What Did You Eat?

WHB: Herbed Turkey Meatballs With Cranberry Sauce

Does this picture look odd?   The color of the cranberry sauce looks like nail polish, but trust me, it tasted very good.  I imagine many people have figured out that I'm mad for meatballs, and this recipe also fulfills my quest to eat iron rich foods.  Turkey is high in iron, and the cranberries supply vitamin C, which facilitates absorption of iron into the body. 

These aren't my favorite meatballs, but I liked the taste of the fresh oregano in the recipe, coupled with the tart, sweet cranberry sauce.  Fresh oregano tastes very different to me than when it's dried.  I like them both, but prefer Penzeys excellent dried oregano, which explodes with flavor and aroma.  But, the bitter, pine taste of fresh oregano seemed the perfect herb to complement the cranberry sauce.  And it seems a good recipe for Weekend Herb Blogging, the weekly event created by our marvelous Kalyn, of Kalyn's Kitchen.   This week WHB is being hosted by the lovely Simona at Briciole, where you will find a recap of herby recipes from bloggers around the world.

WHB: Meatballs With Ginger Root And Radish Greens, For The Sensitive Stomach

After a week of eating little to no food, and what I did eat was very bland, I decided to test my stomach.    I wanted something with ginger root, as it's  a time honored remedy for an upset stomach. In truth, I wanted it more for the taste.   And I wanted it in meatballs.  Once the thought came into my head there was no going back.  So, I ground two skinless, boneless chicken thighs in the food processor, with radish greens from my garden, a little soy sauce, and ginger root.  I made five meatballs, cooked them in a skillet, ate them with profound pleasure, then waited for my stomach to protest.  It didn't. There was nary a peep out of it.

I've loved radishes all my life, but only recently began using the tops in cooking. They have a marvelous tangy bite, like horseradish, and paired nicely here with the ginger root.  And since radishes can be shockingly expensive at times, it's nice to use both the root and tops.  They are amazingly easy and quick to grow yourself, which is what I do now. 

WHB: Mushroom Balls (Look Ma, No Meat!)

It's no secret that I love meatballs.  Barely a month goes by without a new recipe.  But, I'm aware that many of my blogging friends are vegetarians and can't experience the joy of popping a savory orb into their mouths.   Monday, I saw a large bag of mushrooms in my fridge that needed rescue before they became slime.  Then it hit me, mushroom balls.   So, I made duxelles (thank God for food processors) with the mushrooms, added feta cheese, parsley, onion, and an egg.  I intended to add bread crumbs, but discovered there was nary a crumb to be found in my pantry or freezer.  How did that happen?  Nevermind, they weren't necessary, as it turned out. The meatless balls were delicious, if I do say so myself. And I do.  They looked meaty, but tasted like concentrated mushrooms.  The only drawback is that without bread crumbs, the mushrooms mixture didn't go very far. I only wound up with six medium sized balls. So, I think a person would need a lot of funghi to make enough for a crowd.  Adding bread does seem like a good idea next time.

These lovely balls ( I keep thinking of Alec Baldwin in the classic Shweaty Balls skit on Saturday Night Live) are meant for all vegetarians, but especially Shannon and Anne .  But, you don't have to be a vegetarian to love these things.
 

WHB: Meatballs With Parsley And Parmesan

Sometimes I check cookbooks or the Internet for new meatballs recipes.  There's just something about a little orb of meat, seafood, or poultry that captures my interest.  I think it dates from when I was a kid, eating spaghetti and meatballs.  It was always a red letter day when my mother made it, and I regarded the meatballs as some sort of toy food.  You could roll them around on the plate or imagine tossing them in the air and catching them with your mouth. 

Several months ago, I saw this recipe on Epicurious and it immediately caught my attention.  It was rated with four forks by people who made them.  Four forks is not easy to achieve on Epicurious, and when I looked at the recipe it seemed to be pretty simple.  I wondered why it would have garnered such praise?  Well, I made a big batch of the meatballs and they were very good indeed. They aren't my favorite meatballs. That would be Vietnamese Meatballs and Pork And Ricotta Meatballs.  But, they were quite good.
 

WHB: Vietnamese Meatballs, With Lettuce Wraps (Mint)

Yes, it's another recipe for meatballs.  Frankly, I never get tired of them and would eat them everyday, if I could.  The recipe comes from Food and Wine, for small hors d'oeuvre meatballs resting on lettuce cups, and dipped in sweet Asian chili sauce. Reading that, I immediately thought it foolish to wait until I threw a party.  So I made my meatballs bigger, placed them on red leaf lettuce, and served them for dinner.  There are many things to like about these tasty orbs.  Besides being quick to make and low in fat, they're fun to eat.  I always like wrapping food up in a crepe, tortilla, or lettuce leaf and popping it into my mouth.

The meatballs contain cilantro and mint. Cilantro haters can omit it and just use the mint, or add some basil.  I'm a great fan of mint used in savory dishes.  If you've only had it in desserts, you'll be amazed at how it adds a unique taste, different from when it's used in sweets  This recipe was made in honor of Weekend Herb Blogging, which was founded by the marvelous Kalyn at Kalyn's Kitchen.    WHB is being hosted this week by the lovely Anna at Anna's Cool Finds.  Stop by her blog and see a recap of all the wonderful herby recipes from bloggers around the world.
 

PPN: Spaghetti With Turkey Meatballs And Sundried Tomatoes

I confess that meatballs hold a special place in my heart.  I look for new recipes to try, mainly because I want an excuse to eat the little buggers.  This recipe was simple to make and great fun to eat.  The meatballs were juicy and full of flavor, due to the chopped sundried tomatoes mixed into them.  Meatballs freeze beautifully and I like to have them on reserve, to pull out a few to eat when I'm feeling a little hypoglysemic.  And they're handy for when I don't feel like cooking.  I served these with pasta, but they're wonderful with rice or (my favorite) a big chunk of crusty bread.

This is my submission to Presto Pasta Night, which was started by the wonderful Ruth at Once Upon A Feast.  Each Friday Ruth has a recap of wonderful pasta recipes from bloggers from all over the world.  So, stop by and check it out.

WHB: Happy Blog Anniversary To Me!

Yesterday, I suddenly realized that today is my blog anniversary.  Amazingly, What Did You Eat is officially two years old.  When I started blogging, I didn't know if I would last a year, but here I am two years later. During that time, I've enjoyed preparing some great recipes, and sharing that experience with people all over the world.  Most important, I've made friends with so many fellow bloggers--and what a talented and generous group of people they are too!  There are also the people who don't have blogs, but visit here and leave comments.  I haven't been good about answering my comments lately, but I appreciate them more than you can ever know.  Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to visit me here.  I'm sorry my blog's appearance hasn't been updated, but any attempt to spruce it up always winds up backfiring on me.  I may be able to cook, but I'm a total nincompoop doing computer stuff.  I still remember how much trouble I had installing WeatherPixie.  Weatherpixie, for God's sake!  It's supposed to be impossible to screw up something like that!

To celebrate my anniversary, I decided to make meatballs, rather than something sweet.  I love them, and I'm tired of sweet things just now.  While these meatballs aren't as good as my favorite recipe, I did enjoy them quite a bit. They're stuffed with dried currents and pine nuts, easy to make, and (drum roll) they're a Staff Favorite at Food & Wine magazine, which usually means a sure thing.