February Dinner Party

Hi friends! As I continue my goal of one dinner party a month, during 2012, I give you my version of Oktoberfest!

My menu was going to be a quintessential take on my grandmother's menu. To start, I'd make my grandmother's potato dumplings. They are crazy good, but really hideous! They are also a cheap way to use up stale bread and to stretch a few potatoes. I'd make sauerkraut, but my take on it! And then there would be an amazing pork roast.

The February dinner party was mid-week. I had to apologize to my guests. Since I was coming straight home from work, I didn't have time to have the table pre-set and covered with linens and candles and all fancy pants. You know what? That's not important! If you have great company and good food, that's all you need. Cheers!

The Dumplings!
The potato dumplings are store bought sandwich bread, broken into little pieces and mixed with salt & pepper and pureed, raw potatoes. (pureed with water). Squish it all together and make smallish, baseball sized balls. Boil and serve, with gravy! The above photo are the uncooked, formed dumplings.

These are the cooked dumplings. I think they take about 14 minutes to cook. In a big pot of boiling water, add them, give them a gentle stir, so they don't stick to the bottom of the pot. And let them cook until they float to the top of the water. Give them a few more minutes to cook all the way through. The first time you make them, test one by cutting in half and making sure it's cooked through & hot all the way. Serve these babies piping hot.

Sidenote about the dumplings. When I was a kid, we'd reheat them either cut in half/chunks and covered in gravy. Or, if mom was being awesome, she'd slice them and fry them in butter. The outsides would get a little crispy and the inside would stay soft and hot. Still, best served with gravy.

The Roast!
The roast is this. A big fatty piece of pork. Season with salt, pepper and a mild spice blend. Sear it in hot oil, then braise it until it goes to heaven. Braising liquid includes white wine, cider and broth. Include some fresh thyme, bay leaf and chunks of onion and carrots. I let this roast go for several hours. The bone slipped out and the rest of the roast pulled apart with the back of a spoon! Pull into large chunks and remove excess fat. Save the braising liquid. Drain excess fat and use it to make a gravy. I cooked the roast a few days in advance, it hangs out in the fridge very nicely. Reheat in a pot, with some liquid, over low heat. I used the gravy, which I also made in advance, and a little water.

The Sauerkraut!
For the suaerkraut, I use "fresh" kraut. Usually found either in the meat section of the grocer, or the dairy section. Rinse the kraut. Then, in a roasting pan, add 1/2-1 grated, peeled apple. A splash of apple cider and chicken broth. A pinch or two of caraway seeds and some salt & pepper. Cover, and cook until heated through. Remove the cover and let roast for a few more minutes. A few pieces of kraut will caramelize. Super tasty. Tangy and a little bitter without being pungent and IN YOUR FACE!


Serve it all up, nice and hot! I added some roasted green beans (it's a favorite), a good German or Austrian dry white wine, or beer!

Dinner was lovely. We talked for hours afterwards, especially about what was inspiring us, creatively!

Stay tuned...the March party is right around the corner. Just in time for St. Patrick's Day. Menu is selected. And, since it is also a mid-week meal, much of it will be made in advance on the weekend. Mmmm, delicious!

Braised pork with tomato gravy and pasta

Last night I threw together an amazing meal! I didn't have a recipe to go by, didn't even know what route I was going to go. But it was good!

Start with 1 large-ish pork loin (2-3 pounds). Slice into 1 inch slices. Season with salt, pepper and Pizza seasoning, from Penzeys. I wasn't sure if it would work, but the spices in the seasoning blend worked great. In a large, deep pan, over medium high heat, with olive oil, sear the pork slices on both sides. Remove to a plate and work in batches; don't overcrowd the pan.

When the pork is seared, toss in 1 medium onion, diced. Toss around until the onions start to soften and pick up some color from the pan. Add about 1 TB each of dried basil and oregano. A large-ish pinch of red pepper flake. Stir to cook for a short 30 seconds. Deglaze the pan with 3/4 cup of red wine. A dry red is preferred. Scrape up all the bits from the bottom of the pan.

When the wine has reduced down by at least half, add 1 cup of chicken broth, 1 14 oz can of diced tomato and 1 8oz can of tomato sauce. Stir and bring to a simmer. I didn't have any fresh garlic, so at this point, I did a liberal sprinkle of garlic powder.

Return the pork slices to the pan and submerge in the sauce. Cover and place in a 300 degree oven for an hour. After an hour, remove the cover. Start a pot of water boiling for pasta. Once the pasta is added to the pot of water, remove the pork/sauce pot from the oven. Take the slices of pork out of the sauce and roughly chop the tender meat into bite size pieces. Return to the sauce. Optional, add a splash of cream to smooth out the sauce, mellow the flavors (I used a lot of black pepper) and add a richness.

When the pasta is done, drain and toss with the sauce. Reserve some cooking water, in case your sauce has reduced too much to dress the pasta. Serve hot and delicious!

For reasonable servings, you'd get at least 6 servings. I think we got five. I had enough sauce and meat to serve with 3/4 of a box of spiral pasta. 3 hefty servings for three hungry peeps, plus 2 good sized lunch portions. Not bad for a mostly pantry meal. I had the pork loin from the weekend shopping trip and everything else was in the cupboard or fridge!

Playing Catch Up

Yesterday I finally shared an update about our Thanksgiving and how tasty it was. Today is the rest of the highlights from the past month....

I made a yummy meatloaf. Except I think I over cooked it. I was trying to get the bacon crispy, but in the process, the actual meatloaf dried out! Bummer. I used a ground beef/ground pork blend. I also added some yummy to it. I sauted some onions and chopped bacon the meatloaf mixture, along with herbs and spices. Mmmm, not only did I drape the meatloaf in bacon, it was inside too!

Here's the meatloaf with mashed potatoes and corn. Lots of gravy help with the dryness!

This was a delicious quiche. Sauted potatoes, a French herb pork sausage and Havarti and dill. So tasty and satisfying.

Here's the quiche just as it was about to come out of the oven. Yes, I used a pre-fabbed crust. It was a quick to do. All good.

Here was a thrown together Asian style stir fry with green beans and pork tenderloin medallions. I coated the pork with cornstarch and Asian 5-spice. The sauce was soy, ginger, garlic and oyster sauce.

I found hangar steak for cheap! It had been in the freezer for awhile and one night when I had no idea what was for dinner, I pulled it out, thawed and rubbed it down with a spicy blend of herbs and spices. Paprika, a few types of chiles, garlic, cumin...salt and pepper. Cooked until medium raw, sliced and tossed with sauted peppers and onions. A fast delicious dinner!

More Green!

I've recently made potato salad with salsa verde. Then there is my pollo verde. And now more verde. Chili Verde! I love this dish. A unique, for me, approach to chili! This is no tomato/beef based chili that I grew up with. And it all starts with a tomatillo base!

Get a few pounds of tomatillos from your market. You want a firm fruit with limited blemishes on the papery skin. I give mine a good rinse in the sink, which in turn helps the papers peel off.

Here's a close up of the green tomatillo. When wet, the skin peels right off.

Cut the tomatillos into quarters, roughly, then put under the broiler until they begin to blister and burn.

The main flavor component and heat for the chili. A variety of peppers. There's ancho (dark green). Jalapeno (small and dark green). And the two pale green & yellow peppers...no idea what they are! Rinse and put under the broiler until well charred. Also include some garlic with the peppers. The garlic will sweeten when roasted.

Peel off the charred parts and remove most of the seeds.

Now the peppers and the tomatillos go into the food processor or blender for quick whiz to break everything up. You don't have to whiz the tomatillos, but I like the texture better. I don't go too smooth, but mostly.

Simmer for while with some broth and add some diced pork (I use porkchops I dice up.)

Yum! Serve with rice. But something's missing...

That's better looking. You might want a dab of sour cream to help tame the heat, depending on how hot the chiles are. And some diced tomato for a cool color burst. Finish with a little salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy!

An Asian Inspired Pork Roast

Last night was another dinner based on what was in the freezer. This time it was a pork loin roast. I great hunk of lean pork waiting to be roasted up. I started with one idea in my head, but by the time I actually was ready to begin, I went another direction.

I seasoned the pork with a dry rub of Asian 5 Spice, Chili Powder, Garlic Powder, Paprika, Salt & Pepper. I seared the pork loin in a pan with olive oil, about 5 minutes each on the top and bottom and another minute or two on the sides. I placed the pork in a small roasting pan. I tossed 1 small, diced onion in the same pan I seared the meat in. Saute until translucent. Add 2 chopped garlic cloves. I deglazed the pan with 1/4 cup of dry sherry. To that I stirred in 3 hefty tablespoons of Hoisin Sauce and 1 tablespoon of Srirachi hot sauce. Pour in about 1/2 - 3/4 cup of chicken broth. Stir and pour over the pork loin. Roast in a 325 degree oven for about an hour, until the meat has an internal temperature of 140 degrees. If you think about, every 15 minutes or so, you can baste the meat with the sauce in the pan. Remove from the oven and cover with foil for at least 10 minutes to let the meat rest and the juices redistribute. Slice and serve hot with the sauce from the pan.

Fresh from the oven. Great color!

This pork loin was incredibly lean and super tasty. I'm not sure I had the balance of flavors exactly right. The hot spice and redolent spices of the Asian 5 Spice were most prominent, not allowing for any of the subtler flavors to shine through. That's ok. It was still very good.

Chocolate Stout

I had no idea what I wanted to make for dinner. Well, I did, but I just wasn't feeling it. I knew I was having a pork tenderloin. It was sitting in front of me, waiting for something to happen. I was staring into my spice cabinet waiting for my muse to speak to me. I started grabbing things. Paprika, Chimayo Chile powder, Cayenne Chile powder, Oregano, Salt, Pepper. Some Adobo seasoning. I dumped quantities of each into a bowl, mixed and dumped it on the pork tenderloin. Well, I guess that's that. Into a hot pan, with olive oil it went. Sear sear sear. Into a roasting pan. Well, for giggles, lets toss some shallots into the frying pan and to deglaze...what to deglaze with. Hey! Why not some of the Rogue Chocolate Stout that I'm drinking. Whooosh! Scrap up the bits, stir in some tomato paste. Pour over the tenderloin and dump into an oven. 325 minutes for 30 minutes, basting once or twice. Remove from the oven, let it rest for 10 minutes, slice and serve with the rest of the basting liquid.

Rogue Chocolate Stout Pork Tenderloin

It was delicious. Spicy with a hint of cocoa.

The flavor reminded me of a lighter version, a brothier version of a mole sauce. Dark, cocoa, coffee, chiles. Very nice. I served with sauted peppers, onions, jalapenos and some grilled corn tortillas and a glass of Rogue Chocolate Stout. A very nice meal.

Cocktails and Dinner

Last night's dinner started with a Manhattan. Delicious. I think I've found the right blend for me.

Maker's Mark Manhattan
3 parts Maker's Mark
1/2 part sweet vermouth
1-2 shakes of bitters

Add all the ingredients, over ice, in a cocktail shaker. Shake vigorously for a count of 5. Strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a cherry.

You'll notice there is no cherry in my cocktail. I had to throw the ones out I had...they were bad.



Now dinner. This was Pork Medallions with an orange sauce, served over orzo. Simple, fast and pretty tasty. I wish I'd had a vegetable to go with it, but alas, I forgot to get something. The pork tenderloin is cut into round medallions, dusted with seasoned flour and placed into a hot pan to sear on both sides and cooked through; 3-5 minutes per side. Remove the pork to a plate. Add a TB of olive oil, if your pan is dry. Add 1 diced shallot and saute until soft. Pour in about 1/2 cup of fresh squeezed OJ. Simmer until reduced and slightly thickened. Add some lemon juice if you have and few capers. Chopped parsley for garnish. Stir, spoon over the pork and serve hot.

Easter Dinner

Easter Dinner was awesome this year. I loved it and would totally make it again in a heart beat and eat twice as much, until I explode!

I made a big ol' pork roast. It was about a 4 lb pork roast (bone-in) that I seasoned with salt & pepper and Krakow Night's Seasoning from Penzey's. I seared the roast for about 5 minutes per side to give it a nice brown crust. Then I set it aside for a minute and drained out some of the fat and sauted one diced shallot and 1/2 a teaspoon of caraway seeds. I deglazed the pan with 1 cup of Riesling. I added 1/4 cup of apple cider. For a little richness, I added 1/2 of a beef bouillon cube. Let that simmer for a minute. Let the roast settle into the pan. Add 1 pound of sauerkraut. Drop in 4 allspice berries and 1 bay leaf. Cover and braise in the oven for 4-5 hours until it's fall apart tender.

To accompany the pork and sauerkraut, I made potato pancakes. Serve with sour cream and apple sauce.

When the roast is done, break it apart into large pieces and remove any excessively large pieces of remaining fat, tendons and the bone.

The sauerkraut was awesome. It mixed in and soaked up all the pork fat, wine and apple cider flavors. Nothing bitter or sour about it. It was a great, juicy pairing with the tender pork. This is hearby my favorite sauerkraut, period!

Plate up and enjoy!

And of course, for desser I made that bad-ass cheesecake!

Such a Ham

Christmas Dinner

Guess now is good a time as any to start catching up with my posts. This is our Christmas Dinner. I did the Cola & Cherry Preserve Glazed Ham. I served with some cheese slices and soft rolls. That's it. It was delicious. We just kept noshing while playing board games. Ham served/cooked any other way just isn't as delicious. Oh, one differences. The recipe calls for some OJ. Didn't have any, but we did have Pineapple Juice. Of course it was wonderful, as the way I used to make ham was with pineapple slices, cloves and cherries. This is a more delicious, fancy, yet simpler version of that old school classic!

Chinese Style BBQ Pork

Last night was a very tasty dinner that required a little advanced planning. This pork roast requires 24 hours of marinading for the best flavor. I would be interesting in trying to let the pork marinade for 48 hours. There was some good flavor going on, but I'm wondering if longer is better in this instance.

I served the pork with my carrot/cilantro salad.

For the salad, I started with the recipe located here as inspiration. I used the vegetable peeler to make ribbons from the carrots. The cilantro was very tender, so I didn't chop it, just torn it apart. (mistake!) The dressing was lime juice, rice vinegar and olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper. I didn't have any sesame seeds or sesame oil; which I wanted to use for an additional layer of flavor and texture. The salad was good, except the cilantro really was over powering! Next time, no matter how rustic and easy I'm trying to make something with cilantro, I will chop it.

The pork was really easy. Mix, pour, marinate, roast, rest, slice, serve. And you can do most of the work the night before. Don't be tempted to add an additional star anise pod, you'll see in the recipe, it's flavor is strong and aromatic, which is good, but like the cilantro in the salad, can be over powering. Use just one! Next time I make this, I might consider brush with some reserved marinade/sauce, then placing under the broiler for a minute prior to serving, to get the outer layer extra caramelized and crunchy!

Leftovers of this pork would be divine in stir-fried rice!

Chinese Barbecued Pork
Adapted from: 5 Second Rule

3-4 lb pork loin roast, cut into 2 large pieces
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1 TB dry sherry
1 tsp 5-spice powder
2 scallions, smashed
2 stems cilantro, smashed
1 pod star anise

Mix sugar, soy sauce, sherry and 5-spice.

Place pork in a dish or zip top bag, pour soy mixture over the pork. Add scallions, cilantro and star anise. Zip the bag shut and give everything a good solid squish around.

Place in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Turn and squish once in awhile.

Preheat oven to 350. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and parchment (the sugar will make a huge mess as it caramelizes, the foil makes clean up easy, the parchment prevents the roast from sticking and tearing the foil). Remove pork from the marinade and place in the center of the baking sheet.

Strain and reserve the marinade. Simmer reserved marinade for at least 10 minutes, watch carefully as it reduces to a thick sauce.

Roast pork for 30 minutes, basting once or twice with reserved sauce. Flip the pork, baste again, and roast for an additional 10 mintues. Until the pork caramelizes and just begins charring at the edges.

Transfer meat to cutting board and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving. Drizzle some additional sauce over the sliced pork.

Weekend Catch Up

Let's play catch up on what we've been eating at Eat With Me shall we?

Sesame Noodles with Chicken. Very tasty, filling and easy when using a roasted chicken from the store!


Friday night was a night for wine and friends. This was a very satisfying bottle of Sauvignon Blanc!


Really great taco fillings. Skirt Steak and Pork Tenderloin with...Roasted Corn with Chipotle & Lime, Sauteed Peppers and Onions, Avocado and Lime, Roasted Tomato Salsa.

Skirt Steak was seasoned using this recipe.
(Roasted Tomato Salsa recipe is in this link as well)

Pork Tenderloin was mostly jerk seasoning with a plethora of spices thrown in the mix for fun.


Inn-effing-credible. Totally satisfying on all accounts!!!!


A pork roast hash. Leftover pork, potatoes, onions and red peppers.

Crispy Carnitas Tacos

Mmmm, fried roast pork!


Dinner on Wednesday night was a quick one using leftovers. I took the leftover pork roast from Labor Day and chopped it into large bite size pieces and fried it in olive oil until hot and crispy. Ad the end I tossed in some shallots, cilantro and lime juice. Season with a little salt and pepper and done. Add to a taco shell and top with some sauted peppers and onions. The pork becomes chewy and crispy from the frying process. A great texture and fun flavors. Of course lime and cilantro and best buds and they love to play with pork. All in all, a very yummy meal!

Alsatian Pork and Dijon Mashed Potatoes

I sort of threw Monday night's dinner together, no real recipe and I'm just making up the name. But dang it was good. Needed a vegetable though. Perfect for a rainy, dreary day.

Alsatian Pork Roast
with a Wine & Cider Pan Sauce
and Dijon Mashed Potatoes

The roast is the first part. I bought a 3-4 pound pork butt roast, bone-in. Pat the roast dry with paper towels and season liberally with your choice of mild seasoning. I used a blend from Penzeys, plus some salt and pepper. In a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, add 3-4 TB of olive oil; sear both sides of the roast until well browned and with a developed crust.

While the roast is searing, peel 2-3 carrots and cut into large chunks. Peel one onion and chop into large pieces. Peel and smash 3 cloves of garlic and set aside one medium bunch of fresh thyme.

After the second side of the roast has been seared, pour in about one cup of a crisp white wine. Preferably a Riesling if you have it. With a wooden spoon, scrap up what bits you can from the bottom of the pan. As the wine reduces add one cup of unfiltered apple cider or juice, the darker, the better. None of the clear, yellow stuff, you want the brown, thick cider!

Add the carrots, onions, garlic and thyme. Cover and place in a 350 degree oven for one hour. At the one hour mark, turn the heat to 300 and check the roast, spoon some of the cooking liquid over the top. Cover and cook another hour. Check the roast again. Cook one final hour. This should be the point at which the bone slips out of the meat. If not, cook longer, checking at 30 minute intervals. When it's done, remove from the oven and let rest for an hour, in the pot.

After the hour of resting time, remove the roast and prep for serving or storage. Remove the bone and clean up any remaining fat and nasty bits. Break the roast into large pieces. Reserve the cooking liquid. Strain to remove the vegetables and other bits. Pour the juice over the roast, cover and store in the fridge...or continue for dinner!

If you are making mashed potatoes, here's the steps, in case you haven't done this before, it's a little different than cooking most vegetables.

1) peel the potatoes (if you want, if the peels are thin, you can leave them on, just scrub the spud).
2) cut the potatoes into about 1-inch pieces.
3) put the potatoes into a large pot and cover with cold water.
4) season the pot of water/potatoes with a hefty tablespoon of salt.
5) bring to a boil.
6) cook until a knife or fork easily slides into the potato, and out of the potato.
7) drain and return to the cooking pot.
8) add butter first, mash, add the cream or milk, mash more. season with salt and pepper, mash and mix more. Taste. Adjust butter, cream, salt and/or pepper.
9) for Dijon Mashed Potatoes, depending on your mustard preference, add 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon of a grainy Dijon. Stir in. If you happen to have some fresh parsley, chop finely and stir in. Serve warm!

Now the pan sauce.
In a medium to large skillet, saute one large shallot with butter and/or reserved, rendered pork fat. **see note at the bottom of this post. When the shallots are soft, add about 2 tablespoons of flour. Stir until the flour is coated and starts to smell nutty. Add 1/2 - 1 cup of the same white wine you used earlier with the roast. Stir until combined. Add about 1 cup of reserved cooking liquid. Bring to a simmer. Add the large pieces of cooked roast. Simmer over low heat until ready to serve.

The pork and the sauce.

Potatoes ready to mash.

All served up. This was an incredibly rich and really delicious meal. My grandparents would be proud. The Dijon flavors played really well with the cider/wine flavors in the pork and sauce.

**Note on the cooking liquid and fat. After you strain the bits out of the cooking liquid, you will start to see a lot of fat rise to the top. You'll want to separate that fat, so you have the option to use it. If you have a fat separator, you're good. If not, chill the liquid in the freezer or fridge. The fat will solidify and can easily be removed. Alternatively, you can carefully spoon the fat off, bit by bit. When you go to make the pan sauce, we're making a roux, so you do need some fat and the flour. I used about 1 TB of pork fat and 1 TB of butter. This was a nice flavor combo, but not necessary. After you add the wine to the butter/flour combo, make sure to add the remaining cooking liquid. Lots of amazing flavors in there, wine, cider, seasonings, thyme...all very good.

Fun Combo!

While we continue to live without our full sized refrigerator, I have to use up what groceries we were able to save. This was a lot of fun and a delightful mean. I look forward to trying it again. The recipes came from different sources and I thought they would be great together. They were!

Roast Pork Sliders with Asian Carrot Slaw

Thinly slice your roast pork. This hunk of meat was marinated in a mixture of soy sauce, olive oil and a blend of herbs. Roast in a shallow pan for 50-60 minutes. Rest for 30 minutes or more, thinly slice.

While you're slicing the roast, take the reserved marinade and bring to a boil for five minutes. Pour over the sliced pork until ready to serve.

To top the sandwich, I made a carrot slaw. Instead of shredding carrots, this recipe had you make carrot ribbons with a vegetable peeler. Not necessary, but a fun presentation!

The carrots are simply dressed in rice wine vinegar, oil, lime juice, shallots, salt, pepper and toasted sesame seeds.

Make a full sized sandwich or "Slider" sized. I found slider buns at the store and thought it would be fun for a quick meal. Thing in...slider buns are the size regular buns used to be! Regardless...this was a lot of fun. The pork was tender, juicy and full of some mild, yet complex flavors. The carrot slaw added a light and refreshing crisp texture to the sandwich.

Next time I make this, I might punch up the heat level (personal choice) to the pork marinade and add a small bit of chopped cilantro to the carrots for some extra zinginess!

Roast Pork
(adapted from Penzey's spice catalog)
2 1/2 pound pork loin roast
2 TB "Italian" seasoning
1/2 cup olive oil
1 TB mild vinegar (white wine or rice wine vinegar)
1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
2 TB brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
1 tsp red pepper flake (optional)

Place the pork roast in a zip top bag. In a small bowl, mix the remaining ingredients until blended. Pour over the roast, seal the bag, make sure the roast is coated. Place in a bowl (to catch spills) and refrigerate over night, or up to 2 days.

Preheat oven to 350.

Drain the roast from the marinade. Place in a low baking dish (Pyrex baking dish). Add some water to just cover the bottom of the dish. Roast for 50-60 minutes, until a meat thermometer registers 150 degrees.

Remove, cover with foil and let rest for 30 minutes. The internal temperature will continue to rise to the USDA recommended temp of 160, without over cooking and drying out the roast.

Meanwhile, bring the remaining marinade to a simmer for 5 minutes. Thinly slice the roast and place back into the roasting dish. Pour the marinade over the meat. Serve immediately OR, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve, reheat prior to serving.


Asian Carrot Slaw
(adapted from Everyday Food)
1 pound carrots, peeled and shaved with a vegetable peeler
4 scallions, thinly sliced (I substituted 2 medium shallots)
2 TB rice vinegar
1 TB vegetable oil
1 TB sesame seeds, toasted
1 tsp lime zest, plus 1 TB lime juice
1 tsp chopped cilantro (optional)
Salt/Pepper

Combine all ingredients. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Take That Ikea!

Swedish Meatballs! Made these the other night and they were great. I made some small changes this time around and they were the right changes!

To start, I cooked the onions and garlic first. This brought out some sweetness and softened the bitterness some onions have. I also used a blend of ground beef and ground pork, instead of just ground beef!


I gave the meatballs a quick sear before putting them in the oven.


I made extra gravy this time, double the amount. You want extra gravy.


I cooked the meatballs for about 5 minutes less than the last time. They cooked thru, but didn't dry out.


Before serving, stir the meatballs in the gravy.


Serve with boiled potatoes or buttered noodles!

All in all, a great dinner. Better than Ikea...the only thing missing were some Lingoberries.