Sicilian Sweet and Sour Meatballs and The Dinner Divas

If you ever moved to a new state you know how difficult it is to make new friends. It's hard enough on children but eventually they make friends in school, during sports and other after school activities. If you're an adult it's even harder. There really isn't anywhere to meet people if you have moved to a state where you don't know more than one person. This was my problem when I moved to New Jersey with Steve. I decided to be brave and reach out to people on the Internet and join some groups. I'm a busy girl these days. The group that is closest to my heart is "The Dinner Divas". We are a group of young women who get together once a month and eat wonderful homemade food that we have made. Each month one of us hosts a themed meal of our choice and the rest of the members contribute an appetizer, dessert or wine. I've made some great friends through this group and I hope it's something that we'll continue for years. I'd like to take this time to thank my Dinner Divas friends, you guys are great! I truly appreciate the commitment that everyone makes to the group each month and always look forward to seeing my friends!

If you have any questions about how to start a dinner group in your own area feel free to email me at myitaliangrandmother@hotmail.com.

This past weekend Janet hosted a Sweet and Savory themed dinner. My job was to make an appetizer so I decided on Sweet and Sour Meatballs. A friend's mother used to make these but I never made them myself and didn't have a recipe. I looked it up online and found a recipe from Sicilian Home Cooking. Check it out. I have adapted the recipe to meet my tastes which was my basic meatball recipe with some raisins and pine nuts mixed in to continue the sweet and savory theme and used their directions for making the sweet and sour onions. I made them Swedish meatball size but of course they can be made larger.

The result was awesome! I'm really excited about this recipe and I plan on making this more often! So, without further adieu, here is my recipe!

Sicilian Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Ingredients:

Meatballs:

1 lbs ground beef (85% lean)
1 small onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup Parmesan cheese
¼ cup milk
1 eggs
salt and pepper, to taste
½ cup bread crumbs
Garlic powder and onion powder
1 handful raisins
1 handful of pine nuts

Sweet and Sour Onions:

2 medium onions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons extra virigin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 ½ tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons water

Sprinkle beef with garlic powder and onion powder. Just enough to lightly cover meat. Then add all ingredients, mix to combine. Form meatballs and fry in olive oil. Set aside and drain on paper towels.

Add onions to pan and season with salt and pepper. Sauté onions in extra virgin olive oil on low heat until they become tender. Do not allow them to brown.

Stir in vinegar, sugar and water.

Return meatballs to pan and gently toss in sauce. Let them cook over medium-low heat for 5 minutes. Transfer to a serving dish and cool. Serve at room temperature.

Enjoy!

Sicilian Sweet and Sour Meatballs and The Dinner Divas

If you ever moved to a new state you know how difficult it is to make new friends. It's hard enough on children but eventually they make friends in school, during sports and other after school activities. If you're an adult it's even harder. There really isn't anywhere to meet people if you have moved to a state where you don't know more than one person. This was my problem when I moved to New Jersey with Steve. I decided to be brave and reach out to people on the Internet and join some groups. I'm a busy girl these days. The group that is closest to my heart is "The Dinner Divas". We are a group of young women who get together once a month and eat wonderful homemade food that we have made. Each month one of us hosts a themed meal of our choice and the rest of the members contribute an appetizer, dessert or wine. I've made some great friends through this group and I hope it's something that we'll continue for years. I'd like to take this time to thank my Dinner Divas friends, you guys are great! I truly appreciate the commitment that everyone makes to the group each month and always look forward to seeing my friends!

If you have any questions about how to start a dinner group in your own area feel free to email me at myitaliangrandmother@hotmail.com.

This past weekend Janet hosted a Sweet and Savory themed dinner. My job was to make an appetizer so I decided on Sweet and Sour Meatballs. A friend's mother used to make these but I never made them myself and didn't have a recipe. I looked it up online and found a recipe from Sicilian Home Cooking. Check it out. I have adapted the recipe to meet my tastes which was my basic meatball recipe with some raisins and pine nuts mixed in to continue the sweet and savory theme and used their directions for making the sweet and sour onions. I made them Swedish meatball size but of course they can be made larger.

The result was awesome! I'm really excited about this recipe and I plan on making this more often! So, without further adieu, here is my recipe!

Sicilian Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Ingredients:

Meatballs:

1 lbs ground beef (85% lean)
1 small onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup Parmesan cheese
¼ cup milk
1 eggs
salt and pepper, to taste
½ cup bread crumbs
Garlic powder and onion powder
1 handful raisins
1 handful of pine nuts

Sweet and Sour Onions:

2 medium onions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons extra virigin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 ½ tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons water

Sprinkle beef with garlic powder and onion powder. Just enough to lightly cover meat. Then add all ingredients, mix to combine. Form meatballs and fry in olive oil. Set aside and drain on paper towels.

Add onions to pan and season with salt and pepper. Sauté onions in extra virgin olive oil on low heat until they become tender. Do not allow them to brown.

Stir in vinegar, sugar and water.

Return meatballs to pan and gently toss in sauce. Let them cook over medium-low heat for 5 minutes. Transfer to a serving dish and cool. Serve at room temperature.

Enjoy!

No Excuse Steak Pizziaola

When people tell me they can't cook it baffles me. I understand that some things may be too difficult, have too many ingredients or may even be too exotic. I get that, however, there are some dishes that are so easy to make it's difficult NOT to do it. Well folks, it doesn't get easier than this. There are only a handful of ingredients and there is no special technique but the taste is so great that if you serve it to guests they will never know how easy it is!





Steak Pizziaola

Ingredients:

1 package small steaks (sometimes labeled chicken steaks)
3 cloves garlic, minced
Italian seasoning
dried basil
salt and pepper
2 – 14 oz cans Delmonte Tomato Sauce or 1-28 oz can crushed tomatoes
Extra virgin olive oil
½ can petite peas

Directions:

Add garlic, Italian seasoning and basil to oil on medium low heat. Add the steaks and brown on both sides.




Add tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes. Let simmer for 1 hour.




Remove steaks from pan and cut into bite sized pieces, removing vein. I took a close up picture of the steak so you can see the vein. It goes right down the middle of the steak and is very easy to remove.


Return steak pieces to sauce and add peas and stir. Let peas heat through.
Serve over egg noodles ( I like to use no yolk noodles).

My mom makes this dish a lot and she never cuts out the vein. We always did it in our own plates. Well, my honey is a little finicky and to save myself the aggravation I do this before it gets in his plate. Sigh, the things we do for love...

No Excuse Steak Pizziaola

When people tell me they can't cook it baffles me. I understand that some things may be too difficult, have too many ingredients or may even be too exotic. I get that, however, there are some dishes that are so easy to make it's difficult NOT to do it. Well folks, it doesn't get easier than this. There are only a handful of ingredients and there is no special technique but the taste is so great that if you serve it to guests they will never know how easy it is!





Steak Pizziaola

Ingredients:

1 package small steaks (sometimes labeled chicken steaks)
3 cloves garlic, minced
Italian seasoning
dried basil
salt and pepper
2 – 14 oz cans Delmonte Tomato Sauce or 1-28 oz can crushed tomatoes
Extra virgin olive oil
½ can petite peas

Directions:

Add garlic, Italian seasoning and basil to oil on medium low heat. Add the steaks and brown on both sides.




Add tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes. Let simmer for 1 hour.




Remove steaks from pan and cut into bite sized pieces, removing vein. I took a close up picture of the steak so you can see the vein. It goes right down the middle of the steak and is very easy to remove.


Return steak pieces to sauce and add peas and stir. Let peas heat through.
Serve over egg noodles ( I like to use no yolk noodles).

My mom makes this dish a lot and she never cuts out the vein. We always did it in our own plates. Well, my honey is a little finicky and to save myself the aggravation I do this before it gets in his plate. Sigh, the things we do for love...

Should I be concerned?

In 2 years and 9 months, Steve and I have consumed many, many, bottles of wine. Enough that we have filled up this entire urn with corks. In all fairness we didn't drink ALL of them alone. We had company and some parties but I guess for the most part we'll have to take responsibility. Do you think we have a problem??? Sometimes, I wonder if my parents think we do! LOL We're fine...not to worry. We just enjoy our wine and started collecting corks since we started dating. They are overflowing now and I think the time has come, not to get rid of them but to make them into something. Maybe a corkboard? Any suggestions???

Should I be concerned?

In 2 years and 9 months, Steve and I have consumed many, many, bottles of wine. Enough that we have filled up this entire urn with corks. In all fairness we didn't drink ALL of them alone. We had company and some parties but I guess for the most part we'll have to take responsibility. Do you think we have a problem??? Sometimes, I wonder if my parents think we do! LOL We're fine...not to worry. We just enjoy our wine and started collecting corks since we started dating. They are overflowing now and I think the time has come, not to get rid of them but to make them into something. Maybe a corkboard? Any suggestions???

la la la Chicken - aka Chicken Marsala

I can't help but laugh as I read my chosen title for this post. You guys must think I'm one strange cat but really it's not me that's crazy, it's my brother-in-law, Thomas. Yes Thomas, I'm writing about YOU! Thomas has chosen to make fun of my cooking endeavors, my blogging and every club and new project I seem to get myself involved in. I know it's out of love (most of the time) so I'm not too upset, in fact, it is kinda funny. A couple of weeks ago while I was at my parents' house, Tommy wanted to know, what I was making...was it la la la something or other. I know he was teasing me because I'm usually making something different from the usual and what he considered fancy so the "la la la" is his take on "a la" (like chicken a la fill in the blank). Anyway, to get to the point, this post is about la la la chicken or as I like to call it Chicken Marsala.

I've made Chicken Marsala multiple times. I've tried different recipes from different Chef's but nothing ever tasted the way I know it should taste. So this time I decided NOT to follow a recipe and just wing it. Well, I'm glad I did because it turned out perfect this time! The only problem is that I'm worried that I may not be able to give you an accurate recipe...bear with me, I'm going to do my best!

La La La Chicken aka Chicken Marsala

Ingredients:

1 package thin sliced chicken cutlets
1 egg
flour
salt and pepper
Romano Cheese
1 package cremini mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1 package shitake mushrooms, cleaned, destemmed and sliced
3/4 cup Marsala wine
garlic - 3 cloves minced, 2 cloves cracked
fresh parsley, minced
1/4 cup chives, sliced
2 scallions, sliced
1 small onion (or 2 shallots), sliced.
1 cup chicken broth
butter
Olive Oil


Directions:

• Season about a cup of flour with salt and pepper and set aside in dish. In a medium bowl beat one egg with salt, pepper and a little romano cheese. Dredge cutlets in egg mixture and then cover in a light coating of flour. Heat 1 tablespoon of butter and 2 tablespoons of oil in a saute pan. Saute chicken until lightly browned and set aside. You may need to add a little more butter and oil if the pan is dry.
• Add another tablespoon of butter and saute mushrooms with cracked garlic until brown. Remove from pan and set aside, discard garlic.
• Saute onions, scallions, chives and chopped garlic, add more butter if needed. Do not brown. Season with salt and pepper. Add some flour(approx 2 tablespoons) to make a roux (mixture of flour and butter that is a thickener), stir and let cook for about one minute. Add marsala wine. Let cook for about 5 minutes and then add the cooked mushrooms to the pan. Let simmer for about 5-10 minutes and add chicken broth (a little at a time) until you have enough sauce to coat chicken. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed. This shouldn't take too long to cook. It's ready when the sauce no longer tastes like pure marsala wine.
• Sprinkle with chopped parsley and stir. Return chicken cutlets to pan just to heat through.

I hope this wasn't too confusing. I didn't measure anything so it was hard to write up this recipe. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me and if something is unclear let me know and I will fix it.

There are a few things I'd like to mention before I go. Any type of mushroom can be used in this dish. I used what we like but sliced portabellas can be used or even buttons mushrooms (although I don't know why anyone would use these ever). Use what you like, what you have on hand, what makes you happy. You get the idea. There is one universal rule that I'd like to share. Never rinse your mushrooms under water or soak them in water. This makes them rubbery. All you need to do is brush away the dirt with a cloth or paper towel and they will be fine to eat. Most mushrooms have edible stems. Just cut off a small piece at the end since it's dry and cut the rest of the stems along with the mushrooms. However, shitake mushrooms are different. Their ends are woody, tough and inedible. Just pop them off and slice the caps.

Egged and floured chicken sauting in butter and oil mixture.




Shitake mushroom before stem is removed.



Removed stem of shitake mushroom. Look how fibrous it is. You don't want to eat that!




Mushrooms and Garlic.



Chicken and Mushrooms simmering on the stove.

la la la Chicken - aka Chicken Marsala

I can't help but laugh as I read my chosen title for this post. You guys must think I'm one strange cat but really it's not me that's crazy, it's my brother-in-law, Thomas. Yes Thomas, I'm writing about YOU! Thomas has chosen to make fun of my cooking endeavors, my blogging and every club and new project I seem to get myself involved in. I know it's out of love (most of the time) so I'm not too upset, in fact, it is kinda funny. A couple of weeks ago while I was at my parents' house, Tommy wanted to know, what I was making...was it la la la something or other. I know he was teasing me because I'm usually making something different from the usual and what he considered fancy so the "la la la" is his take on "a la" (like chicken a la fill in the blank). Anyway, to get to the point, this post is about la la la chicken or as I like to call it Chicken Marsala.

I've made Chicken Marsala multiple times. I've tried different recipes from different Chef's but nothing ever tasted the way I know it should taste. So this time I decided NOT to follow a recipe and just wing it. Well, I'm glad I did because it turned out perfect this time! The only problem is that I'm worried that I may not be able to give you an accurate recipe...bear with me, I'm going to do my best!

La La La Chicken aka Chicken Marsala

Ingredients:

1 package thin sliced chicken cutlets
1 egg
flour
salt and pepper
Romano Cheese
1 package cremini mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1 package shitake mushrooms, cleaned, destemmed and sliced
3/4 cup Marsala wine
garlic - 3 cloves minced, 2 cloves cracked
fresh parsley, minced
1/4 cup chives, sliced
2 scallions, sliced
1 small onion (or 2 shallots), sliced.
1 cup chicken broth
butter
Olive Oil


Directions:

• Season about a cup of flour with salt and pepper and set aside in dish. In a medium bowl beat one egg with salt, pepper and a little romano cheese. Dredge cutlets in egg mixture and then cover in a light coating of flour. Heat 1 tablespoon of butter and 2 tablespoons of oil in a saute pan. Saute chicken until lightly browned and set aside. You may need to add a little more butter and oil if the pan is dry.
• Add another tablespoon of butter and saute mushrooms with cracked garlic until brown. Remove from pan and set aside, discard garlic.
• Saute onions, scallions, chives and chopped garlic, add more butter if needed. Do not brown. Season with salt and pepper. Add some flour(approx 2 tablespoons) to make a roux (mixture of flour and butter that is a thickener), stir and let cook for about one minute. Add marsala wine. Let cook for about 5 minutes and then add the cooked mushrooms to the pan. Let simmer for about 5-10 minutes and add chicken broth (a little at a time) until you have enough sauce to coat chicken. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed. This shouldn't take too long to cook. It's ready when the sauce no longer tastes like pure marsala wine.
• Sprinkle with chopped parsley and stir. Return chicken cutlets to pan just to heat through.

I hope this wasn't too confusing. I didn't measure anything so it was hard to write up this recipe. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me and if something is unclear let me know and I will fix it.

There are a few things I'd like to mention before I go. Any type of mushroom can be used in this dish. I used what we like but sliced portabellas can be used or even buttons mushrooms (although I don't know why anyone would use these ever). Use what you like, what you have on hand, what makes you happy. You get the idea. There is one universal rule that I'd like to share. Never rinse your mushrooms under water or soak them in water. This makes them rubbery. All you need to do is brush away the dirt with a cloth or paper towel and they will be fine to eat. Most mushrooms have edible stems. Just cut off a small piece at the end since it's dry and cut the rest of the stems along with the mushrooms. However, shitake mushrooms are different. Their ends are woody, tough and inedible. Just pop them off and slice the caps.

Egged and floured chicken sauting in butter and oil mixture.




Shitake mushroom before stem is removed.



Removed stem of shitake mushroom. Look how fibrous it is. You don't want to eat that!




Mushrooms and Garlic.



Chicken and Mushrooms simmering on the stove.

Mom's Meat Sauce

Growing up I always thought that this was bolognese but now I know that a traditional bolognese has some veggies and wine in it and takes a long time to cook. This is a much simpler version but still adds another layer of flavor and depth to the sauce. As always I change some minor things like how I season the meat but the end result pretty much comes out the same. We were over my parents' house on Sunday and my mom made this with rigatoni. It was delicious and I'm proud to say that mine and hers tastes almost exactly the same!

Ingredients:

2 cans crushed tomatoes
1 medium onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 lb ground beef
6-7 basil leaves
salt and pepper
garlic powder
Mrs. Dash
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tsp sugar


Brown ground beef in about 1 Tbsp of oil. Sprinkle with garlic powder, Mrs. Dash, salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Use a potato masher or wooden spoon to break up the meat so you don't have any large chunks. Drain oil from meat and set aside.

Saute onion and garlic in EVOO. Return meat to pot and add tomatoes. Swish water in the cans and add about ½ can of water or as needed so it’s not too thick. Season with salt and pepper to taste and add basil. Let cook for ½ hour, stirring occasionally so sauce does not burn. Taste again for seasoning. Add 1 tsp of sugar or a little more if needed. Allow sauce to cook for ½ hour more and taste again.

Serve over pasta.

Mom's Meat Sauce

Growing up I always thought that this was bolognese but now I know that a traditional bolognese has some veggies and wine in it and takes a long time to cook. This is a much simpler version but still adds another layer of flavor and depth to the sauce. As always I change some minor things like how I season the meat but the end result pretty much comes out the same. We were over my parents' house on Sunday and my mom made this with rigatoni. It was delicious and I'm proud to say that mine and hers tastes almost exactly the same!

Ingredients:

2 cans crushed tomatoes
1 medium onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 lb ground beef
6-7 basil leaves
salt and pepper
garlic powder
Mrs. Dash
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tsp sugar


Brown ground beef in about 1 Tbsp of oil. Sprinkle with garlic powder, Mrs. Dash, salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Use a potato masher or wooden spoon to break up the meat so you don't have any large chunks. Drain oil from meat and set aside.

Saute onion and garlic in EVOO. Return meat to pot and add tomatoes. Swish water in the cans and add about ½ can of water or as needed so it’s not too thick. Season with salt and pepper to taste and add basil. Let cook for ½ hour, stirring occasionally so sauce does not burn. Taste again for seasoning. Add 1 tsp of sugar or a little more if needed. Allow sauce to cook for ½ hour more and taste again.

Serve over pasta.