Ingredients:

for the meatballs:

• two pounds ground beef, or ground turkey (I used Empire Kosher ground turkey)- (I used 3 pounds of organic beef the next time I made them)
• 2 large or extra large eggs (3 eggs for 3 lbs. of beef or turkey)
• 1/3 cup ketchup (1 cup for 3 pounds of beef or turkey)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt (1 1/2 teaspoons for 3 lbs.)
• 1 teaspoon black pepper (1 1/2 teaspoons for 3 lbs.)
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (opt.) (I didn’t use when I used 3 lbs. of beef)
• about 3/4 cup plain bread crumbs (or matzoh meal for Passover) (one cup for 3 lbs. of beef or turkey)
• 4 oz. unsweetened apple sauce (I used this to give the turkey some moistness) (I used this same amount when I used 3 lbs. of beef)
• 1/2  onion, grated (didn’t use for beef)

Mix all ingredients together gently.  Dampen your hands and make into meatballs about 1 1/2  in. in diameter.   Set aside while you make the sauce.

for the sauce:

• one (14 oz.) can jellied cranberry sauce (2 cans for 3 pounds of beef or turkey)
• one (12 oz.) jar chili sauce (2 jars for 3 pounds of beef or turkey)
• 1/3 cup dark brown sugar about 2/3 - 1 cup for 3 pounds of beef or turkey)
• 1 - 2 tablespoons lemon juice (2 T. for 3 pounds of beef or turkey)
• 2 - 3 oz. tomato paste (the tomato paste cuts the sweetness and makes the sauce rich) (1 small can for 3 lbs. of beef or turkey)

In largish pot, put all above ingredients.  Stir over low flame until everything is dissolved.  Place meatballs in carefully.  Place over lowest flame, cover, and simmer for about 30-40 minutes without touching the meatballs.  When the meatballs are firm enough, stir very gently.  Cover and cook for about another hour, mixing gently every so often. 

You can serve immediately, refrigerate and heat up later, or freeze in freezer containers when it is cool enough. 

Directions for Making the Sauce:

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1. Pour the whole jar of chili sauce into a 4 quart saucepan. Fill the chili sauce jar with water and add the water to the pan.
2. Add the can of cranberry sauce and cook over medium-low heat until the cranberry sauce melts.

Directions for Making the Meatballs:

1. While the sauce is cooking, mix the meat, egg, and onion together.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients (bread crumbs through black pepper) to the meat mixture and combine well.
3. After the cranberry sauce has melted, roll the meat mixture into walnut sized balls and gently drop into the sauce.
4. Cover the pan and cook the meatballs on medium low for one hour.

This recipe makes around twenty-four meatballs. Serve them with plenty of challah to soak up the delicious sauce.

Sources

Read more at Suite101: Sweet and Sour Cranberry Meatballs http://recipes.suite101.com/article.cfm/sweet-and-sour-cranberry-meatballs#ixzz0wvMfRISf

Vanilla Ice Cream and Chocolate Chip Ice Cream - (adapted from, “The Perfect Scoop” by David Lebovitz)

• 1 cup (250 ml) whole milk
• 3/4 cup (150 g) sugar
• 2 cups (500 ml) heavy cream
• pinch of salt
• 1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
• 5 large egg yolks
• a few drops of vanilla extract (I used 1/2 teaspoon and that was perfect)

for the chocolate chip ice cream:

• about 8 oz. bittersweet chocolate ( I used King Arthur bittersweet chips)

Heat the milk, salt, and sugar in a saucepan. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the milk with a paring knife, then add the bean pod to the milk. Cover, remove from heat, and infuse for one hour ( I skipped this 1 hour infusing step, and the ice cream had plenty of vanilla flavor for me).

To make the ice cream, set up an ice bath by placing a 2-quart (2l) bowl in a larger bowl partially filled with ice and water. Set a strainer over the top of the smaller bowl and pour the cream into the bowl.In a separate bowl, stir together the egg yolks. Remove bean pod from milk.  Rewarm the milk then gradually pour some of the milk into the yolks, whisking constantly as you pour. Scrape the warmed yolks and milk back into the saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom with a heat-resistant spatula, until the custard thickens enough to coat the spatula and temperature is about 170 degrees.

Strain the custard into the heavy cream. Stir over the ice until cool, add the vanilla extract, then refrigerate to chill thoroughly, preferably overnight.

Pour half of the custard into your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.  I put the bowl with the other half of custard back in the fridge, covered with plastic, and churned the vanilla  for 1 hour, then spooned it into a freezer proof container, and froze it.

Then I moved on to making my chocolate chip ice cream.  I poured the remaining custard into the ice cream maker and started the machine.  Then I melted about 8 oz. of bittersweet King Arthur chocolate chips on low power in the microwave in a microwave proof bowl.  Then I stuck the bowl in the fridge to cool the chocolate a little.  After about 30 min. of churning, I started drizzling the melted chocolate right in the ice cream maker.  The chocolate froze on contact and didn’t mix in with the vanilla.  That is what I was looking for.  After I used about 1/3 of the chocolate up, I took the ice cream in the churning canister and stuck it in the freezer.  I did this because I noticed that the ice cream was getting a little melty from the chocolate.  After about 15 minutes, I took the canister out, starting churning again, and drizzled about 1/3 more of the melted chocolate right in as it was churning.  Then, I took the canister and put it in the freezer for another 10 or 15 minutes.  Then, I took it out of the freezer, started churning it again, and drizzled the remaining chocolate in as it was churning.  I probably churned for another 15-20 minutes, then transferred the ice cream to a freezer container, and froze it.  For some reason, I ended up with a lot more of the chocolate chip ice cream than the vanilla, even though I had divided the custard in half for each.  I think what happened was that the longer churning process- going in and out of the freezer resulted in creating more volume in the chocolate chip ice cream.  But the end product was beyond amazing!

I got the idea for drizzling the melted chocolate right into the ice cream as it churned from two places.  One was from reading the description of how Baskin Robbins makes their chocolate chip ice cream right on their container.  The other place I got this idea was from a blog called Technicolor Kitchen.

Ingredients: 

2 cups heavy cream
3 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder (I used King Arthur’s Dark Dutch Cocoa)
5 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped (I used King Arthur’s Bittersweet Chocolate Chips- and I did not chop them)
1 cup whole milk
¾ cup granulated sugar
pinch of salt
5 large egg yolks (I used extra large, as that was what I had on hand)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract (I used pure)

Warm 1 cup of the cream with the cocoa powder in a medium saucepan, whisking to thoroughly blend the cocoa. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer at a very low boil for 30 seconds, whisking constantly. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate, stirring until smooth. Then stir in the remaining 1 cup cream. Pour the mixture into a large bowl, scraping the saucepan as thoroughly as possible, and set a mesh strainer on top of the bowl.

In small saucepan, warm the milk, sugar, and salt.  In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolk. Slowly pour the warm milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over the medium heat with a heatproof spatula ( I used a wooden spoon), scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula (170°F on an instant-read thermometer). Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the chocolate mixture until smooth, then stir in the vanilla. Stir until cool over an ice bath.

Cover and chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.  (I followed the directions on my Cuisinart ice cream maker which said to churn for 30 min.) (If the cold mixture is too thick to pour into your machine, whisk it vigorously to thin it out.)  Then spoon into freezer-proof container or containers, and freeze until firm- a few hours.)

for the dough:

•     2 1/2 cups unbleached organic (King Arthur) flour (carried by Stop and Shop and A&P or kingarthurflour.com)
•     2 Tbs. granulated sugar
•     1/2 tsp. kosher salt
•     1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter (3/4 cup), cut into pieces (I take butter right from the freezer)
•     6 oz. cold cream cheese , cut into pieces
•     1/2 cup cold light cream, half and half, or heavy cream

for the filling:

•     about 6 large peaches or nectaries (I did not peel them to save work and to add a bit of the rustic), about 2 lbs.
•     scant 1/4 cup granulated sugar
•     juice of 1/2 lemon, about 1 tablespoon
•     about 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
•     1 tablespoon flour
•     1 tablespoon cornstarch
•     1 large organic egg yolk, beaten with 2 teaspoons light cream (substitute half and half, heavy cream, or whole milk)
•     granulated sugar for sprinkling on top

make the dough:

Put the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor.  Pulse.  Add the butter and cream cheese and pulse till the mixture looks like very coarse meal, 10-15 pulses approximately.  Add the cold cream and pulse, just until the dough starts to come together, about 10 pulses.  Turn dough out onto clean work surface or waxed paper, gather dough together, cut it into 2 pieces, form into 2 disks, and wrap in plastic, refrigerate at least 2 or 3 hours, or overnight as I did.

when ready to bake:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Position oven racks in middle of oven.  Line heavy duty baking sheet with parchment paper.

Make your filling.  Slice peaches into 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick wedges and some smaller pieces with remaining parts of peaches into large mixing bowl.  Add sugar, cinnamon, lemon juice, flour, cornstarch, and salt.  Set aside.

 Take out 1 disk of pastry.  Roll out disk on waxed paper which you dusted with flour till you have about a 12 inch round (doesn’t have to be totally round)  Every once in a while, lift dough up, and sprinkle a little more flour underneath, or sprinkle flour on top as I do, and flip pastry so that the newly floured top is now on the bottom.  When dough is somewhere between 1/4 and 1/8 inch thick, transfer it to parchment lined baking sheet (fold in quarters, transfer, and unfold).  Place about half of your peach mixture on round, leaving about 1 inch on edges that you are not putting the peach mixture on.  Begin draping dough up and over, making pleats, pressing to seal.  Place back in fridge right on baking sheet so dough gets cold again before you bake it- that will keep it flaky.  Take out when cold, in about 15 min., and brush dough with egg wash, sprinkle lightly with sugar.  Then dot the filling with just about 1/2 tables. of butter.   Bake for about 30 min. or a little more till crust is beautifully browned.  If you think crust is browning too quickly, reduce temp to 400 degrees midway.  Let cool on baking sheet, either serve warm or at room temp.

Then take out remaining disk of pastry from fridge.  At this point lower temp. to 400 degrees.  (I felt I would lower temperature, because these smaller turnovers seemed a little more delicate, so I decided they would do better with 400 degrees rather than 425 degrees.) Roll out pastry somewhere between 1/4 in. and 1/8 in. thick, try for a large rectangle, about 12 by 14 in. if you want to make the turnovers, otherwise roll out into another big circle if you wish to make a second crostada, again sprinkling with flour as you go as explained above..  I did the rectangle.  Then with pizza cutter, cut into 4 squares or rectangles, if possible.    Tranfer first square or rectangle to parchment lined baking sheet.  I actually at this point cut my largish peach slices in smaller pieces.  Spoon a few tablespoons of peaches onto half of rectangle, on half of your square- making a triangle, or on middle of round if that’s what the quarter of your dough turned into.  Leave a border of about 1/2 inch in square or rectangle, and about 3/4 inch for round.  Brush border of square and rectangle with egg wash to be a sort of glue.  Then fold over the dough for your turnovers- your square or rectangle, and pleat the dough over the mini crostada.  Brush tops of turnovers all over with some of the remaining egg wash, brush dough of crostada, and sprinkle with sugar.  Bake at 400 degrees for about 20-30 min. till beautifully browned.  Take out and serve either warm or at room temperature.

an eassy variation for the crostadas:

one box of Pepperidge Farm puff pastry- defrost it in fridge, then break sheets into thirds along line that is present, then roll out each third till about 1/8 to 1/4 in. thick, form into squares, rectangles or circles, and fill with above filling, fold over to make either triangles, rectangles, or half moons.  When ready to bake, brush with melted butter and bake on parchment lined cookie sheets at 400 degress until browned. 

for 2 people:

for the caramelized onions:

• 1 14-16 oz. sirloin steak or 2 8 oz. strip steaks
• light olive oil
• kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 1/2 - 2 lbs. thinly sliced onions

for the mustard-mayo spread:

• 3/4 cup Hellman’s mayo
• 2 tablespoons Jewish style mustard, spicy brown mustard, or Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons coarse, grainy mustard
• 2 tablespoons plain nonfat Greek yogurt

for the steak:

• 2 strip steaks, each around 10-12 oz. or one sirloin, or skirt steak

to assemble:

• lettuce, such as green leaf or arugula to top sandwich
• bread for sandwich such as a baguette or 2 good rolls such as ciabiatta rolls

instructions:

Thinly slice 1 1/2-2 lbs. of onions.  Pour about 2 tablespoons of light olive oil in a 10 inch cast iron or other skillet.  Heat under medium high flame, add onions, sprinkle with about 1 teaspoon kosher salt,  about 1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper, and about 1 teaspoon granulated sugar (promotes quicker caramelization).  Let sit for a few minutes until onions are browning, then stir. As onions brown, you will need to stir every couple of minutes. 

While onions are sauteeing, sprinkle 1 14-16 oz. sirloin steak, or 2 8-10 oz. strip steaks or a skirt steak with kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper.  While onions are continuing to  brown, mix in a smallish bowl- 3/4 cup Hellman’s mayo, 2 tablespoons plain non fat Greek yogurt, 2 tablespoons kosher style mustard or spicy brown mustard, 2 tablespoons of coarse grain mustard, and a little kosher salt. Set aside.  When onions are nicely browned, spoon them into a bowl and set aside.  Heat about 1/2 tablespoon of light olive oil in a saute pan till hot, add the steak, let sit on one side till nicely browned over medium high heat for about 3-4 minutes, turn with tongs, and cook on other side, abouta 3-4 minutes or until steak feels firmish to the touch for medium rare, or longer if you like you meat more well done.  Place on cutting board, and put a tent of foil over for about 5 minutes.

Cut sections of the baguette for your sandwiches.  Shmear a light coating of the mustard mayo on both sides of bread.  Slice steak thinly, and place on bread.  Top with some fried onions, and some lettuce. Top with bread and serve.

Note:  Alternately, grill steak outside or on a grill pan inside. 

• 2 medium eggplant or 1 very large (I did not peel, but you may)
• 1 very large zucchini or 2 medium-largish (I used 2)
• 1/3 cup ricotta (I used whole milk, but you can use part skim)
• 1/3 cup light cream or half and half, whatever you may  have around (I used light cream)
• 1 large or extra large egg
• 1/4 tsp. each kosher salt and coarsely ground black pepper
• about 10-11 oz. of  freshly ground in processor parmesan (I used Bel Gioioso), measure 1/3 cup, and reserve the remainder
• about 15 oz. of homemade or jarred marinara sauce- that’s a little more than a half of a 26 oz. jar of sauce (I used Via Roma Marinara from the A&P)
• light olive oil for cooking the eggplant and zucchini 
• crushed red pepper flakes for serving, if desired

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

Make custard.  In medium mixing bowl, mix cream, 1/3 cup parmesan, ricotta, egg, salt, pepper; set aside.

Slice washed eggplant and zucchini about 1/4 inch thick.  Heat a very large frying pan (I have a huge cast iron skillet that I used; otherwise, I would have used a very large nonstick pan.)  After pan is really hot, pour a very small amount of oil in pan, basically just to coat the pan.  Drop eggplant and zucchini slices in, brown quickly and then flip, and brown again.  Place on paper towels to drain.  Repeat with remaining eggplant and zucchini - or alternately, use a grill pan (I have one that fits over 2 burners, it’s really big- it’s a griddle on the reverse side).  Just brush both sides of eggplant and zucchini with light olive oil, and grill till nice grill marks form, then flip, and cook on other side.  There is no need to drain on paper towels, because veggies are not very greasy when grilled.  This method uses much less oil, and it probably produces a healthier dish with many less calories.  I used this method the second time I made the dish and I loved making the veggies this way, and I will do this in the future.  In a large oval baking dish- equivalent to a 9 by 13 in baking dish, put a layer of eggplant and zucchini, filling up as many spaces as possible, but in one layer.  You can cut the slices of zucchini to fill in all the spaces.   Then sprinkle generously with the 1/3 cup of grated parmesan.  Spoon all of the 15 oz. of marinara sauce evenly over veggies.  Then place another layer of the eggplant and zucchini over, using up all.  Sprinkle lightly with a bit of the reserved parmesan.  Spoon all of the custard evenly over, then sprinkle remaining parmesan evenly on top. 

Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 min.  Then change oven setting to low broil.  Place casserole in middle of oven, not too close to heat element.  Watch carefully and take out when top looks browned, but not burned.  Serve.

Note:  Use the smallest amount of oil if you are frying the veggies, because the more oil you use, the more will be absorbed by the vegetables, especially the eggplant.

for the chicken:

• 1 pound of thin sliced chicken cutlets
• about 4-6 tablespoons flour mixed with about 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt and about 1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

for the sauce:

• 1 medium red or yellow onion, or 1 large shallot,  sliced thin (I used yellow onion)
• about 6-8 cloves garlic, crushed, minced, or chopped (I chopped it finely in my new little chopper)
• about 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• about 3/4 cup to 1 cup  of chicken stock or broth to start and more as needed (I used Greenway Organic Chicken Stock - Greenway is an A&P organic brand)
• 2 tablespoons shredded Romano cheese
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• about 3 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
• additional Kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste
• lemon wedges for serving about 3/4 of a lemon for 1 pound of cutlets

Dredge cutlets in flour mixture.  Heat about 3 tablespoons oil (I used light olive oil) in large nonstick saute pan over high flame.  When hot, add cutlets- do not crowd pan ( I did the cutlets in 2 batches).  I sprinkled a little more black pepper on top of each cutlet at that point.  Flip cutlets when lightly browned on bottom, and brown lightly on second side.  Set aside on a plate. If your cutlets are thin, and mine are because I use the Purdue thin sliced cutlets, then you want to do this as quickly as possible so as not to overcook your chicken, because you will be cooking the cutlets in the sauce again in the last step of this recipe.

Wipe out same saute pan with a paper towel if you feel there is too much residue from the flour and oil.  But if you only have just a little of the brown bits, you can leave it.  I did wipe out my pan.   Add about 1 1/2 tablespoons of oil -I used extra virgin for this- or light olive oil to pan.  Over medium flame, saute onion for about 2 minutes till translucent,  add a good sprinkling of red pepper flakes- 1/4 teaspoon or so, then lower the flame to low and add the garlic, and saute for a minute over low flame- be careful not to burn.  Then add the chicken stock, and simmer about 2-3 minutes, just till reduced a bit.  Add the 2 tablespoons of Romano cheese and mix.  Then add 2 tablespoons cold butter cut into cubes.  Mix, then add cutlets back to pan, and heat through about 2-3 minutes.  Add about 1/4 cup more of stock, a little sprinkle of kosher salt, a sprinkle of ground pepper, and  another little sprinkle of red pepper flakes.  Finally add some parsley to the sauce, sprinkle some on top of the cutlets to make them look pretty, and heat for another minute or so.  Place cutlets on serving platter and sprinkle all with the juice of about 3/4 of a lemon.  Serve.

Serves about 4 people:

• 6 ears of fresh corn (I prefer supersweet white)
• about 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter
• kosher salt to taste- about 1 teaspoon

Take husks and silk off cobs.  Then hold cob perpendicular to cutting board, and slice kernals off.  Melt butter in large saute pan over low flame.  Place corn in pan, sprinkle with salt,  and saute over medium flame for about 6-8 minutes until corn is tender.  Serve.  (You can reheat any leftovers in microwave.)

For two people:

• 2 5-6 oz. portions of salmon or one 10-12 oz. piece of salmon (wild is healthier than farmed)
• honey- about 1 tablespoon
• about 1/2-3/4 cup Trader Joe’s Island Soyaki teriyake sauce (has incredible stuff in it like pineapple juice, sesame seeds, ginger, garlic, etc.)

Preheat oven to broiler setting-low.  Then, cover a baking sheet with foil.  Place salmon on sheet (if skin is still on, make sure you put the salmon on the sheet skin side down.)  In a small bowl, put about 6 oz of the teriyaki sauce and about 1 tablespoon of honey, mix till blended.  Spoon some sauce on both sides of salmon, but spoon some extra on the top.  Glaze is thin, so try to make sure some of it pools on top of the salmon.  Place under broiler.  You want the glaze to start bubbling and browning, because that’s what will make it tasty.  If it is getting too brown or burning, change oven setting to bake at 350 degrees.  But you can cook it the entire time on broil if it isn’t burning.  It will take about 10 or so minutes.  But check it after 10 minutes by cutting into a piece.  I don’t like my salmon rare, I like it cooked through, so depending on how you like your salmon cooked, it will either be done or need a few more minutes.  And that’s it.  Oh, I did get my salmon at BJ’s in a bag- it was frozen, individually vacuum sealed packets.  You can defrost them in a bowl of cold water or in the refrigerator.

Note:  You may want to baste the salmon halfway through cooking it, but if you don’t make sure to drizzle the glaze that’s on the foil evenly over each piece of fish.  The glaze is soooo good.

for one quiche:

• 3 extra large eggs or 3 large eggs plus one egg yolk
• 1 1/2 cups of light cream or half and half -  or 3/4 cup heavy cream plus 3/4 cup whole milk
• about 1 pound or a little more fresh asparagus, roasted or 1/2 box of frozen asparagus spears, defrosted
• 1 frozen deep dish pie shell, Oronique is my preference
• 4 - 5 oz.  Swiss or Gruyere cheese ( I like to use lite gruyere or alpine lace, but any swiss is fine)
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cover sheet pan with aluminum foil.  Cut ends off asparagus spears.  Place on pan.  Sprinkle lightly with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.  Drizzle a tablespoon of  light olive oil over, toss asparagus with oil.  Roast for about 20 -25 min. till asparagus is cooked.  Set aside to cool.  Then cut spears into bite sized pieces.  Or defrost 1 16 oz. box of frozen asparagus spears,  pat dry, then cut into bite sized pieces, use about 1/2 of the asparagus or more if you wish for one quiche.

Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.Take a frozen deep dish pie shell in its aluminum pan and place it in a pyrex pie plate to prevent any mess in the oven.   Prick pie crust all over with fork.  Bake for about 10 min.  Then take out of oven.

In medium bowl, whisk or beat with fork, eggs with cream, add salt and pepper.  Spread asparagus (or mushrooms-see instructions below) over bottom of crust, tear cheese into medium to smallish pieces and place over asparagus, pour egg and cream mixture over.   Place on sheet pan in preheated oven, and bake 45-55 minutes until knife inserted in center comes out clean, and quiche is nicely puffed and lightly browned.  Serve.

for mushroom quiche:

Saute 10 oz. of sliced white or baby bella mushrooms with or without 1/2 chopped onion, with kosher salt, papper, optional 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, in 2 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil till caramelized.