party food

Yay Sportsballs!

So, just in case you weren’t aware, I live in Denver, home of the Denver Broncos. I’m not a crazed fanatic about the team, or really, any team, but I mention this fact because some of you might be interested in one of the NFL teams which, along with the Broncos, will be participating in play-off games this weekend. Or, maybe you’re like me, and you really just pay attention to professional sports because watching them at home (yours or someone else’s) involves making or eating snacks.

I actually work at Sports Authority Field, where the Broncos will be playing the Colts on Sunday. I work for the catering company that cooks and serves the food to the folks in the suites for all home games, so I don’t really get to see much of what’s going on on the field. I’m typically very busy in a pantry somewhere helping to push out the food we’ve been cooking all week. However, if I were going to host or attend a watch party, these Chipotle Meatballs would be on the menu.

The original recipe comes from this book:

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It’s a great little book full of interesting recipes using authentic Mexican ingredients and cooking methods. My favorite chapter is the soup chapter, but the photos next to every recipe have been good enticement to want to make them. Details at the end of this post on how you can make this cookbook part of your collection. But first, we cook!

I’ve simplified the recipe I’m giving you here because I had limited time to cook, like many of you, and used a few shortcuts. The recipe in the book walks you through a few extra steps using more authentic ingredients for an entree version, but it’s still very approachable, as are all the recipes in the book. I took my batch of meatballs to a Rose Bowl party and they were a HUGE hit. I am pretty sure these would work just great in a slow cooker, too, if you wanted to make sure they stayed warm through the whole game. That is, if they last that long. Mine didn’t.

Equipment:

large pot
skillet
mixing bowl
knife and cutting board
spoon for stirring
tongs or a spatula for turning the meatballs (or just use the same spoon, like I did, because  have I mentioned how much I hate washing dishes?)

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 can of chipotles in adobo sauce
2 28 oz cans crushed tomatoes
1 small onion, finely chopped, then divide in half
1 garlic clove, peeled and smashed, but kept whole
1 bay leaf
1 sprig of thyme (or a small pinch of dried thyme, if that’s what you have)
1 lb lean ground pork
1 lb lean ground beef
1 garlic clove, minced
1 egg
salt and pepper to taste

For the sauce:
Heat the oil in the pot on medium-low heat. Add 1/2 of the chopped onion and cook until just softened. Add the smashed garlic clove and cook until it just starts to become fragrant. Add both cans of crushed tomatoes and stir well. Add 2-3 whole chipotles (depending on how spicy you want your sauce to be) and about a tablespoon of the adobo sauce to the tomatoes, along with the thyme and bay leaf. Allow the sauce to simmer on low while you cook the meatballs.

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For the meatballs:

First of all, let me just say that I am not sure what kind of sorcery people use to keep their meatballs pretty and round when they cook them in a pan. If you know the magic, I applaud you. I have not mastered it, so please forgive the less than attractive shot of meatballs cooking. They taste delicious, and that’s how I forgive myself for not knowing how to make them pretty.

Anyhoo…

Combine the other half of the chopped onion, the minced garlic, the pork, and the ground beef in a mixing bowl. Add the egg, plus a generous pinch each of salt and pepper, and mix well. I’m not a huge fan of touching raw meat, but I think this is one of those times when you just want to get in there and mix with your hands. Use rubber gloves, if you want, but your hands are definitely the best tools you have for this particular step.

Form the mixture into umm… the book recipe says “chestnut sized” balls. Mine were somewhere between a large marble and a ping pong ball. I couldn’t remember exactly how big a chestnut is, so I just made meatball sized looking meatballs.

Brown the meatballs in a pan until they’re just cooked through. You’ll need to cook them in batches so as not to crowd the pan.

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As each batch is done, just add them to the sauce you have simmering over there.

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When all the meatballs are browned and in the sauce, bring it to a boil for about a minute, and then let the whole thing simmer on low for at least 20 minutes (but as long as 35 or 40), stirring occasionally.

And that’s that! You could serve this as the book suggests, as an entree over rice, or just bring them to the party as they are… maybe with some little rolls or slider buns or mini-tortillas. Both the sauce and the meatballs are so full of flavor, they don’t really need much garnish.

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And now, for the giveaway details. All you need to do to enter is answer this question:

What is your biggest recipe/cookbook pet peeve?

Mine is when the ingredients list includes a lot of specialty items that are expensive or difficult to source.

Leave your answer in the comments section to be entered. I’ll draw the winner next Wednesday, January 14th.

This giveaway is not sponsored by or affiliated with the authors or the publisher, Barnes & Noble New York. Winner will be notified on the I’m Gonna Cook That Facebook page, on the I’m Gonna Cook That Twitter account, and of course, here on the blog. The winner will have 3 days to respond or the prize is forfeit. Please allow 6-8 weeks for delivery.

 

Squashed Like a Tart

If you’re as big a fan of impromptu get togethers as I am, you probably already have a stable of “go to” recipes for party food at your disposal. You might even be more prepared than I will ever be and have stuff in your freezer that can be  popped into the oven when company drops by without much notice. Knowing this about you, I also suspect you’re always on the lookout for new recipes to add to your repertoire. So… here ya go!

This squash tart is super easy, totally customizeable, and can definitely be made with stuff you might even keep on hand. In fact, there’s no rule that says you have to use squash. I got my inspiration from this recipe on the BBC Good Food website. It’s basically some sort of crust, with some sort of creamy cheese that’s been flavored with whatever you like, and then topped with… something. Once I give you the original recipe, I’ll also give some suggestions on variations.

Equipment:
sheet pan
knife and cutting board
spoon
mixing bowl
parchment paper
saute pan & spatula of some sort plate or bowl to hold the cooked squash for assembly

Ingredients:
1 sheet of puff pastry, chilled (not frozen)
1/2 C Ricotta
1 tsp lemon zest
1/2 T lemon juice
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 yellow squash and 1 zucchini
2 tsp vegetable oil salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350°. Cut the sheet of pastry in half. Fold the edges of each half in to form an edge about 1/2 an inch wide and lay on the parchment lined sheet pan. Put the pastry in the fridge to stay cool while you make the filling.

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 Thinly slice both squashes. Don’t stress yourself over trying to get them paper thin. Just try to keep them to about 1/4 inch or thinner. Add 1 tsp of the oil to the saute pan over medium low heat. Add 1/2 the sliced squash and season with salt and pepper. You want the squash to basically just cook through, but not brown. Remove the first batch of squash to a plate or bowl and cook the 2nd batch the same way. Set aside.

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 Mix the lemon zest, juice and dried thyme into the ricotta, along with salt and pepper to taste.

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 Get your pastry out of the fridge. Spread 1/4 C of the ricotta mixture onto each tart, then layer the squash over it. You might have extra squash left over. I did, but I just added it to some leftover brown rice with some other random leftover veggies later in the week and it made a really yummy lunch. Pop the tarts into the oven for about 30 minutes. Let cool for at least 20 minutes and cut into slices when you’re ready to serve.

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 This one is delicious. I love recipes that follow a formula rather than demanding that you use specific ingredients, and this is definitely one of those recipes. You could keep everything the same and just change how you season the ricotta and get a whole new flavor profile. Maybe use some whipped goat cheese instead of ricotta. Or keep the filling the same and use tomatoes, roasted asparagus, or sauteed wild mushrooms, or even throw some pepperoni or Serrano ham on there, with or without a veggie.  You could embellish with a little crunch from pine nuts, like in the original recipe, or any other kind of lightly toasted nut, or even some grated Parmesan or Manchego. And those are just the savory options! Imagine mixing some maple syrup or brown sugar and a little orange zest into the ricotta, and topping the whole thing with roasted strawberries or peaches.

See where I’m going with this? Get the basic method down, and the only limit to the possible flavor combinations is your imagination. That’s also nice because instead of having that one thing you whip up or bring to every party, you can make it something totally different from the last time, but without all the stress of learning a whole new recipe. Neat, yes?

If you’re looking for other party food ideas, give these two a try. I tested them out at a little shindig the roomie and I threw at my place a couple weekends ago, and they were a big hit.

Chocolate Dipped Potato Chips: I know it sounds a little weird, but trust me, these are kind of life changing.  Just melt some semi-sweet chocolate chips in the microwave, then dip the chips and let them set in the fridge. I like Wavy Lays vs. Ruffles.

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 Mini Polenta Pizzas: Inspired by this recipe over at A House in the Hills. Again, this is one that could be topped with all sorts of things, although the ones in her recipe are pretty darn tasty!

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 Go forth and party, my lovelies! We have all summer.

Every Day I’m Trufflin’

Ok, maybe not every day. That’d be…well, wonderful, but fattening.

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Of course, we’re talking about chocolate truffles, the kind that are so easy you could make them every day as long as you’re ok with the clean-up (which really isn’t that bad, to be honest). They make wonderful treats for yourself, a nice little dessert with coffee for guests after a dinner party, or a treat to wrap in some cute packaging as a gift.

I followed this recipe from Real Simple, pretty much to the letter. I didn’t add the coffee liqueur because these were going to co-workers and I wasn’t sure people would eat them if they were all boozy. However, if you’re making them for a holiday party, I say go for it. The rest of the ingredients: chocolate, cream, espresso powder, vanilla, and cocoa powder, you can pick up in the regular grocery store. The trickiest thing to find might be the espresso powder. I found this kind, hidden behind one of those giant cardboard displays for some other kind of coffee. This was under $5 for a jar, and trust me, it’ll last you awhile, especially if all you ever plan on using it for is to flavour desserts.

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These chocolate truffles start out as ganache, a mixture of chocolate and cream. You’ll just warm the cream, add the espresso powder and make sure it’s dissolved well, then add your chocolate. Stir the chocolate until you get a thick, glossy ganache, letting the warm cream do the work of melting it, then add your vanilla and liqueur. 

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Pour the ganache into a shallow bowl (as recommended in the recipe) or even a brownie pan will work. I used one of those disposable aluminum 13 x 9 pans from the grocery store and it worked just fine. The ganache will need to firm up in the fridge for at least four hours or overnight. 

Don’t feel like you have to get fancy with the chocolate. I used semi-sweet chocolate chips and Lindt brand 70% cacao that was on sale (2 large bars for $5) at King Soopers. I’m sure chocolate connoisseurs would tell you it makes a difference, and they’re probably right, but unless you plan on giving these truffles to some friend who is a Giant Chocolate Snob, these will still be considered by most to be pretty effing delicioius.

Once your ganache has firmed up, you can scoop it out with a spoon, one of those tiny ice cream scoops, a melon baller, or whatever you have handy. I tried a little experiment of cutting the ganache into fairly even sized squares and then rolling it between my hands to get it into a ball. That was actually a lot more trouble because the ganache was pretty firm and I had to manhandle it a bit to get it to give up being a square.

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I ultimately went with my scoop. It was a lot easier to roll the truffles when they were already in a basic ball shape. Duh, right? Anyhoots, you’ll just keep rolling your little truffle balls, and then tossing them in the cocoa powder until all the ganache is used up. If you keep them all fairly uniform in size, this recipe will yield 48 truffles.

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If you’re not serving them right away, pop them in the fridge for awhile to firm back up. After that, they should be good to sit out for awhile, if they need to. Mine were out at room temperature for about 8 hours and they were fine.

If you wanted to infuse some other flavour into these, you can just replace the coffee liqueur with something different.  I think if you’re going to be a little snobby about an ingredient, it would be the flavour infusion you use. Don’t use those cheap flavourings from the baking aisle at the grocery store. If you’re going to use another booze, use good booze. I have some apricot brandy that I brought back from Glasgow that I might try next time.

You can also play around with the cocoa powder, if you want. I just used the regular Hershey’s baking cocoa for this batch, but I have some Mayan cocoa powder that has cinnamon in it that I think would play off of the apricot brandy quite nicely. 

Have fun with this one, folks! Instead of bringing cookies or pie to a holiday party, whip up a batch of these and watch them fly off the plate.