Category Archives: Meat

Swedish Meatballs with Cranberry Tangerine sauce

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Swedish is such a beautiful language. Not that I understand a word of it but it just sounds so wonderful. I only know three words in Swedish, Svenska, Köttbullar and Ikea.

The first time I ate Swedish meatballs was actually in New York. It was truely love at first bite.

A friend was having them for lunch and I just couldn’t believe how good they were. I’ve been making them for a long time now and they never bore me. That creamy sauce and the hint of Dill is just perfect. I always make the cranberry sauce with it too since I can’t eat the meatballs without it. Originally it is served with a Lingonberry jam, but we don’t have them here. The cranberry is related to the Lingonberry, known also as the mountain cranberry, so that’s good enough for me.

Either way all berries are very healthy so I’m making cranberry sauce to go with the meatballs.

Serves: 4

Ingredients Meatballs:

1 lb. ground beef
1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 tbsp. Butter
1/2 C. fresh bread crumbs
2 tbsp. milk
1 tbsp. parsley, chopped
1 tbsp. dill, chopped
¼ teaspoon ground Allspice
¼ teaspoon ground Nutmeg
½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
2 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce
1 tsp. Dijon Mustard
fresh ground Pepper
½ teaspoon salt
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp. Olive Oil + 1 tbsp. butter

Sauce:

2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. All Purpose Flour
1 1/2 C. Beef stock, from a cube is fine
1/2 C. full fat Crème fraîche mixed with 1 tsp. corn starch *see note below
1 – 2 tbsp. chopped Dill
salt and pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS:

First start by gently cooking the onion in 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat until translucent, about five minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.

In a bowl soak the bread crumbs in the two tablespoons of milk. Add the ground beef, parsley, dill, allspice, nutmeg, onion, garlic powder, pepper, salt and egg yolk. Mix until combined.

Roll into small meatballs, about the size of a golf ball. In a large skillet heat olive oil and one tablespoon butter. Add the meatballs and cook turning continuously until brown on each side and cooked throughout. Transfer to a plate and cover with foil.

For the sauce add the butter and flour to skillet and whisk until it turns brown. Slowly stir in beef broth, bring to a simmer until sauce starts to thicken. Add the crème fraîche . Bring to a very low simmer and add the meatballs back to the pan and heat thru. Sprinkle over fresh chopped Dill. I like a lot of dill but use as much as you like.

Serve over egg noodles, rice or French fries. Serve with the Cranberry sauce.

*Note: crème fraîche can curdle especially the low fat kind so you need to use full fat, this prevents the proteins from clinging to each other when heated, resulting in a curdled mess. Also the corn starch acts as an extra prevention and keeps everything together.

Cranberry Tangerine Sauce:

1/2 C. fresh tangerine juice
3/4 C. Organic Cane Sugar
1 cinnamon stick
12 ounces whole cranberries

Method:

In a medium saucepan, combine in the juice, the cranberries, sugar, and cinnamon. Bring to a gentle boil, and simmer for about 15 – 20 minutes.

Ladle into glass jars. Keep in the refrigerator. Keeps for a couple of weeks or you could freeze some of it.

Chorizo Burger, Balsamic Onions and melted Manchego.

13 Replies

I can get so excited about hamburgers, you have no idea. I can think about it all day, day dream about it and talk about it. I try not to but I would love to, honestly.

I figured since Autumn is here I would just slip in one last Bbq-ed Burger. The weather has been surprisingly mild here in Holland so far, so I haven’t really made the mind swap to fall foods yet. I don’t really eat as many Burgers in autumn and winter. It just seems more like a summer food to me. So…

I came up with this burger because I am crazy about chorizo. You don’t need a lot of chorizo to get that super delicious smoked paprika flavour . I have used the dried chorizo because it’s the only one we can get here. It worked very well. Especially with the sticky balsamic onions.

Ingredients Chorizo Burger;

1 lb ground beef, organic if you possible
4 oz. dried chorizo, skin removed
1 onion, peeled and cut in four
1 garlic clove, peeled and grated
1/2 tsp. salt
a good grinding of black pepper
1 tps. smoked paprika (spanish preferably)
1 egg yolk *
1/4 C. fresh bread crumbs
1 tbsp. chopped parsley
Extra:
1 small zucchini, sliced
Roast red peppers from a jar
4 thick slices of Manchego
4 Hamburger Buns

* I never use egg white in a burger because it makes it rubbery.

Ingredients Balsamic Onions;

1 tbsp. olive oil
4 large onions, peeled and sliced medium thick
4 tbsp. coconut blossom sugar or brown sugar
3 tbsp. Balsamic vinegar, the darker the better

Method Chorizo Burgers;

Cut the chorizo in small bits, put them in a food processor together with the onion and garlic and blitz a few times until small. Put the beef and the remaining ingredients in a bowl. Add the chorizo and onion mix to the bowl as well. Mix and form into 4 patties.

Put a griddle pan over the heat. Grill the burger for about 4 minutes on each side. Put the manchego cheese on the burger as soon as you flip them over.

Grill the slices of zucchini alongside the burgers.

Method Balsamic Onions;

Heat a small frying pan and add the olive oil. When medium hot add all the onions, cook for 10 minutes of medium low heat. Add the sugar and cook another 5 minutes until dark and sticky. Finally add the balsamic vinegar and cook for an other two to three minutes until slightly reduced.

To assemble the burgers. Toast the buns, on the bottom layer a piece of grilled pepper, then 4 slices of grilled zucchini, then the burger and then top with loads of sticky glazed onions. Serve with fries and sauces of choice. I served my burgers with Aïoli.

Not quite what you were looking for? How about Deluxe Beef burger filled with Onions and Crispy Bacon, topped with Gouda

NOTE: Store leftover egg whites in a container in the freezer for a wonderful Pavlova.

Deluxe Beef burger filled with Onions and Crispy Bacon, topped with Gouda

9 Replies

Serves 4

I have probably mentioned before that I love Hamburgers, all kinds. The thing that bothers me a little bit is that items on your burger tend to slide and move as you bite. Same goes for the Bacon, it’s always gone before the rest of the burger.

So, I came up with the idea of mixing the glazed onion and fried bacon into the burger, and it worked really well…Onion and Bacon with every single bite. Are you as thrilled as I am? It was just what I wanted.

Next time I may make a pocket in the middle of the burger for the cheese, let’s see where this goes…but for now, here’s this Deluxe Burger filled with Onion and Bacon, give it a go at your next Bbq. It’ll be a hit!

Ingredients;

4 Buns, split and toasted. Store bought or home made. See Hamburger Buns
4 thick slices cured Gouda cheese
1 lb. Organic Ground Beef
3 oz. smoked Bacon in slices, chopped
1 medium Onion, peeled and chopped fine
1 Garlic clove, peeled and grated
2 Sage leafs, chopped very fine, or just a pinch dried Sage
1 tsp. Oregano
1 tsp. Prepared Mustard
2 tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce
2 Egg yolks
4 tbsp. dried breadcrumbs
1 tsp. Himalayan Salt
Ground Black Pepper

Method;

Put a frying pan over medium heat and add the bacon bits. Fry until crisp and golden. Remove and place on a piece of kitchen paper to drain and cool.

In the bacon fat fry the onion until golden. Turn off the heat. Let the onions cool.

In a bowl mix all the ingredients including the bacon and onion. Form into 4 patties.

Grill over high heat Flip the Burgers after 3-4 minutes and cover with cheese. Continue to cook until desired doneness.

6-7 minutes medium/rare

8-9 minutes medium/done

9-10 minutes well done

Serve with lettuce, tomato, onion slices, sauces and condiments.

Enjoy!

Myra Xo

Served with quick pan roast potatoes.

Pot Roast

4 Replies

This may come across as a bit of a “winter like” recipe, but I assure you that you can eat this all year round. The weather outside is awful at the moment from where I am writing, 32° F with rain, snow and some hail in between. But like I said, you can eat this all year round. It’s not at all heavy and depending on what you serve it with you can make this either a winter feast served with mashed potatoes, cauliflower, brussels sprout or baked potatoes. Or a Summer dinner, serving it with a cold beet root salad and some crusty french bread. Or some grilled summer vegetables. Maybe even Corn on the cob.

I start off by searing the beef in a pan and then transferring it to the slow cooker. So you don’t have to hang around in the kitchen for long. You can even get everything ready the evening before by searing the beef and putting all the ingredients in the slow cooker. Leave overnight in the refrigerator and then before you go to work the next morning, put it in the slow cooker, set it on LOW and when you come home in the evening dinner will be ready. When you leave it to cook all day make sure you add enough liquid so it doesn’t dry out.

Ingredients;

2 tbsp. Olive oil

2 lbs. Beef chuck, cut into two thick slices

4 medium carrot, peel and cut into fairly large chunks

2 cellery sticks, washed and cut into thick slices

2 to 3 medium onions, peeled and quartered

2 cloves of garlic, unpeeled and bash with the side of your knife

4 or 5 sprigs of fresh thyme (2 tsp. dry)

2 sprigs of rosemary (1 tsp. dry)

2 tbsp. tomato puree

1 1/2 tbsp Apple butter or coconut sugar

1 glass of dry white wine

1 C. beef stock

3 Bay leaves

1/2 a cinnamon stick

a good grating of nutmeg or 1/2 tsp. powder

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/.2 tsp. All spice

Season the beef liberally with salt and freshly ground pepper. Then heat a pan on high, add the olive oil and brown the meat on both sides until it is dark brown and has a good caramelized color. This is very important for the flavor. Transfer to the slow cooker. Turn the heat of your frying pan to medium and add all the vegetables and the garlic cloves. Cook for about three minutes until they just begin to color and add to the beef.

Now put the tomato puree and the spices in the frying pan and the apple butter or coconut sugar and slowly add the white wine. Swirl around and pour over the beef.

Add the bay leafs, thyme and rosemary to the beef and pour in the beef stock to just cover the meat.

Cook on high for about 5 hours, or on low for about 7 or 8 hours. Check the liquid towards the end and add some beef stock if necessary.

Serve with mashed potatoes, rice or noodles, and a salad or vegetables.

Enjoy!