Tag: homecooking

Wini Moranville’s Pork Meatballs With Dijon Cream Sauce Are Too Good

October 18, 2014 / / 3 Comments

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Wini Moranville & was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Wini’s Pork Meatballs With Dijon Cream Sauce are too good, it’s true.

Jake and I know we’ve hit the dinner jackpot when we battle over leftovers. In this case, Jake won.

Wini is a writer, Des Moines Register columnist, and blogger who wrote French Cookbook La Chez Bonne Femme and The Braiser Cookbook. Last fall, I had the pleasure of meeting her at the Iowa Food & Lifestyle Blogger gathering in Iowa City. When she generously offered to let us enjoy her newest cookbook and choose a recipe to share, I jumped at the opportunity.

Braiser Cookbook Cover

The Braiser Cookbook is an e-book available on Amazon and it’s a steal at $2.99 (as of 10/18/14). I appreciate how all of the recipes are both elegant and approachable for the home cook. There really isn’t a recipe in this book that I’m too intimidated to try in my own kitchen. And guess what? I don’t even own a braiser. All of these recipes can be prepared at home without a braiser, and Wini provides advice for adapting them accordingly.

Jake and I have experienced a busier than any other in recent memory. We’re out-of-town more weekends than we’re home and crave warm, homecooked food after work. I gravitated towards Wini’s meat balls recipe because they were simple to prepare on a weeknight. The Baked Cabbage With Bacon and Apples she suggested as a side dish was also a breeze to prepare, but you’ll have to get her book for that recipe. I can’t be giving away all of Wini’s secrets.

The meatballs are actually made without any breading or filler. I was surprised by how moist and tender they tasted, since I’ve never prepared a ground meat dish without bread crumbs or oatmeal. They are delicate so Wini recommends flipping them gently with a large tablespoon. The sauce is rich with cream, but not overly so, as it is reduced with white wine and tangy mustard. Plus, the full cup of parsley adds a bright note. I bought ground pork at my favorite butcher shop Louie’s Custom Meats in Clear Lake, Iowa. It’s worth the drive from Mason City.

I only took one photo of these meatballs after we had filled our plates. We enjoyed our dinner so much that there was just no time to pause for photos. “I’ll take more tomorrow, when the lighting’s better,” I swore. But alas, when I came home from work they were gone. I could hardly blame Jake, though, because if I had beaten him home from work, I would have eaten them too. The lesson we learned from this dish is that if you really love something don’t ever let it go.

For more photos, check out In The Kitchen With Jenny’s post.

Pork Meat Balls With Dijon Cream Sauce
This recipe is a collaboration between Wini Moranville & Chef David Baruthio of Baru 66 in Des Moines, Iowa. 

Wini's Pork Meatballs text

Ingredients:
1-1/2 pounds ground pork
1 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
1 egg
2 cloves garlic, finely minced or grated
Salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup dry white wine
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1-1/2 cups heavy cream

Instructions: 

  1. In a bowl, mix together the pork, parsley, egg, garlic, salt & pepper. Go easy on the salt because the mustard is salty and tangy. I added about 1/2 teaspoon. Shape into about 12 meatballs.
  2. Heat vegetable oil over medium-high heat in a 3 1/2 quart braiser until the oil shimmers. I used a large saucepan with deep sides and a lid.
  3. Add the meatballs to the hot oil and cook until lightly browned. Flip and cook the other side of the meatballs until they are also lightly browned. This should take about six minutes total.
  4. Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to cook the meatballs, turning occasionally until they are browned on each side.
  5. Remove meatballs from pan and drain off all of the oil except for a sheen.
  6. Increase temperature to medium
  7. Cook onions until tender but not brown.
  8. Add the wine and cook, stirring up the loose bits from the bottom of the pan. Reduce wine to about 1/4 cup which should take about three minutes.
  9. Whisk in the mustard. Add heavy cream and cook, stirring until the sauce is reduced to about one cup.
  10. Return meatballs to pan and simmer until they are cooked through (160℉).
  11. Per Wini’s recommendation, I served the meatballs with her Baked Cabbage With Bacon & Apples. It’s also easy to whip together. Let the cabbage bake while you cook the meatballs. I like to add splashes of red wine vinegar for some tang.

Connect With Wini:
Facebook for DSM Food Lovers: All Things Food DSM – Wini Moranville
Facebook for France Lovers: Chez Bonne Femme
Blog: ChezBonneFemme.com
Twitter: @winimoranville

I Got Chickens: Meet Twisted River Farm

July 10, 2014 / / 3 Comments

Every day that we live in Iowa, I learn how much I don’t know about farming.

Jake’s still a city kid at heart, and I thought I was, too. But since our move to North Dakota, I have become very taken with the rolling prairie and big skies. I was driving back home to Mason City from Riceville at dusk the other night and realized that I like feeling humbled by nature. The vastness of the colorful sky and bobbing of the fences along farms made me feel small and I liked it.

One of the best things about moving to Iowa has been connecting with all types of farmers. Many of these farmers are gifted bloggers who I enjoy following. They share their favorite recipes and glimpses of their lives caring for their farms. I especially get a kick out of Cristen’s stories about raising pigs on her blog Food and Swine. Her recent post about their pig Cookie Dough blowing bubbles in their kiddie pool made me giggle.

Two North Iowa farmers we’ve connected with are Steve & Marcy of Twisted River Farm located in Rock Falls, IA. This is their first year farming.

PicMonkey Collage.jpg

Photo by Twisted River Farm

When Steve told us they were beginning their farming efforts by raising chickens to harvest, we jumped at the chance to order them. Through social media, they chronicled raising the chickens in a pen that they rotated around a pasture for seven weeks.

Chickens

Photo by Twisted River Farm

In the pen, the chickens had access to sunshine, grass, and exercise, plus a diet of all the bugs they could eat and organic feed produced in Webster City, IA. Steve explained that these birds were raised in a pen because the particular breed is slower and easy for prey to catch.

The great news is that Twisted River farm sold out ALL of their chickens this first go-around.

Unfortunately, Steve and Marcy won’t be able to raise another harvest of chickens this year. In the meantime, they are not only working full-time jobs, but strategizing how to grow their business and taking time to research what will fit their efforts by touring other farms. Many customers requested that Twisted River Farm sell eggs next year, so Steve and Marcy hope to add eggs and produce in the future.

We ordered two chickens and enjoyed one immediately after delivery. I simmered the bird and pulled the meat from its bones (which I froze to make stock with later). Then, I made Jake’s favorite thin crust pizzas and topped them with the moist chicken.

You can find my favorite pizza crust recipe in my recent post about making beet flatbread. Before you bake the flatbread, coat it in a light coating of olive oil and season it with salt and pepper.

pizza

We may have discovered our new favorite combination of pizza toppings! Our finished flatbread reminded me of the Roasted Chicken and Basil Pesto Flatbread we loved ordering from Maxwell’s in Fargo, ND. Try the following:

  • Minced garlic scapes, if available. Otherwise, spread some finely minced or grated garlic on the crust under the cheese.
  • Fresh mozzarella cheese
  • Pulled chicken
  • Roasted kholrabi (peel, dice, roast with olive oil, salt & pepper at 375℉ until golden)
  • Caramelized onions
  • Diced tomato
  • Reduced balsamic vinegar to drizzle over the baked pizza

Once you top your pizza, bake until the crust and cheese are golden brown and sprinkle with crushed red pepper flakes if you like it spicy.

Twisted River I

Photo by Twisted River Farm

Thanks for the chickens!

Learn more about Twisted River Farm on Facebook & Twitter.

Rhubarb Muffin Cake

June 1, 2014 / / 11 Comments

The North Iowa farmers markets are open again and I spy rhubarb, so summer may begin now.

Unlike the Twin Cities, we don’t have a farmers market in every neighborhood, but I’m happy we have one in town. The Mason City farmers market isn’t large and there aren’t food trucks or anything, but I can at least buy fresh vegetables and fruits, plus extra treats like bread, jam, and bags of puppy chow mix.

There’s also a vendor that sells grilled brats with the typical fixings of sauerkraut, onion, ketchup, and mustard. This is a simple pleasure that never gets old. I rarely turn down street meat.

On my last two visits, I rejoiced over this summer’s first bounty of rhubarb like the good Midwesterner that I am.

We never cooked with rhubarb growing-up. Nobody in our neighborhood grew it and I think they considered it like a weed. Jake remembers picking it as a child and eating the tart stalks dipped in sugar. As an adult, I’ve become taken with rhubarb. I love how it retains some tartness when cooked and balances out sweet desserts. The complexity of its unique flavor strikes me as both fruity and floral.

I asked friends for their favorite rhubarb recipes, but chose this cake because I had all of the ingredients in my kitchen. I found variations of this recipe in nearly all of my cookbooks, so, where it truly originates, I do not know. This cake is very simple to prepare and light and fluffy like a muffin. It reminded us so much of muffins, that I poured the batter into muffin tins the second time I made it.

This cake will be an ol’ reliable for us. Now I’m moving on to trying everyone’s favorite rhubarb recipes.

Rhubarb Muffin Cake
Adapted from Bonnie Anderson, Dee Detlefsen, Blanch Grummons & Ardy Haugen’s recipe in the Peaceful Pantry Recipes cookbook compiled by Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, Burnsville, MN, 1975

Cook’s Notes: The original recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups of white or brown sugar. I used both, but in lesser amounts. The original recipe also calls for buttermilk, which I did not have. It says you can substitute one cup of regular milk + one tablespoon of lemon juice for buttermilk. In my first cake, I used 2/3 almond milk + 1/3 cup sour cream. In my muffins, I used only almond milk. I think you can use whatever you have, though the sour cream adds extra moistness. If you’d like to bake muffins, reduce the cooking time. Mini muffins took about 10 minutes. The cakes are done when you can cleanly remove a toothpick from the center.

Rhubarb Collage.jpg

Ingredients:
A scant 1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, not packed.
1/2 cup butter (1 stick). I used salted.
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Optional: Splash of almond extract
1 cup milk or combination of milk + sour cream
2 cups unbleached, all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups of rhubarb, chopped into small pieces
Topping: sugar & cinnamon

Instructions:

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 350℉.
  2. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars.
  4. Mix the egg and vanilla extract into the butter-sugar mixture.
  5. Add the milk and dry ingredients to the butter-sugar mixture, half at a time, alternating until just combined. Don’t overmix.
  6. Stir in the rhubarb.
  7. Pour into a greased pan or muffin tins. Sprinkle lightly with cinnamon and sugar (or just cinnamon).
  8. Bake until you can remove a toothpick cleanly from the center. A small cake pan took about 45 minutes, a 9×13 will take about 35-40 minutes, and muffins will vary depending on the size. Mini muffins took about 10 minutes.
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