Lamb Meatballs

I may be able to pop all of those into my mouth at once

We have more lamb than we can shake a tail feather at this time of year. These make a wonderful appetizer, or dinner. Thank you Kroger for once again over ordering fancy meat.

Lamb Meatballs

• 1 lb ground lamb
• 1 tbsp coriander seeds
• 1 tbsp whole cumin
• 3 star anise
• 2 tsp cracked pepper
• 2 pinches sea salt
• 1 egg
• bread crumbs (about a cup)
• 1/3 cup red wine
• 2 tbsp fresh oregano

Mix all ingredients together. Add enough bread crumbs to form meat into a rough mass. Pack into gumball sized meatballs and place on a baking sheet lined with foil. Bake at 350 degrees until done, about 35 minutes.

Mixed-Berry Edible Booze

Fruit suspended

By Katherine

It is perhaps no surprise that our liquor cabinet runneth over and from time to time we use this as an excuse to create boozy concoctions one needs flatware to ingest. For those who balk at using Lillet and Chambord, well it’s our recipe and our blog, which by the way has spirits in the title. Sorry, that was the booze talking.

If you must, use prosecco for the Lillet and swap out a tablespoon of lemon juice and tablespoon of sugar. We understand Roger may be our only reader with a bottle of Lillet on hand. The recipe we based this on kills the entire bottle of prosecco, which you can still do if you make it our way. Just drink it with your dessert. Hmm, perhaps we should have posted this on a Wednesday.

Mixed-Berry Gelee

(adapted from Bon Appetit, July 2011)

• 2 cups fresh strawberries, blueberries or your favorite combo
• 1/2 cup, plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons Chambord
• 1 1/2 cups Prosecco
• 1 1/2 cups Lillet
• 3 1/2 tsp unflavored gelatin (measured from two 1/4-ounce envelopes)

Place berries, two tablespoons sugar, and two tablespoons Chambord in a medium bowl; toss gently to combine. Let stand at room temperature until raspberries release their juices, tossing occasionally, 20-30 minutes. Place 1/2 cup Prosecco in a small bowl. Sprinkle gelatin over and let stand 5 minutes to soften. Bring one cup Prosecco to a boil with remaining 1/2 cup sugar, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat; add gelatin mixture and stir until dissolved. Transfer gelatin mixture to a large pitcher. Add berries with juices and Lillet. Using a slotted spoon, divide berries equally among small glasses or cups. Divide booze mix equally among glasses, about 3/4 cup per glass. Chill gelee until firm, about three hours.

Basil Beans

Spoon up some veggies for me ma

By Katherine

One of my favorite side dishes growing up was simple and far from gourmet. My mom called them basil beans. Basically, she’d take some onion, saute it in margarine add some canned green beans, dried basil, salt and pepper. I could eat the whole thing, but with five sisters usually had some competition.

One of the things Greg and I haven’t been able to embrace about Southern cuisine is the way green beans, squash and other vegetables are often cooked — or overcooked. My father, a native of Georgia, once teased Greg for leaving some crunch in the zucchini he served. This was after he watched Greg making braciole, stared down at the pot and said “I thought we were having meatballs.” Greg’s smart, he’d already made meatballs too.

The next time dad was down I asked if he wanted to cook the squash, which he did, and did, and did some more. Lots of butter, no crunch. Just perfect for him. I took a pass, I’d already given up and eaten by then.

A few years later, I was flipping through a circa 1960s cookbook of mom’s. The cover is long gone, but there among the recipes for tomato aspic, Texas hash and Peach Melba was mom’s recipe for basil beans.

Here’s mine:

Green Beans with Basil

• 1 lb fresh green beans, snapped in half and ends trimmed
• 1/2 medium onion, diced
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp pesto
• 2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
• salt/pepper to taste

Steam beans to desired crispness and set aside. Heat oil in a large skillet and saute onion until tender. Stir in pesto and beans, tossing to coat. Remove from heat and stir in fresh basil and season with salt and pepper.

An Ode to the Burger

With Memorial Day fast approaching we posit the question: Is there anything more American than the burger?

Actually, I’m Australian.

I’m All-American though

We really don’t want an answer, mind you. We used posit in that first sentence, so we automatically win. But you can have the consolation prize: Some burger ideas for Monday.

Bison Burgers on Texas Toast

Holy bison batman these are tasty

Portabello Burgers

oh cheesy

Burgers with sun-dried tomato paste, goat cheese and herbs

It needs some fries

Venison Burgers with Roasted Red Bell Pepper

Yes that is an extra large kosher dill there

Baked Eggs in Tomatoes

Pancetta helps a lot too

We’re already seeing tomatoes at our local farmers markets. Like any other early-season produce, they leave a bit to be desired. We find roasting, or marinating, tomatoes will help perk up the flavor.

Baked Eggs in Tomatoes

• Tomatoes, tops sliced off and seed and membranes scooped out
• pancetta, cooked
• eggs
• oregano
• salt/pepper to taste

Place one slice of cooked pancetta in each tomato. Place tomatoes, including the tops in a greased ovenproof pan. Crack an egg in each tomato. Season with salt and pepper to taste and top with about a teaspoon of chopped oregano per tomato. Cook at 350 until the eggs are set, about 20-30 minutes.

Blood Orange Martini

Drinks should be prepared for rain

Like a cosmo, but better and you won’t have to think of a particular actress who happens to resemble a horse from the neck up.

Blood Orange Martini

• 1/2 ounce triple sec
• 1 ounce vodka
• 2 ounces blood orange liqueur
• blood orange or orange slice

Place all liquors in a shaker filled with ice. Shake. Pour into a martini glass. Cut orange slice in half. Squeeze half into the glass and give a little stir. Garnish with the other half.

Katherine’s Mustard Potato Salad

By Katherine

I love mayo on the other hand. Of course mustard is awesome as well

I go to great lengths to avoid mayonnaise. It is a vile creation that resembles many things that should not be discussed on food blogs. There should be a 10,000 percent tax on mayo so I no longer have to see it on store shelves. Of course then it’d be a sought-after commodity and people would trade cigarettes, first-born children and Garbage Pail Kids for it, not necessarily in that order.

Anyway, I don’t really believe in condiment taxes, except maybe on ketchup, which also falls into my gross category unless it’s an ingredient in barbecue sauce. Mustard should be free. It should be given to the masses in all its golden goodness so that every potato salad across the land can be made correctly and I will no longer have to push mayo-coated potato slices around my otherwise empty plate reminiscing on what might have been.

Mustard Potato Salad

• 2 pounds potatoes, peeled, cubed, cooked
• 3 hard-boiled eggs, yolks and whites separated
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 1-2 tbsp horseradish
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp sriracha
• 1-2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• salt/pepper to taste

Chop egg whites and set aside. Whisk oil and egg yolks. Stir in buttermilk, mustard, sriracha and horseradish. Taste and season as needed, adding salt, pepper and more horseradish if needed. Toss with potatoes in a large bowl. Stir in egg white, parsley and hot pepper flakes. Season with additional salt and pepper if needed.

Here are some other ways to hold the mayo:

German Potato Salad

Fresh rosemary works if there is no parsley in the house

Potato and Anchovy Salad

Option number two

Deconstructed Potato Salad

So trendy I have to take off my tasseled jean jacket