Recipe: The World's Best Meatballs

Yup, you are reading right. The recipe below represents what are in my opinion THE WORLD'S BEST MEATBALLS. They are the result of over 2 years of tinkering and intensive dedicated meatball research. This recipe also has one hell of a pedigree, its origins having come from the hallowed halls of Rao's, one of the most famous and exclusive of Italian eateries in the world.

Even with those distinguished origins the resulting meatballs still didn't pass my personal taste test. They were good, but needed improvement and that took some trial and error and tweaking. This is not to say that I think I am a greater cook than those in great restaurants, only that I know what I like and want, and I am going to go to lengths to get it. I'm not like this with every recipe I prepare, but hey I'm talking THE WORLD'S BEST MEATBALLS!

When I finally came to the recipe I liked best, I prepared it a number of times to make sure it was consistently good and trust me, it is. You can even vary things a little and still get fantastic results. Sometimes when I want lots of meatballs I triple the recipe and use half ground turkey and half beef/pork/veal in the meat mixture. Then I fry them all, let 'em simmer a bit in sauce and then just freeze meatball after meatball after meatball knowing that I'll always have a few when I need them (and I need them often because, in case you have not figured it out by now, they are: THE WORLD'S BEST MEATBALLS).

If I have to warn you about anything, it would be the parmigiano-reggiano. Sure, its expensive cheese and you might be inclined to substitute its inexpensive cousin pecorino-romano for it. Do that at your own peril! These are THE WORLD'S BEST MEATBALLS and being such they demand parmigiano-reggiano! Oh, and that is PARMIGIANO-REGGIANO, it comes in a wedge, you can't shake it out of a green can. If you want THE WORLD'S GREATEST MEATBALLS you have to have parmigiano-reggiano.

The World's Best Meatballs

Sundried Tomato Marinara Sauce
1 lb. ground lean beef
1/2 lb. ground veal
1/2 lb. ground pork
2 large eggs
1 cup fresh grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1/2 small garlic clove peeled and minced
2 cups Italian-style bread crumbs
Salt & pepper to taste
2 cups warm water
1 cup olive oil

In a large pan, prepare the Sundried Tomato Marinara Sauce recipe. You may, as an alternative use any marinara recipe you like, but if you do, these will only be great meatballs, not THE WORLD'S BEST MEATBALLS. Keep on a low simmer.

In a large bowl thoroughly and evenly blend the beef, veal, pork, eggs, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, garlic, Italian style breadcrumbs, salt and pepper. Add the water a little at a time as necessary to keep the mixture pliable and a little on the moist side. You may not use all the water or you may require a little more.

Preheat a large skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil.

While the oil heats up begin making your meatballs by using an ice cream scoop to measure out each meatball. Roll the meat between your palms to firmly roll each meatball until round and well formed.

Place the meatball in the hot oil turning it occasionally until it is browned all over. You can do several meatballs at a time in this way.

When each meatball is browned, remove it from the oil. Allow any excess oil to drain from it and then place it in the simmering sauce. Complete this process with every meatball. Simmer for an additional 20 minutes.

Serve with pasta or in sandwiches. The flavor improves overnight.

The World's Greatest Meatballs from Chop Onions, Boil Water - World Food at Home by Henry Krauzyk http://www.choponionsboilwater.com

Recipe: Academica-Style Steak Sandwiches

In 1993 my friend Tom asked me to join him for lunch at a local Portuguese bar. We ended up at the Academica Association in my hometown of Fall River, Massachusetts. The Academica is an informal little Portuguese place that has a bar side and a restaurant side. We chose the bar side. When I asked what to order he suggested the steak sandwich and fries. At the time I didn't realize how my choice would affect the eating habits of so many people.

When the plates arrived, the portions were large which is not unusual for a Portuguese restaurant. A large, medium-crust bread which had been sliced lengthwise and filled with reddish brown steak topped with cooked whole garlic cloves and sliced red peppers. There was also a hefty pile of fries on the plate as well. I bit into the sandwich and was really surprised at how phenomenally good it was. Luck of luck, the fries were equally tasty. Well, I wasn't 4 bites into the sandwich and I knew I'd be back, and back I went, and continue to go to this day.

I introduced a few friends and family to the place and mentioned it to others and soon it was a hit amongst them. It wasn't an uncommon occurrence to have a friend mention they had just been to the Academica and then express how good it was. One friend in particular, Dave Lebouef, started getting take out there. Dave is one of my oldest friends and it was his luck that I told him about the Academica, but my luck that he went and became interested in it.

Dave's friends also know him as the "Technician" because of his pragmatic approach to the process of things that interest him. Well, during his visits to the Academica, he studied the processes of cooking those steak sandwiches and experimented on his own at home. He soon came up with an excellent version. Like most things in life the simplest things are often the best, and such it is with these sandwiches. This recipe is my adaptation of Dave's. I think I use a little more garlic than Dave does, that's about it. Oh no wait, I also take my sandwiches with a half bottle of Dao wine as well! You'll read more about Dave elsewhere here, but know he makes major contributions to our cooking circle.

Academica-Style Steak Sandwiches

Steak, not too thick, cubed steak works well. It should be 1/4" to 3/8" thick.
Stick-style sandwich bread
1 TBS Olive oil
8 to 12 cloves of garlic
Pickled sweet red peppers (mild to medium heat, sliced and seeded)
Frank's Hot Sauce® or Texas Pete's Hot Sauce®
1 tsp butter
Salt to taste

Heat a large saucepan over a medium-high flame.

Add olive oil, when it begins to shimmer, add the steaks to the pan.

Salt steaks and add some hot sauce to the top of steaks while cooking.

Toss garlic cloves around the pan. Move it around frequently so it does not burn.

When steaks are half done, turn them over, add a pinch of salt and more hot sauce.

Move pan contents so the ingredients blend well.

Turn steaks when done and be sure all the liquid ingredients in the pan blend well.

Add a teaspoon of butter to mix and blend in.

Swirl steaks around in sauce, move onto bread, add a little of the garlic and top with pickled sweet red peppers.

Serve with french fries.

Recipe: Academica-Style Steak Sandwiches from Chop Onions, Boil Water by Henry Krauzyk

Recipe: Chunky Chicken Salad

One of the food things I remember not liking from my childhood were ham salad and chicken salad sandwiches. They were always soggy and pasty affairs seemingly spread with a putty knife in to small rolls. Bland or too salty they were the bane of holiday dinner tables. Even today I can take them or leave them. It is always hit or miss. My parents make good ones, but every time I grab one at a party or from a buffet, I know I am engaging in the equivalent of a gustatory crapshoot. Just like at a real gaming table, the odds are always stacked against me.

It always struck me as odd because seafood salad and ground chourico (which you are going to hear a lot about on this blog) rolls always seem to be good. It's not because I don't like chicken or ham either, I do. So, like all things food, when I hit a road block, I start trying to find a solution around it. The chicken salad recipe below is my latest solution.

Chunky, fresh, crisp, creamy and cool it makes a great sandwich. It also comes with the lofty endorsement of both my wife and my mother-in-law whom I believe are chicken salad experts. It's really easy to make and in no time you can have a great party offering or lunches for a week.

Chunky Chicken Salad

3 to 4 lbs. boneless chicken breasts or tenders
1 quart homemade or prepared chicken broth
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup of Miracle Whip Salad Dressing
1/2 cup celery (chopped)
4 TBS onions (chopped)
4 tsp turbinado sugar
2 TBS olive oil
A little less than 1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp sea salt
Salt and pepper to taste

Divide and trim the fat from the chicken breasts. Place the breasts and the chicken broth in a large pan and set over high heat. Bring to a boil and then back down to a simmer and simmer for about 7 to 10 minutes. At the end of that time, remove from heat, cover and allow to sit until cool enough to touch. Reserve 1/4 cup of the chicken broth. (Save and refrigerate the rest of the chicken stock for future use in soup, sauces or maybe even a more chickeny chicken salad.)

Take the chicken and shred it into chunks. Make the chunks as big or small as you like. Just avoid making a chicken paste from them! Place them in a large mixing bowl.

Add all other ingredients including the 1/4 cup of chicken broth and mix through thoroughly.

When you're done mixing, mix some more because you probably weren't thorough enough.

Taste and season to preference, cover and refrigerate for several hours to allow flavors to intensify. Garnish with some fresh minced parsley for that upper-middle-class effect.

Serve to happy guests or enjoy for lunch.
Recipe: Chunky Chicken Salad Krauzyk, from Chop Onions, Boil Water