You are what you eat

Meatballs a la Julia Child, plus how to use leftovers

I make these for parties, doubling or tripling the recipe depending on the size of the gathering. I've made just a couple of changes in the original recipe, which comes from Julia Child & Company.

The meatballs are so flavorful, and the sauce is a little different from the usual gravy-like sauce one often sees.

Recently, for a party, I made more of these than was necessary, so a recipe using the leftover meatballs follows.

Meatballs a la Julia Child

1/4 lb. mild Italian sausage
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 egg
2/3 C. fresh nonsweet white bread crumbs
5 T. dry vermouth
2 cloves garlic, very finely minced
8 or more drops of Tabasco
2 tsp. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. oregano or thyme
1/2 to 3/4 tsp. salt
freshly ground black pepper
flour

2 T. Dijon mustard
1/2 cup dry vermouth
1 C. beef stock
1 tsp. soy sauce
salt, pepper, and oregano or thyme
2 T. tomato paste

Preheat the over to 450 degrees. Soak the bread crumbs in the 5 T. of vermouth. Beat meat, egg, crumbs, and seasonings together. I use a food processor for this to get a very smooth texture. Roll the mixture into small balls about an inch in diameter, then roll each in flour and arrange in a single layer in a baking dish. Bake for about 15 minutes, possibly more, turning the meatballs once or twice, just till they're nicely browned and just stiffened. Drain, if necessary, in a sieve or colander. 

Mix the mustard with the vermouth, beating them together well. Mix with the rest of the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil down the sauce until lightly thickened (it won't thicken very much, but it will thicken some). Add the meatballs to the sauce.

You can make these ahead and refrigerate them. Just reheat before serving, then place in a crockpot.

Meatball stew  

This isn't so much a recipe as general directions. The amount of each ingredient depends on how many meatballs you have left over as well as your personal preferences.

Saute chopped onion in a soup pot. After a few minutes, add sliced celery and carrot in thick half-slices or large dice. (Mushrooms would have been an excellent addition, but I didn't have any.) Pour in some beef stock; I used a couple of cups, plus some water. At this point I added hulled barley, which takes a lot longer to cook than does pearl barley. I let this stock simmer for a while, until the veggies were tender and the barley nearly so.

Add the meatballs and their sauce. I found that the tomato paste in the sauce made it unnecessary to add tomatoes to the stew, but go with what you like. If you need more liquid, add some stock. Add some herbs of your choice; I used basil and oregano. You'll need to adjust the salt and pepper. Simmer until the meatballs are heated through and the liquid thickens a bit. If the liquid doesn't thicken to your liking after a good simmer, use a cornstarch-and-water mixture to thicken it.

Serve the stew over noodles.

Chicken and pasta salad, Southwestern style

This is more of a guideline than a recipe, since I threw this together on the spur of the moment. It came about when my spouse bought cilantro instead of flat-leaf parsley by mistake (why oh why is the cilantro always right next to the parsley? I've done this myself!). I had made a very large chicken the day before, so I had lots of left-over chicken to use up, too.

We love cilantro, but many people don't. If you're in the latter group, omit cilantro and use parsley, if you want, for color and added flavor. I read recently that whether or not you like the taste of cilantro depends on genetics. For some people, cilantro has a soapy taste, while those of us who love it find it citrusy and fresh-tasting.

We prefer Barilla Plus pasta, as it has a lower glycemic index and added protein from bean flours.

This salad would also be good with diced Monetery jack cheese added--I didn't have any on hand when I made this.

Chicken and pasta salad, Southwestern style

8 oz. rotini pasta
1 1/2 to 2 cups cut-up cooked chicken
1 cup or more cooked or canned black beans, rinsed and drained well
1/2 large green bell pepper, diced
diced fresh tomato to taste
1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro, or to taste (we like lots)
1/3 cup finely chopped red onion, or to taste
red pepper flakes (opt.)
juice of one large, juicy lime
1/2 cup or more olive oil, or to taste
minced garlic to taste (I used about a teaspoon)
1/2 tsp. ground cumin, or to taste (I like more)
1/4 tsp. crushed dried Mexican oregano
salt to taste

Cook the rotini according to package directions. Rinse under cold running water and drain well. Toss with the chicken, beans, bell pepper, tomato, cilantro, onion, and red pepper flakes, if you're using them.

Combine lime juice with olive oil to taste. I probably started with less than half a cup of oil and just added until the balance seemed right. Add garlic, cumin, oregano, and salt. Whisk until thoroughly emulsified. Toss with the pasta, but don't add all the dressing at once--you may not need it all. If you don't, save the remainder, as pasta can really soak up dressing and you might need to add some before serving.

Quick vegetarian meals, part one

This post is in response to a friend who asked for some fifteen-minute vegetarian recipes. I laughed and said, "Well, maybe 30-minute recipes ..." and she replied that even that would be helpful.

I was a vegetarian for nine or ten years, and believe me, it was no hardship (except, as my friend pointed out, in restaurants, which can be a problem in that you always end up having a pasta dish or the meatless pizza or some such). At the time I didn't object to soy-based meat substitutes, but today I'd balk at that, so I'm not going to include these in my menus or recipes.

Most vegetarians depend on legumes for much of their protein. I love beans, lentils, and split peas, and I relied on them for many of our meal plans. During my vegetarian years, I didn't have a pressure cooker, which was foolish of me. A pressure cooker makes fast work of dried beans, even if they're unsoaked.

But let's start at the beginning. (I want to state right here that my friend probably knows all this, and I'm just throwing it out there for anyone who hasn't stopped to consider these points.) I'm a believer in meal planning, and I plan meals covering one to two weeks. This simplifies grocery shopping, I never have to wonder "what's for dinner," and I don't rely on those nasty processed foods. I have all the ingredients I need to make dinner on a given night. It also ensures variety and gives me the advantage of being organized, so that I know I have to soak beans on Tuesday night for Wednesday's dinner. I'm not rigid about this stuff, but having a general plan works great for me.

So, the first thing to do is to plan your meals around your schedule. A busy day followed by an evening of work or social obligations is not the time for an elaborate dinner. Save that for weekends or whenever you have the luxury of time.

Second, I can't emphasize enough how much a pressure cooker can help. I can whip up split-pea soup in under half an hour, including chopping the veggies. In the smaller of my two pressure cookers, I make risottos whose taste cannot be differentiated from the time-consuming stove-top, constant-stirring-required version. Dried beans are cooked through very quickly compared to the hours of simmering they otherwise require, and they're far superior to canned beans (cooked dried garbanzo beans, in fact, seem like an entirely different vegetable from the canned variety). Vegetable broth is done in a matter of minutes.

The slow cooker (crock-pot) is also extremely valuable, especially for the working person. I had forgotten this handy tool until one summer when I had so much to do out in the garden that I never felt like cooking at the end of the day. Putting dinner in the slow cooker before noon meant that we were guaranteed a decent meal after the busiest (and grimiest!) of days. And it doesn't heat up the kitchen much, either. Among other conveniences, the crock-pot cooks previously soaked dried beans overnight so that they're ready for the next day's meal.

Next, let's consider the meal itself. Your meal should include protein, so if you're having, say, spaghetti with marinara sauce, it's a good idea not only to sprinkle your pasta with parmesan, but also to have a side salad that incorporates feta and chickpeas, or whatever cheese and bean varieties you like. To simplify putting a balanced meal together, it's helpful to have the following on hand:

• Washed salad greens. Either buy pre-washed salad greens, or wash the greens, spin them dry in a salad spinner, lay them on paper towels, roll them up in the toweling, and put them in a plastic bag. Don't add juicy veggies like tomatoes and cucumbers until you put the actual salad together, as they will cause wilting and sogginess.
• Cooked dried beans, or canned beans. These can be added to salads and pasta (and pasta salads!) and soups and casseroles ... you get the idea. Having a bean salad in the fridge is even better; use two or three kinds of beans for variety, throw in some scallions, tomato, bell pepper, sliced black olives, celery, or whatever, and toss with a vinaigrette, and you've got lunch or a dish to round out a dinner. Add cooked pasta for a great main dish salad.
• Hummus, if you like it. Spread it on a pita, topped with some fresh veggies and/or sprouts and some good yogurt, and you've got an instant lunch.
• Cheeses that you like. These can be shredded into salads, rice, pita sandwiches, quesadillas (I'll get to that), refried beans, vegetarian chili, etc. to complete the protein in a meal.
• Hard-cooked eggs. These add protein to a tossed salad, fit well in many pasta salads, and are good to eat out of hand or as deviled eggs. I love egg salad, which can be used to stuff a tomato as well as serving as a sandwich filling.
• Tofu, if you like it. I don't, but I wish I did. It can be used in all manner of dishes, including salads, soups, stir-fries, breakfast eggs or shakes, etc.
• Better Than Bouillon, vegetarian or mushroom type. This is somewhat expensive, but even a little really strengthens the taste of soups and stews. You can also make a good mushroom gravy using fresh mushrooms and the Bouillon.

Of course, I never had all these things on hand at all times, but having some of them, at least, does make things easier when time is at a premium.

Other things to consider:

• When you cook dried beans, cook more than you'll need, and freeze the rest in some of the cooking liquid for another recipe down the line. Toss cooked beans into salads, rice dishes, pasta, soup, etc. for a protein boost.

• Cook more rice than you need for a recipe, and plan to use it as fried rice in the next day or two (more on this to come).

• Freeze leftover soup, or dishes like lasagna or eggplant parmesan, in amounts suitable for lunch or for another dinner. The freezer is your friend!

• Make veggie stock when you have time and freeze it in amounts you're likely to use for your favorite recipes.

• Think about how to use one recipe two ways. For example, leftover vegetarian chili is great as a burrito filling (just simmer the excess liquid away) or even an omelet filling.

Neither of the above lists exhausts the possibilities, of course, but it should give you some ideas about planning, using ingredients efficiently, and so on.

Next up, I'll post some ideas and recipes for quick meals.

Roast leg of lamb with herbal mustard coating (plus what to do with leftovers)

Jim and my son-in-law, Seth, share a birthday, and usually on a weekend near the date, we have a celebratory dinner. After James and I found a boneless leg of lamb at Costco, the dinner menu started to take shape.

We ended up with ginger-butternut soup, leg of lamb with mustard coating, potatoes Anna, and a mixed-greens salad tossed with fresh oranges and walnuts, dressed with a citrus-walnut vinaigrette. For dessert, Guinness cake and vanilla ice cream.

I'd never roasted a leg of lamb, so I consulted a couple of cookbooks. Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking included a recipe for the herbed mustard coating. The roast came out moist and delicious. You'll want to coat the lamb a few hours ahead of time so that it picks up more flavor.

Gigot a la Moutarde

1/2 cup Dijon-style prepared mustard
2 T. soy sauce
1 clove finely minced garlic
1 tsp. ground dried rosemary
1/4 tsp. powdered ginger
2 T. olive oil

Whisk all the ingredients together until it becomes mayonnaise-esque. Spread the mixture over the lamb and refrigerate until you're ready to roast it. Our roast was in a mesh bag (to keep it together sans bones), but we just spread the coating right over the string.

Roast the lamb in a 325-degree oven, allowing the internal temperature to rise to about 160 degrees for medium doneness. That should take 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours, but check the temp with an instant-read thermometer at 2 1/2 hours. You'll want a bit of pinkness remaining in the center for the best taste and tenderness. If you like your lamb rare, figure on a couple of hours or so, and roast until the center temperature is 140 degrees.

Be sure to deglaze the pan with a little beef broth, hot water, or wine; defat and strain it, and spoon over sliced lamb. Save and refrigerate any juices that you don't actually eat; they'll come in handy with leftover lamb.

We had lots of leftovers, so the next day we made a version of gyros. The real thing is made from uncooked ground lamb combined with herbs and spices and baked meatloaf-style or, more authentically, roasted on a spit. We simply used thinly sliced lamb (Jim sliced it with an electric knife to get the thinnest possible slices), re-heated it gently, and stuffed slices into pita halves, topping the lamb with tzatziki sauce, feta cheese, chopped onion, and chopped tomato.

Tzatziki sauce

8 ounces plain yogurt (we like Stoneyfield Farm whole-milk yogurt)
1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped
Pinch kosher salt
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 1/2 tsp. olive oil
1 teaspoons red wine vinegar
3 or 4 mint leaves, finely minced

Simply mix all the ingredients together and spoon generously over lamb-stuffed pita. Top with crumbled feta, chopped onion, and chopped tomato.

We still had leftover lamb, so I made shepherd's pie. And that finished it off! I simply ground up the cooked lamb in the food processor and didn't really measure the amount, but it was probably around 3 cups or so. (You can, of course, make shepherd's pie using beef.) I like to mash my potatoes with plenty of butter. In a pinch, I've been known to use Potato Buds, but don't tell anybody!

Shepherd's pie

cooked lamb
1 large clove garlic
1 onion
1 tsp. dried rosemary, crumbled
4 T. butter
2 T. flour
3/4 cup lamb juices and/or beef broth
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
4 potatoes, cooked and mashed

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Place roughly chopped cooked lamb, garlic, onion, and rosemary in food processor and chop till fairly fine. Melt the butter in a skillet; add flour and cook until smooth and blended. Add juices and/or broth; stir and cook until thickened, at least five minutes. Add the lamb mixture and salt and pepper to taste. Blend well and place in a 1 1/2 quart casserole. Spread the mashed potatoes on top, making sure they're spread to the rim of the casserole. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the meat is bubbling hot and the potatoes are somewhat browned.