had to try. Don't forget to dip the grilled cheese into the sauce, yummy. Enjoy!

Raspberry Cheesecake w/White Chocolate

     My wife really likes the raspberry swirl cheesecake from Olive Garden. Thus challenging me to create it. I did not quite get the "swirl" part right, but the flavor was there. Or everyone enjoyed this dish. I don't like cheesecake so I had to search for a recipe on the internet. I did however make two sauces from scratch for the dish, Chocolate & Raspberry Syrup. Very simple to make, but does involve a lot of whisking. 

     The cheesecake I did adapt by adding some chunks of white chocolate to the mix. After pouring the cheesecake into the pan I swirled in some of the raspberry syrup. All though in hind sight I believe I should have done this in stages, pour some cheesecake batter then swirl in some syrup and repeat. Only the top layer got the swirl with the way I did it.

     The syrup recipe was actually taken from Alton Brown's "Good Eats" cooking show. He did this for chocolate syrup, but I found out you can substitute anything for the cocoa powder and mix it up. Now there is another small change depending on the fruit you are using. The water amount in the recipe will need to be decreased for some fruits due to their high level of juice. But man is it great. What are some of your cheesecake recipes? Enjoy! 

Oreo Delight!

     To mix things up I decided to do a dessert this time. I've been seeing a lot of banana pudding lately. So I figured why not give it shot, but instead of bananas (which I do not like) why not use something I and pretty much everyone else likes Oreo's. So I decided to do a Oreo Pudding that I am just simply calling Oreo Delight.  

     So after a simple summer dinner of skillet potatoes, corn on the cob & steak,

I made up some whip cream to finish off the dessert and served. Man was this good. The different textures and each flavor just coming at you one at a time. I loved it. I did not do it in one big container but did it in individual cups. It was so rich that most of us couldn't finish it in one sitting.

     Nothing of this one is hard, or very time consuming. My 4 year old helped me with making this dessert the entire time. I think I would like to try this with some chocolate & vanilla pudding next time. What do you think? Enjoy!

Summer Burger Tour: Stowaway's

    Well on the way back to the station I noticed a stowaway, left over sirloin bacon burgers, so I decided to use the extra for breakfast. Thus the breakfast burger is born. I made the patties thinner so as not to overpower everything else. Using cheddar cheese again, & swapped out the buns for toast. No need for a sausage patty or extra bacon (all though the extra bacon would make it that much better). If you have a runny yoke then all the better because you can dip the burger into it, making it that much more enjoyable.
     This is one stow away that ended up paying for the trip.

Summer Burger Tour (stop 3): Sirloin Bacon Burger

     Thanks for taking the Summer Burger Tour with us this year. Our final stop the sirloin bacon burger. Now I am not talking about a sirloin burger topped with bacon, no no. I am talking about a freshly ground sirloin mixed with ground bacon. Topped with some mild cheddar cheese and you have the true all american burger right here!
     One of my brother in-laws was here for it along with some friends of ours. While grinding and mixing up the meat,my brother in-law, Beau walked into the kitchen and smelt the meat and said "I think I will have 2 or 3 of those, that smells good." I replied that he most likely will only eat one because these burgers are not small, plus I do portion these meals so there isn't always seconds. With the amount of people we had over for this one (only 5 more than normal) I way more meat than I should have. Guess how many he ate? It was not 2 or 3, in fact it was so filling he could not even finish the last 2 (small) bites he had left of the first one.
     I also had a compliment of having the "best burger I have ever eaten!" Now that was cool. Not sure if it is the best but I am sure if people try this they will let me know. Once again I used Red Robin seasoning for consistency purposes. Because it is 4th of July weekend I used the traditional sesame seed bun though. For the recipe though I will not be able to post specific amounts due to the fact that the seasoning was to taste. Please make any adjustments & let me know how it turns out if you try this one. Thanks for taking the tour with us this summer. Enjoy!

Summer Burger Tour (stop 2): Turkey Burger

     Choo Choo! welcome to Turkey Station! This is the second stop in our line. After the veggie burger I must say this was way better on the texture front. It still wasn't a good ol' American beef burger but man was this one good.
     This was the first time I have ever had a turkey burger, so I was pleasantly surprised of how it turned out. I would give this meal an overall B+ to an A. Only 2 of the 5 of us where effected by the texture, but not enough to make the grade lower. I wasn't expecting a flavor/texture of a real burger so I wasn't as tough in the grading. All of us where surprised though at how good it tasted. I will definitely make this one again with ease. My local store didn't have ciabatta bread this time, so I used some potato buns. I used a different cheese combo on this stop also, going with muenster & cheddar cheese. This combo I have done with just plain old grilled cheese and have always liked it. I figured it would compliment the turkey meat and I was right, I highly suggest it.  
     I will post the recipe on the recipe page because I don't feel the need to tinker with it. Please feel free to change it up if you choose to try this yourself. If you do please leave a comment saying what you changed and how it all turned out.  If you want to email pictures. I might just post those also. Thanks you and enjoy!
     Next stop S.B. Station (sirloin & bacon). 

Summer Burger Tour (stop 1): Vegetarian Burger

   
     In the spirit of the summer I have decided to do a burger tour. First stop was a vegetarian burger. Well overall this was not a full success, but not a failure either. Here is how it went down.
     My cousin suggested doing a vegetarian dish, so with her help and a lot of research I decided on doing a burger.  I thought it would be a good way to start in the world of vegetarian food. There are so many wonderful sounding dishes out there in the vegetarian world that it took me months to decide.
     Ok back to my burger, the taste was there but the texture was a total failure for me.  The recipe will not be posted due to it not being right yet, but once I figure it out you know it will be up there. It was a chickpea based burger. I used ciabatta bread instead of regular buns. This was a awesome change. Overall I would have given this meal a C+ that can be up to an A easily when I can figure out the texture problem.
     Next week for stop 2 on the summer burger tour is a turkey burger. 

Name Change

Ok, so I found out that the athomegourmet.com is already taken. This begs the question of changing the name of the blog or not. I have a question poll on Facebook. Please go there and vote for your favorite. If you don't like the choices please feel free to suggest a name of your own.

Thanks,

Christian

Great Balls of Dipping

     I know I haven't posted in over 2 weeks. Last week I was on our annual camping trip. I did come up with a couple extra dishes while I was camping, but that is for another time. 
     We had some friends that we haven't seen in over a year come over, so I made a family style meal of meatballs with a trio of dipping sauces. The meatballs were a 2/1 mixture of ground beef and sausage along with seasonings. I made my Teriyaki sauce, a Spicy Asian sauce made from Sambal Oelek and finally just a regular old marinara sauce. 
     This was to make sure Darrah would eat. She loves meatballs, but does not like other sauces & I was not going to give her ranch. Actually she didn't even use the marinara sauce, nor did any of us so it was a waste of time. Thankfully though I cheated and just bought some spaghetti sauce, seasoned it up like I normally do, instead of trying to make it from scratch. 
      One more Darrah story. Usually I buy some precooked frozen meatballs from the store and just heat them up in spaghetti sauce. Well naturally I made these ones myself. I made the meat balls, seared them in the pan and finished cooking them in the oven. Darrah asked mommy "Why are dada's meatballs burnt?" They were not burnt, but they looked so different that she thought they were. 
      Well the Teriyaki was my own recipe but I swapped out the flour with corn starch. This gave a bolder flavor to the sauce. I have updated the recipe page. The Spicy Asian was a very simple sauce. I made a rue just like for the Teriyaki, Sambal Oelek chili paste, water and soy sauce. This was the overall favorite. I must admit that the Spicy Asian Sauce would be better with chicken or pork over beef. All the recipe's are on the recipe page. This would be a great appetizer food for a party or get together, as well as a family style meal that is fun to eat.

Fish n Chips

     Is there anything better than some fresh cod, battered and fried? I would have to say "No, not tonight!"  So after a 7 to 4 Facebook vote, I made fish n chips. But instead of your typical "beer" batter for the fish, I changed it up and used some Sonoran Scotsman Honey Mead, a mixture of 4 spices/seasonings & Snoqualmie Falls Lodge pancake mix. Along side I made some fresh chips w/sea salt. 
     The honeymead is brewed by a friend of mine and his brother. They do not sell it so it would be difficult to get, but I am sure you can substitute any kind of mead or beer you like. I used pancake mix for a very slight sweet flavor that it has over regular flour and other fish fry mixes. I personally love this kind of pancake mix but I am not sure you can get it outside of the Northwest besides online.  The pancake mix is a trick I learned from another one my uncles (thanks) at a big family camping trip we took in 2005. He used pancake mix to fry up some fish in the left over bacon grease. It was great, so I used that instead of other mixes or flour. I did not however use bacon grease. The rest of the ingredients are in the recipe page. 
     Everyone except for my 4 year old liked the dinner. I was a little worried because besides myself only my father likes fish in my house. My wife and 9 year old both really enjoyed this, along with our close friend Bobo and her daughter. 

HELP!!!

     I need help deciding on my next meal. To vote go to the Facebook page, click here to vote. Here are the two choices.

     1. Honey Mean Batter Fish n Chips (name suggestions welcome): Just like beer batter cod, but instead of beer I will be using a Honey Mead.

    2. Shepherds Keish: Let me explain this one. Due to different tastes this meal will be individualized for each member of the family. It will be a breakfast keish but as in shepherds pie I will be using potatoes as a crust. Not mashed potatoes but Hash Browns as a crust for the bottom and maybe the sides of the keish. Fillings will include but are not limited to broccoli, sausage, peppers, bacon, cheese (different kinds). etc....

Please go to Facebook and vote for which one you would like to see made. Recipe's for this of course will be included. I will include votes through Sunday morning (5/22/11) 10am Arizona time.

Thanks,

Christian

Sharing the Love

     Ok so there is this podcast that I listen to & have mentioned on here before, it is called the DnA Foodcast. It is two guys who cook food from a recipe submission by listeners. My daughter and I decided to submit one, with a short how to video that we put together. The podcast decided to make our recipe.
     FYI, I have not listened to it yet, so I am unsure of what they might have changed in the recipe. They usually do something different with them. This podcast is very enjoyable so check it out. If you like it subscribe to it. I know there are a few recipe's on there I am going to try. The Noodle Auflauf looks amazing.

 Just CLICK ME! to listen.

Thanks

Christian

Work Food

     Hiya everyone. At work one day a couple friends where interested in the meatball cupcakes. So naturally I brought some in. That same day one of those friends brought the rest of us some Lasagna. It was really really good.  I asked her for the recipe so I can try to make it. I have not done this yet, but I have to share it with everyone. This recipe is "da bomb!"  Thanks a lot Shayla.

Lasagna

 
 Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 pound ground pork sausage
• 1 jar of Prego traditional flavor spaghetti sauce
• 1 jar of spaghetti sauce with parsley (I used the Fry's Marketplace brand)
• Kraft triple cheddar shredded cheese
• Shredded mozzarella cheese
• Parmesan cheese
• Ricotta cheese
• lasagna noodles

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees
• Mix both ground beef and ground pork sausage together (season with salt or favor seasoning - I used Lawry's), brown in a large skillet.
• While browning meat, boil lasagna noodles (a few at a time - I did 2-3 at a time to prevent sticking). Make sure that you boil them until right before they're tender. \
• Drain meat from all excess oil once fully cooked, then mix in both jars of spaghetti sauces.
• Spray a large, deep dish pan with cooking spray.  
• Place ingredients in the following pattern until pan is completely filled:
• Meat mixture - sprinkle Parmesan cheese -  3 lasagna noodles - ricotta cheese - Cheddar Cheese - Mozzarella Cheese.
• Bake for 40-45 minutes. 

Eat My Name!

     This time we had something just for the kids, with Alphabet Nuggets. I had a very hard time making the nuggets. Naturally I came up with a better way to, after I did all the hard work. You see I ground up the chicken so I can shape it properly. I used cookie cutters as molds and then stuck them in the freezer to harden up so I could bread & fry them. Well it was very difficult to keep some of the letter's shape. I was unable to make the "B" that way so I froze some of the chicken first then used the cookie cutter to cut out the "B." This was the trick. In doing that I determined that the next time I do this I will put the ground chicken out on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper freeze it then cut out the shapes.
     I will post the recipe for the brine and breading I used. Everyone really liked it flavor wise, and the kids loved being able to, as my youngest Darrah said, "eat my name!" 

Grillin' Season

Hey guys,

Here in sunny Phoenix, AZ we have had some really great weather and if it wasn't for work I would be outside more, cooking! While on break a article caught my eye in the Wall St. Journal that was sitting on the table. Makes me want to buy a new girll....it is a good thing I love mine so much still. Check it out here Click ME!

Food Found

Hi Everyone,

     While listening to some podcasts at work I heard about a food podcast that sounded pretty good. It is called "The DNA Foodcast" It is two guys who are NOT chef's and from opposite coasts of the U.S. cooking the same dish. Sometimes using varying ingredients for the same dish. One of them is a complete cooking rookie, basically just noodle, take out and microwave guy. It is entertaining how he solves problems so he can cook these foods. The neatest part is after the first few episodes, they started making recipe's that are submitted by their listeners. So if you like it, submit one, I know I will be soon.
     You can find them on iTunes by searching DNA foodcast, or visit their web site. I put the link in the link section. Look at photo's get the recipe's/directions or subscribe to the podcast. You can even listen to the podcast while you follow along making the dish from the website. It is all real time with the exception of when things go into the oven. They explain everything in the first podcast. A dish I will soon be trying myself for the family.
     I hope you like it.

Christian

Mango Chicken

     After doing Teriyaki, I decided to try another sauce in an Asian style. All though I love orange and lemon chicken I have not tried to make those from scratch yet. Maybe that is because I can buy Panda Express' orange sauce in the store. So I went with something new and used another fruit, MANGO!
     I must say this was very yummy, and more tart than sweet which was very different then what I expected, But was a hit all the way around (not including our little one).
     I do not have a recipe for this one yet due to needing to be tweaked, but I will give the ingredients I used so if you would like to try it (adjust as needed) you can have a place to start. I used 2 mango's, soy sauce (1/2 cup), salt and pepper, dried red chili flakes, garlic powder, O.J., water, & 2 tbsp of olive oil (any oil will do), 2 heaping tsp of flour.
     How I made it was I sliced up the mango's and pureed it in a blender with the soy sauce, water, O.J., salt n pepper & the red chili flakes garlic powder. While that was was going I put in the oil and flour in the pan until the ingredients where incorporated. I then added the puree and heated up then served. BTW. I already had the chicken rice and veggies done. Nothing special with those, it was minute rice (for ease) just chicken cubed up and cooked in a frying pan. The veggies where in another frying pan just heated up and placed on top. I guess I could have stir fried the rice, veggies & chicken, but that requires more soy sauce and I'm not a huge fan of that bitter sauce.

     FYI....I did start the puree before everything else just because I wasn't sure how long it would take. Boy am I glad I did too.  I do believe some fresh ginger would be good for the recipe. Once I get it down I will post an official recipe.
     I hope you enjoy this dish or any other that you try. Remember if you have any suggestions feel free to email them to athomegourmet1@cox.net

This Just In!!!

Hello,

I have added a new recipe page. This makes one page for the recipe's of the different dishes I post on the blog, & another for recipe's from my friends & family that we have always enjoyed. No I am not giving away any secrets, those I am still keeping........for now.  Soon to come, Mango Chicken! In a oriental style like orange chicken. Keep an eye out.

Thanks,

Christian

Spatzli & Sausage

Tonight I made a dish that my older sister gave me the recipe for over the holiday's. I must admit I myself did not like it for two reasons. 1. the texture, but I believe that was me over cooking the Spatzli. 2. The flavor of the 3 cheeses did not agree with my taste buds. But hey I am a very picky eater. The good news is everyone else liked it very much. The sausage is some kind from Switzerland & because I don't speak or read the language I can not tell you what kind it was. I can say it was delicious. It sort of reminded me summer sausage.  The sauce was simple and tasted great. It consists of olive oil, garlic, shallots, heavy cream, salt & fresh cracked pepper. The three cheeses that was used was Le Gruyere, Emmental and Parmesan. I think I am going to have to try this dish again at a later date just to see if my cooking (and it could have been) was the problem here. I will have to have my older sis help me to make sure it is done right. 

If you have any suggestions I would love to receive them. you can email me through the link on my blog or give a comment with your idea.

L.L. Herb Grilled Chicken

  
     I am not going to post a recipe for this one. I didn't measure anything out this time, just "seasoned to taste." But I will at least give you the ingredients. I paired this up with a veg. med. & everything was cooked on the grill. I thought of doing some rice to go with it, but decided against it because it really wasn't needed & rice is not a grill type food. I also at the last minute decided to do a lemon pepper sauce. This was a big hit with some, but for others it was a bomb. So either way it made an impact. By itself it was too sour, but was really good with the chicken. The family gave this a A grade.
     OK I made a brine with water, juice from 2 lemons & 2 limes, basil, oregano, marjoram, salt & fresh ground pepper. Soaked the chicken (today was 3 hours, but I usually like to soak it over night). The veg. med. was made of asparagus, green beans, corn & red skinned potatoes. Fresh, not frozen. I put these in a bowl and tossed them by hand with some olive oil (just enough for seasoning to stick) garlic powder, sea salt and fresh ground pepper. I then put in a tin foiled pan & topped with about 5 slices of butter then covered in foil. Cooked it on the 3rd tier of my grill starting them half way through the cooking of the chicken. 
      I squeezed the juice of 2 more lemons/limes with a pinch of olive oil and basted the chicken just before serving. With this I used to make the sauce. I just made a rue then added the juice, pinch of salt & pepper. 
     This is how I did it. If you try it I hope it comes out just as well for you. When I make this again I'll try to get some measurements of the ingredients to make a recipe. But until then, enjoy. Next up I think we will take a trip to Switzerland (culinary wise).  

Sirloin & Fresh Garlic Steak Sauce

My family gave me an "A" for this dish. It consists of red skin herb mashed potatoes, fresh steamed green beans, medium well sirloin, & homemade garlic steak sauce. I will admit the steak sauce was a little too sweet because I put a little too much honey in it then I intended. but live and learn. Because of this I adjusted the recipe before posting it. 

Everyone liked this, even my very very picky 4 year old eater (she is even pickier than I am). She was not even going to try eating the green beans because she does not like veggies at all (except fresh uncooked carrots). But that was her favorite part. She loved to split them open & eat the inside then the outside.

Homemade Teriyaki Chicken

For a little extra lunch variety at work, I decided to try making my own teriyaki sauce. I did this because most store bought teriyaki is very bitter. I like mine with a little bit of sweetness to counter the bitterness. So after looking at ingredients of many kinds of sauces I came up with my own recipe. I must say this was EXCELLENT! It is very easy, quick & cheaper than buying the Kyoto Bowl Teriyaki Sauce a local fast food style oriental restaurant here. Enjoy!

Meatball Cupcakes

I got this idea from one of the cooking shows, not sure which one. A lady had a meatloaf cupcake shop and she actually made a meatball cupcake during the show. I decided to recreate this for the first out of the box meal, with my own recipe. It was a huge success.
     The cupcake is filled with melted mozzarella cheese & topped with angel hair pasta & spaghetti sauce as "icing". There is also fresh grated parmesan and mozzarella cheese.  

We followed it up by eating "dirt" for dessert (chocolate pudding, crushed oreo cookie/graham cracker, with a gummy worm). I did not make this one up either, but heard of it a very long time ago and seen it many times, had to try it. 

Playing with your food!

 

We made checker pancakes today. Now my kids can play with their food and NOT get into trouble. Too bad they didn't eat the pieces as they jumped them. I'll have to tell them that for next time.

Designer Pancakes

After seeing www.jimspancakes.com I decided to try my hand at these pancakes. Here are just a few of the ones I have attempted. I have not attempted 3D pancakes yet, but will one day. Sometimes I print out some pictures and free handed the pancakes, other times I just make them up. This is fun, and the kids love it. We do it almost every weekend. If you have any ideas, please feel free to send them my way, it does get difficult to keep coming up with new ones.