"Back in the Saddle Again!"

From the ashes! BITE has been resurrected. At a 4th of July party this summer, Bruce mentioned to both Chris (one of the founding members)  and me that he missed our BITE meals. BITE (But Is This Edible?) died a rather natural death when it seemed that we were moving far enough away to make it impractical to participate, and then the others had grandchildren born, or began new businesses. Since I'm still within striking distance, we decided to give it another shot. One of the original members felt that time would make it difficult for her to rejoin us, so we have a new member, Clare.

I hosted the first gathering with all four of us, and chose Scandinavia as our theme. My grandmother emigrated from Norway as a young child and we used two wooden spoons to serve with that accompanied my grandmother and great-grandmother on their transatlantic voyage.

Unfortunately, as I write this, I cannot locate two recipes in my email, so I will need to include them at a later date.

For our appetizer, Chris made Swedish Meatballs (recipe at end of post). Delicious and saucy!

For our side-dish, Ellen made Hasselback Potatoes (recipe at a later date) - Crispy and flavorful!

Not knowing what the appetizer was going to be, I also made meatballs for our main dish. The two tastes were really quite different however. I made Meatballs with Celeriac (celery root) and Apples (recipe at end of post). I have never boiled meatballs before, but that is what this recipe called for.This was my first experience with celery root. It's not a very attractive vegetable, and took quite a bit of work to peel it down to the useable part. It has a very mild celery taste, and cooked up (cubed) to a nice texture. The other interesting component of this recipe was sliced apples. All combined, I think it really tasted pretty darn good!

And lastly, for dessert, Clare baked a Swedish Almond Cake (recipe at a later date). No flour was used, egg whites were used in the batter, and the yolk was used in the frosting. Delicious, and not too sweet! 

Along with a red and white wine, I picked up a bottle of Aquavit. I think that we agreed that it tasted like what we think lighter fluid would taste like. It sits, almost completely full, it my cupboard.

Later this month, at Ellen's, we will be celebrating Oktoberfest! It's fun to be back BITE-ing!

Chef John's Swedish Meatballs

Prep 30 m ∙ Cook 35 m ∙ Makes 6 ∙ Source Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• Meatballs:
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fine salt
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 cup plain bread crumbs
• 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
• 1 pound ground beef chuck
• 1 pound ground pork
• Gravy:
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 1/4 cups beef broth
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon white sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• cooking spray

Directions

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir onion and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt in butter until onion begins to turn translucent, about 6 minutes.

Transfer onion mixture to a large bowl. Add milk, eggs, bread crumbs, black pepper, nutmeg, allspice, and cayenne pepper to the breadcrumb mixture; stir to combine.

Mix beef and pork into the bread crumb mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat; whisk flour into butter and cook until golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Slowly whisk beef broth into butter mixture.

Increase heat to medium-high, whisk cream into mixture and bring to a simmer. Stir sugar and Worcestershire sauce into gravy. Simmer until slightly thickened, 6 to 7 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper. Remove from heat and set aside.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and lightly coat foil with cooking spray.

Roll 2 to 3 tablespoons meatball mixture into a ball using wet hands; repeat with remaining meatball mixture. Place meatballs on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake in the preheated oven until browned, about 20 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 160 degrees F (70 degrees C).

Transfer meatballs to the gravy and cook over medium-low heat until warmed through, about 5 minutes.

Footnotes

Easy Cleanup

If you make this in a slow cooker, using a slow cooker liner can make cleanup easier.

Nutritional Info

Calories: 479 kcal
Total Carbohydrates: 10.1g
Cholesterol: 194 mg
Total Fat: 35.8 g
Protein: 28.2 g
Sodium: 1206 mg

Meatballs with Celeriac and Apples

Source Ediblecommunities.com

INGREDIENTS

• FOR THE MEATBALLS:
• 500g / 1lb 2oz minced (ground) pork
• 1 small onion, finely grated
• ½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 Tbsp plain (all-purpose) flour
• 2 Tbsp breadcrumbs
• 1 tsp each of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• For the Broth
• 8 1/2 c water
• 1tbsp sea salt
• 3 bay leaves
• 5 thyme sprigs
• 1lb, 5oz celeriac
• 2 leeks
• 3 apples
• 7 tbsp butter
• 3t bsp all purpose flour
• 1¼ cup spelt grain
• parsley, chopped, to serve

DIRECTIONS

Mix the minced pork with all the other meatball ingredients. For the broth, pour the water into a saucepan, add the salt and herbs and bring to a boil.

Use a spoon to form the meatball mixture into balls, lower them into the boiling water and let them cook for 10–15 minutes until they rise to the surface, which means they are done. Remove them from the broth with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Strain 800ml / 3½ cups of the broth into a jug.

Meanwhile, peel the celeriac and cut into 2-cm / ¾-in cubes. Slice the leeks and rinse well. Cut the apples into slices 1cm / ½ in thick. Melt the butter in a large saucepan.

Add the flour and stir well, then add the reserved broth a little at a time, stirring constantly until the sauce is smooth, without any lumps.

Add the leeks and celeriac and let it simmer for 20 minutes.

Add the meatballs and apples about 5 minutes before the end of cooking, and cook until the meatballs are warmed through.

Meanwhile, rinse the spelt grain in several changes of cold water. Cook in lightly salted water for 15–20 minutes, then drain.

Season the meatball sauce to taste with salt and pepper, sprinkle with the parsley or chervil and serve with the spelt.

NOTES

Recipe by Trine Hahnemann