Meatball "uglies" with creamed corn

Two dilemmas presented themselves to me yesterday. First, my dear friend and fellow blogger (and a favorite to many of you), Jenn, “Tagged me” with a challenge to answer 8 questions of her invention. I did so and, according to the “Tag” rules, made up my own 8 questions. However, I’ve been torn about publicly challenging my followers to answer them and continue the chain. I’m pretty sure Jenn will not be miffed by the fact that I am going to present the challenge in a different. If you choose to, upon reading this posting, I will be amused if you pick 1, 2 or all of the questions and answer them via a comment. Then it’s up to you whether or not you want to write up questions and “Tag” others. Fortunately there were no dire predictions for breaking the chain such as “Your hair will fall out!”; or “You’ll become impotent!” So, be my guest and follow your muse. The “Tag” game follows my recipes.

The second dilemma had to do with what to make for dinner. We discussed making burgers out of some pretty good-looking chuck steak I got on special. But as I kept thinking about that I began drifting toward a “conceptual” meal that was part nostalgia and part “nouvelle” nonsense. That’s what I went with. The creamed corn is pretty traditional, except perhaps for the inclusion of sour cream (just because there was a bit left over in the fridge). The beef part harks back to spaghetti and meatballs, but not quite. The sauce became merely incidental to the final product, more a decoration than a prominent theme. Also, it wasn’t to be served with pasta. And the leftovers become sort of sloppy Joe’s tomorrow. Here goes:

Ugly meatballs and creamed corn
The Meatballs:
1 lb. beef chuck
1 ½ tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil
½ medium onion, sliced into half moons
salt and pepper to taste
oregano to taste
4 oz. tomato sauce
2 heaping tbsp tomato paste
8 oz. chicken broth

The Creamed Corn:
4 ears fresh sweet corn, steamed and kernels stripped from the cobs
2 tbsp unsalted butter
salt and pepper to taste
2 heaping tbsp sour cream
½ cup heavy cream, more or less
½ tsp smoked paprika

Meatball “uglies”:
Use ground meat if that’s what you have. I had whole steaks which I ground with my handy-dandy attachment for my stand mixer. I double ground it, fat and all (although I would have trimmed out and gristly bits had there been any).

Scoop up about 2 golf balls worth of meat in your hand and squeeze it into a sausage-like shape, the more irregular the better. Set these aside.

Using a large sauté pan, heat the oil until shimmering. Sprinkle a bit of salt, pepper and oregano onto the surface of the oil. Add the meat “uglies”, scatter the onions around them, and leave alone for 2 minutes. During this time, sprinkle another pinch each of salt, pepper and oregano on top. Turn the meat and leave alone for 2 more minutes. Turn one more time to get browning on most of the surfaces. Don’t worry about being to anal with this, it’s going to cook for a while. Stir in and around the onions a bit too.

Add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, and broth and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered until the liquid has reduced and thickened to whatever consistency you are happy with. This will take about 30-40 minutes (I didn’t watch the clock too closely).

In the meantime, Creamed Corn:
Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the corn. Saute, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes. Add all remaining ingredients, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring from time to time. You’re done.

Now for the fun: Jenn’s questions, my answers, my questions, and (hopefully) some of your answers.

1. If you could be someone/anyone for 1 day, who would it be and why?

President Obama. I’d stay up for 24 hours straight and do stuff like issue an executive order ceasing “don’t ask, don’t tell” in it’s tracks.

2. Who or what inspires you the most?
Total strangers I see in the news who have done something so generous and/or selfless as to bring me to tears.

3. If you had only one word to describe yourself, what would it be?

Taurus (‘nuff said).

4. What is your favorite dessert?

The Gobi … or maybe the Sahara. Oh, not “desert,” dessert. “Never mind”, (in the voice of Emily Litella of SNL). Actually it would be a plate of exotic cheeses.

5. What is the first thing you notice about people when you meet them?

Their eyes.

6. What is your favorite season and why?

Oct. through Dec. because of Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and then New Year’s Eve when Peter and I have lobster for dinner.

7. If you knew today was your last day on Earth, how would you spend it?

Naked.

8. How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Pop?
According to Scooper (my dog) it’s 212. I’ve never lick ‘em, I gnaw on ‘em.

Have some fun with this:
1. What is the bravest (or stupidest) thing you have ever done?

2. What is the funniest joke you ever heard?

3. What is one thing about yourself that you wish everyone in the world would accept and embrace?

4. What is the most exotic location you’ve ever visited?

5. What is something you ate for the first time, thinking you would hate, but actually loved?

6. Who are your most favorite and least favorite TV chefs?

7. What is your favorite alcoholic beverage? (Don’t drink? Then a soft beverage.)

8. If there are no dogs in heaven, would you still want to go there?

Giant meatballs with spaghetti and a pattypan galette

Even the best recipes can always be improved. On Jan. 19 of this year I posted a recipe for giant meatballs. They were made from Jimmy Dean sausage, which I happened to have had in the freezer, having bought it at a considerable saving.

When I came home from Safeway last week with some pork loin chops I knew from the get-go I was going to have another round of giant meatballs. In the days before I acquired a digital camera, I had to beg, borrow and steal pix to use with my postings. The original one for these meatballs is kind of amusing: it's a collage - a little goofy, but effective enough.

Above you see a photo of the latest meatballs. Why do I make them so big? It just amuses me and, from a presentation standpoint, it's impressive, no?

Spaghetti with giant meatballs and pattypan galette (4 servings)

1 lb. pork loin chops

3 oz. crusty bread, cut to 1/3" dice

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 eggs, yolks and whites separaed

3 scallions, white and green parts chopped fine

2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed

1 tbsp fresh oregano, chopped

1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves

1/4 bread crumbs

1 tbsp flour

salt and pepper to taste

8-10 oz. whole wheat spaghetti or other pasta

2 cups chopped cabbage

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp butter

1 tsp fennel seed, smashed with a mortar and pestle

2 pattypan squashes (palm sized), sliced into rings 1/8" thick (use a mandoline)

parmesan cheese

chopped fresh parsley (optional)

If the loin chops are on the bone, cut out same. Leave as much or as little fat as you wish. Cut into 1" pieces and chop in food processor as you would for any ground meat.

Make a brandade by combining the bread and cream in a bowl and mashing up a bit to that the cream is absorbed.

Place the ground pork in a large bowl and add: brandade, scallions, garlic, egg yolks, thyme, oregano, breadcrumbs, flour, salt and pepper. Mix together thoroughly (using your hands is best but best). Form a 1" ball with a bit of the mixture and microwave it for 30-40 seconds. Taste for seasonings and adjust as desired.

Form the pork mixture into 4 meatballs. Refrigerate them for at least an hour to firm them (they may be quite "wet," at least mine were).

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place the meatballs on a "Pammed" cooking sheet and bake for 30 minutes. Allow to rest 5 minutes before serving.

Cook spaghetti according to package directions until just al dente (it's going to cook a bit more with the cabbage). While the pasta cooks, heat 1 tbsp each of oil and butter in a saute pan. Add the cabbage, fennel seed, and salt and pepper to taste. Saute until softened and lightly browned, 5-6 minutes.

Using a spider, transfer the pasta to the cabbage pan and toss to combine. Serve in heated bowls with grated parmesan and chopped parsley as garnish.

Pattypan galette

This was a fun way to prepare the squash.

Brush both sides of the squash slices with lightly beaten egg white. Arrange slices in a circle on a greased plate the diameter of the base of a large saute pan (make sure you use one with sloping sides), overlapping as necessary. Set aside to allow the egg white to dry somewhat. This while form a kind of "glue" to hold the galette together when it cooks.

Heat 1 tbsp each butter and olive oil over medium high heat until the butter is melted and just starting to brown. Slide the galette into the pan, cover the squash with a piece of foil and place a weight on it (an empty teakettle can be perfect for this). Cook until the bottom is well-browned (4-6 minutes). Slide the galette out onto a plate; invert a second plate over it; flip it over and slide it back into the pan. Again weight and cook another 4-5 minutes until the second side is browned. Slide out onto a cutting board and divide into 1/4's to serve. Garnish with parmesan and chopped parsley as desired.