Puttanesca Meatball Sliders

My spouse is a big fan of puttanesca sauce because he loves olives and capers. So when I spotted this recipe in the March issue of Sunset magazine I knew I had to make it for him. Anyway, few people can resist a slider.

I actually saw Mario Batali prepare something very similar on the Iron Chef on the Food Network. At the time I thought it was an ingenious idea and filed it away in my tiny brain for later. But, until this issue of Sunset came out, I had forgotten all about it. (Note, I did mention the tiny brain.)

Of course, I didn't follow the recipe word for word. Not just because I am a contrarian but because I didn't have all the ingredients I needed. Let me just say that the recipe didn't suffer terribly from my tinkering. Somethings you have to work very hard to wreck.

So much of this recipe can be done in advance and that is why they would make an excellent finger food for any party. Just reheat the meatballs in the sauce and serve them up on soft rolls. And if you ever had a hard time getting your children to eat and enjoy a meal.........try this!!!

PUTTANESCA MEATBALL SLIDERS

Sauce:

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 tbsp. olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 tsp. each red chile flakes and fennel seeds, crushed (use a mortal and pestle on the seeds)

1 can (28 oz.) whole peeled tomatoes, pureed

1/4 cup chopped pitted kalamata olives

1 Tbsp. roughly chopped capers

1/4 tsp. each kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Meatballs:

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup panko (Japanese Bread Crumbs)

1/2 cup freshly grated pecorino cheese

1 garlic clove, minced

2 Tbsp. chopped flat-leaf parsley

1/2 tsp . each kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/3 lb each humane/organic ground beef and ground pork

1/4 cup vegetable oil

Serving:

16 fresh basil leaves about the size of dinner rolls

16 small (2 inch wide) soft dinner rolls, split and toasted

1/2 cup shaved pecorino

Make sauce. In a pan over medium heat, saute onion in oil until softened, 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in garlic, chile flakes, and fennel; cook until garlic softens, about 1 minute. Stir in remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, until thick, about 15 to 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, make meatballs: In a large bowl, combine egg, milk, and panko and let sit for a few minutes. When crumbs are softened, stir in grated pecorino, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper. Add meats, breaking up with your fingers, and mix well with your hands. With wet hands, roll meat mixture in to 16 balls, each about 1 1/2 in. wide. (I made my meatballs larger so it only made 10 because I wasn't serving them for a party.)

Heat oil in a large, heavy frying pan over medium-high heat. Cook meatballs until well browned all over, turning as needed, 6 to 8 minutes total; reduce heat if needed. With a slotted spoon, transfer meatballs to paper towels.

Gently stir meatballs into sauce, return to a simmer over medium-low heat, and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until sauce is very thick, 10 to 15 minutes.

To serve, put a basil leaf in each roll. Set a meatball and a generous spoonful of sauce on each basil leaf, then add a little pecorino. Close sandwiches with toothpicks if you like. Serve with napkins.

Zinfandel Braised Short Ribs are Worth Waiting For - Slow Cooker Alert

It looks like Redmond is going to be getting a stretch of cool weather this week. Not quite what we've been experiencing so far this year with these wonderful warm days. This recipe is a terrific cold weather dinner and your family will love you.

Despite all of my best intentions of reducing my beef intake I do still enjoy eating it every once in a while. And, as far as I'm concerned, if you're going to fall off the wagon you might as well fall hard. Many people would argue that the best way to do that is a juicy, grass-fed steak but my favorite cut is the more humble short rib.

The short rib is beautifully marbled and when slow cooked is fall off the bone tender. In the 60's and 70's the short ribs were a relatively inexpensive cut of meat, and though increased popularity has driven up prices over the years, they still fall well below the cost of filet mignon. Short ribs are also starting to appear more frequently on restaurant menus.

There are so many great recipes for short ribs it is difficult to choose. Our family recipe had a tomato based sauce with lots of sliced onions, slow cooked and served over mashed russets. Perhaps my all time favorite for sentimental reasons.

But you have to try new things and there was plenty to choose from. I decided on a recipe from John Besh strictly because I've seen the guy on the Food Network, he's from New Orleans, and he seems to understand how to give dishes a lot of depth. The recipe is super-involved and I shortened the whole process considerably. This is my adaption of Chef Besh's recipe.

ZINFANDEL BRAISED SHORT RIBS

2 to 3 pounds beef short ribs, bone-in, about 8

Sea salt, and freshly ground pepper to taste

1 1/2 cups zinfandel

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 T minced garlic

2 sprigs fresh thyme, picked off stem

1 1/2 oz. canola oil

1 cup small diced onion

1/4 cup each small diced celery and small diced carrot

6 ounces canned chopped tomatoes

1 cup good deep beef broth

1 oz mushrooms, preferably porcini

1 bay leaf

Generously season short ribs with salt and pepper. Whisk zinfandel, sugar, garlic, fresh thyme, and a pinch of salt. Place ribs in mixture and marinate for 12 hours. (I marinated for about 2 hours and they were fine.)

Remove ribs from marinade and allow them to rest and come to room temperature. Put canola oil in dutch oven over high heat. Brown ribs in batches until crispy brown on exterior. When done set aside and add diced vegetables into the pan. Stirring constantly cook until onion turns mahogany color, about 10 minutes, scrape up all the good brown bits from the pan.

Reduce heat to medium and add ribs back to pan along with the wine marinade. Let wine come to a boil, skim foam off if necessary, and then reduce heat to low. Add remaining ingredients and allow to simmer uncovered until meat is fork tender and falling off the bone, roughly 5 hours. (I did not have the time for that so I cooked it covered for about 2 1/2 hours.)

Remove ribs from pan, cover and set aside. Continue cooking sauce for another 30 minutes until reduced and coating a spoon. You can strain the sauce but I left it with the cooked down veggies still in it. I also thickened my sauce with a tablespoon of cornstarch. Return ribs to pan and coat with braising liquid. Serve over your favorite starch. Chef Besh prefers polenta but I like a traditional garlic mashed potatoes.

Molten Chocolate Mousse Cups taste like Chocolate Air

I am a true Northwesterner. I love everything about it including the rain, the dripping forests and even the slugs. That is why I can't live without my Sunset magazine.

The quintessential Northwest magazine it has been in continuous publication since its first issue in May of 1898. There are only a handful of magazines that can boast of that kind of success. I believe the reason is that its editorial focus is on an area of the country that is absolutely riveting in its beauty and diversity.

They also have some really good recipes to go along with their pictures of ferns and waterfalls. Their February issue featured one of the most spectacular recipe sections they've ever published in my humble opinion. It was called a Bite Size Chocolate Party and it included a fabulous array of tiny chocolate desserts.

Consider Two-Bite Chocolate Cream Pies or Brownie Ice Cream Mini Sandwiches. And the Sugared Chocolate Beignets are definitely on my bucket list. The one that I did try and am recommending to you is the Molten Chocolate Mousse Cups!!!!

First let me say that they are remarkably easy to make and store in your freezer. Second, unless you're having a party or have an enormous family I recommend cutting this recipe in half. Third, pay attention to the cup size. They say 4 ounces and you should try to stick to that. I had these tiny cappuccino cups that were just too small and they didn't bake up well.

MOLTEN CHOCOLATE MOUSSE CUPS

14 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped

3/4 cup unsalted butter

6 large eggs, seperated

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup sugar

Melt chocolate until almost completed melted and then remove from heat and stir until smooth. Set aside.

With a mixer on medium speed, whisk egg whites and salt in a bowl until foamy. With mixer still on, slowly rain in sugar and whisk until soft peaks form.

Stir yolks into chocolate mixture until completely blended. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in whites. (This takes quite a while to get everything nicely incorporated). Spoon mixture into 12 - 4 oz. ovenproof coffee cups. Cover each cup with plastic wrap and freeze until ready to serve, at least 2 hours and up to 1 week. (I've kept mine longer and they still seem fine). Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Set cakes on a baking pan and bake until puffed, cracked on the edges, and wet looking in the center, about 30 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes before serving. (Mine get slightly more puffed and slightly less wet looking in the center but they are still heavenly).

More Bad Food News - Rotten Tomatoes

Just when I think that I might be going a little overboard worrying about the food we're eating in the United States, something comes up to remind me why I should be paranoid. In another piece of good reporting the New York Times has reported that Kraft, Safeway, Frito-Lay, and B&G foods have been taking bribes from a tomato food processor called SK Foods. According to federal prosecutors the bribes were offered in order to allow SK to sell them tomatoes so full of mold and other defects they would not pass federal tests. Not that we have any kind of inspection system or anything.

This is just another case of the "chickens coming home to roost." For the last decade the party in power didn't believe that business and industry needed to be regulated and so they didn't regulate them. Because as we all know the captains of industry are the most altruistic bunch you are every likely to meet and would no more endanger the American public then drink a martini without an olive, right?

They certainly proved that in the banking industry, unregulated they made a great deal of money for themselves, not so good for the rest of us though. And how can we forget the peanut recall where the product left the farm knowingly contaminated with salmonella and sickened hundreds? Peanuts that were so disgusting that our neighbors Canada refused them entry.

The problem is that inspecting food, airplanes, banks, etc. after the poo has hit the proverbial fan or somebody has died, is like closing the barn door after Elvis has left the building. People enjoy thinking that revelations such as the ammonia in the hamburger of McDonalds & Burger King is an unusual event when in fact basically our entire food industry is self-regulated! It is becoming increasingly evident that unless you know exactly where your food came from it is a total crap shoot.

I visited Krafts website to try and find out exactly how many tomato products they have but was unsuccessful because they have so many brands. But I did find that they consider themselves one of the most trusted names in the food industry. "We've put in place strong food safety and quality systems for our ingredients and our products."

Apparently some of their food brokers didn't get the memo because one of them was recently arrested at a New York airport. Allegedly Robert Watson, a food buyer for Kraft foods, found himself $20,000 short of a fully paid tax bill. So he called his buddy, a tomato broker in California, and asked him for the money. The broker was happy to help out although, being good businessmen, told him it would have to come out of his normal "commissions."

According to the New York Times these tainted shipments involved as many as 55 companies. "In some cases, companies detected problems and sent the product back - but in many cases, according to prosecutors, they did not, and the tainted ingredients wound up in food sold to consumers." That doesn't leave me feeling warm and fuzzy about the food industry.

The good news is we have access to farmers markets. The bad news is that Redmond Saturday market doesn't start until May. In the meantime, buy fresh and local as much as you can. At least you can see if your tomatoes are rotten.

A Valentines Day Breakfast that will melt your loved ones Heart

This Valentines Day lands on a Sunday. A day of sleeping in, reading the paper (if you still get one!), and enjoying a leisurely, late breakfast. The whole day just screams out for a delicious breakfast treat that will make your loved ones feel special.

Recently I wrote about a new cookbook of mine called Wildwood. It is named after a restaurant in Portland, Oregon of the same name. The book focuses on fresh local ingredients from the Pacific Northwest.

This Valentines Day breakfast recipe is inspired by this cookbook. The author and chefs version uses real cream, wine, asiago cheese, wild mushrooms & thyme and is served on a homemade brioche. But it is based on an original version that used a simple bechamel sauce.

I went for simplicity based on what was in my refrigerator at the time. But their is no reason that a cook couldn't modify this recipe using what he or she has in their refrigerator. The whole point is to make it a rich and one-of-a-kind delicious.

Serve with buttered French Bread Toast or English muffins. Mimosas never hurt either~!

CREAMED KING CRAB OMELET

1/2 cup fresh cup cooked crab meat from the leg of a King Crab

1 cup 2% or whole milk

2 T butter

1 T flour

salt & pepper

1/4 cup shredded gruyere cheese (optional)

1/4 tsp dill or thyme (optional)

Melt butter in medium sized sauce pan. Add flour, salt & pepper and mix to create a roux. Slowly add milk at medium heat to roux stirring continuously. As mixture thickens and begins to come to a boil, remove from heat and add cheese. Stir until completely melted and then add crab and herbs. Stir and set aside.

Prepare 4 egg omelet with 1/4 cup milk, salt & pepper. Do not overcook.

Place omelet on platter and pour creamed crab over the top. Serve with toast, mimosas and a valentines day card! Enjoy.

Super Bowl Sunday Chili

There are only 4 more days until Super Bowl Sunday and mouths are already beginning to water. If you live in New Orleans or Indianapolis then you will be excused from thinking of things other than "what the heck are we going to eat?" But for the rest of us it is the most burning question, right in front of "what kind of commercials are they going to have this year?"

If you're lucky then you have probably seen some pretty incredible Super Bowl Sunday spreads before. Whether it be a from-one-end-of-the-table-to-the-other cornucopia of every salty snack ever dreamed of by Frito Lay or a gourmands dream of stuffed lobster tail and caviar, it is always something to look forward to. Both of those options have their guilty appeal but one of them is as easy as opening a bag while the other will keep you busy all day.

Personally, I'd rather watch the game and the commercials then be in the kitchen the whole time. It's not fun slaving over a stove while people are cheering, screaming, etc. in the other room. Unless you are the paid caterer your place is with the rest of the party.

To that end I'll be offering some delicious but simple ways to enjoy Super Bowl Sunday without spending the whole time over a hot stove or opening a bag of chips. This quick, easy and tasty chili recipe will do the trick quite nicely. It has multiple qualities that make it a good choice for a football treat:

• Inexpensive
• Easy
• Can make ahead
• One pot meal preparation
• It is vegetarian but your meat loving friends will never know it.

Super Bowl Sunday Chorizo Chili

1 large yellow onion, finely chopped

1 -15 oz can stewed tomatoes

2-15 oz cans black beans

1-15 oz can corn giblets

1-12 oz Trader Joes Soy Chorizo

2 T Cumin (Taste your chili here because the chorizo is very spicy. You can add or subtract additional spices according to your own tastes.)

1 or 2 Tsp Chili Powder

1 T vegetable oil

Salt to taste

Add vegetable oil to large pan over medium-high heat. Throw in chopped onion and squeeze in chorizo. Break up chorizo while stirring and cook until onion is softened. Add all other ingredients. Stir and cook over low heat for 30 minutes. You can prepare in advance and store in the refrigerator until game time. Heat thoroughly on stove before serving.

Taking it Easy on Super Bowl Sunday

Keeping things simple when you are having guests is what it is all about. Unless you have hidden powers it is terribly difficult to mix with your friends while your head is buried in a bowl of pasta. Not being born an "Incredible" I am not capable of that trick.

I also happen to be a football fan and really would like to watch the Saints vs Colts match-up. As a Seahawk fan this year it will be a relief to watch football players who have some general competency and skill. The Saints/Vikings game was terrific and, even though I'm not a Brett Favre fan, the commentators and cameramen were not able to drive me away.

So given all these facts I have decided to punt in the kitchen this Sunday. I could not resist all the tasty treats at offer at Trader Joes and decided to avail myself of them. I have certainly used them before when having a party so this would not be unheard of.

(A visit to Costco today made me glad I had already completed my SBS shopping. They had so much to offer and taste in the snack food realm that customers were gaining weight in the aisles. I probably wouldn't have been able to resist and bought 10 times as much as I needed. Whooooooo).

My menu this year will consist of some homemade things accompanied by some Trader Joe things; a nice mix. Yesterday I posted my Chorizo Chili recipe and everything else on the menu is pretty self-explanatory. I have not been able to find mini-burger buns anywhere so I just bought hot dog buns and plan on cutting them down to size.

REDMOND FOOD EXAMINER SUPER BOWL MENIU

Chorizo and Black Bean Chili ( vegetarian)

Lamb sliders with Bacon Jam (jam is from www.skilletstreetfood.com & lamb is from Thundering Hooves)

Buffalo Chicken Wings w/Blue Cheese Dressing & Celery

Parmesan Pastry Pups w/sweet hot mustard

Organic Yellow Tortilla Chips w/Mango Salso & Beef, Bean and Cheese Dip

Assorted Beverages (As the Dude would say "Careful man, there's a beverage here!")