Meatballs By-the-Book

With groceries dwindling down to protein and grains, I wasn’t quite sure what would be on the menu tonight. We had ground turkey in the freezer, so I whipped together turkey meatballs and rice.

I first learned the formula for meatballs from Everyday Food. You basically just need ground meat, one egg or egg yolk, garlic/shallots/onion, plus some type of fresh herb (basil, thyme, oregano – could be anything, really), and salt and pepper to taste.

Fortunately, I had one last onion from Farm Fresh to You, and fresh basil growing on the patio. I combined the ground turkey (defrosted) with chopped onion and basil, salt and pepper, plus one egg to make ’em stick.

While the rice is cooking, fry the meatballs on medium heat in a saucepan with olive oil until brown on the outside and cooked through (no pink!). Serve with fresh parmesan. Pretty easy – and both David, and the dog, went crazy for ’em!

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Case of the Mondays

While I love Switzerland, I remain neutral to Swiss Chard. Tonight I tried out the most leafy and exotic ingredient in my Farm Fresh to You delivery. While the spiny greens weren’t my favorite, they paired nicely with pork chops, which came wrapped in paper from Whole Foods – reminds me of the neighborhood butcher counter where my grandpa still goes to this day. (WARNING – if you dislike the sight of raw meat, close your eyes!)

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After seasoning the pork chops with salt and pepper, just add them to a saute pan with oil heated on medium (or medium-high depending on how sensitive your pan is to heat). I caramelized each side, then turned the heat down until they were just about cooked through. Transfer them to a plate, then reserve the pan and its juices for the chard.

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After washing the leaves, chop the chard into 1-inch “rows” and toss with a chopped onion in the saute pan for 4-5 minutes – alternating between tossing the mixture around in the oil, and leaving it to sit covered. Once you reach your preferred texture, crisp or cooked through, remove from heat and serve with pork chops and mashed potatoes.

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Chickenlightenment

If blogging about boiled chicken makes me sound like a broken record, tonight I put a new spin on it. After boiling the whole chicken for over an hour, I removed it from the boiling broth, pulled the meat from the bone with forks and added the pieces back into the broth (minus bones). Then I added chopped onion, salt and pepper, and simmered the chicken in its broth for another 20 minutes or so.

Our burritos were extra juicy, and the stewed chicken had more flavor than usual – plus it wasn’t as dry as when it’s pulled off the bone and served immediately. (I’ll admit part of this improvisation was over my concern to cook the chicken longer – some of the pinker pieces made me nervous!)

Also, check out my new Twitter ID: @dinnerwithdavid – for those nights where I have creative spurts, but I’m too busy or tired to write up a full post. 🙂

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Oh, the Shame

Bless me, for I have sinned. It’s been nearly a month since I last posted. Confessions aside, two of the weeks when I wasn’t blogging, I was tasting my way through some of NYC’s most indulgent street food – well maybe not quite off the street – but casual fare that was born in the Big Apple (like Magnolia Bakery and Dean & Deluca – no I didn’t have a donut, but they were undeniably photogenic):

Yum, cupcakes! Donuts and Dean & Deluca

But when I returned from the big city lights to Dinner with David, out came the old standbys like boiled chicken and ground turkey burritos. Fortunately, our first order from Capay had arrived, so I had fresh onions and the summer’s first heirloom tomatoes to spice things up. I highly recommend ordering their small box for two, which includes a manageable box of amazing, seasonal produce. (We used to get deliveries in West Sacramento, but they deliver throughout the Bay Area too.)

On Sunday night I was feeling somewhat domesticated, so I made pork chops (broiled with honey, salt and pepper) and mashed potatoes. Monday night we only had a limited amount of leftover pork, so I added in sauteed mushrooms.

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I will slowly work my way back into my recipe file and bring honor to the blog once again – especially since it’s been getting a little more attention lately, despite the lack of content!

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