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Slow Cooker: Italian Meatballs in Tomato Sauce

We try to cook using the Crock Pot at least once a week. These meals are easy, quick, and generally provide leftovers for later in the week (or several weeks as is the case with this recipe). To cook good food in a slow cooker generally means that you can't just dump things in and turn it on. You have build layers of flavor just as you would with any other meal.

These meatballs are great. They're relatively healthy, provide an abundance of food (either for a crowd or the freezer), and taste outstanding. They're made with pork, beef, and turkey and baked prior to putting in the slow cooker. We ate these with pasta the first night. Stay tuned for meatball extravaganza.

Slow Cooker Meatballs

1lb ground chuck

1lb ground turkey

1lb ground pork

1 medium onion

2 cloves garlic

1 carrot

1 package frozen spinach, thawed and drained well

1 cup dry breadcrumbs -- you should make your own

1 egg beaten lightly

1tbsp ground oregano

salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste

Preheat oven to 500°

If you're making your own breadcrumbs (and you should be) toast a few slices of bread and toss them in the bowl of your food processor. Pulse until thoroughly chopped. Set aside.

Combine onion, garlic, and carrot in the bowl of your food processor and pulse until chopped. Add frozen spinach and pulse to combine. Put the meat into a large bowl and mix with all ingredients to form a solid meatball mixture -- be careful not to over mix though or your meatballs will be tough. At this point I pull out a small amount and cook it on the stove to test the flavor. It's really the only way to know if you need to add something (usually spiciness in my case).

Shape into balls (I use a #40 disher) and place on a rack rack in a half sheet pan. Be sure that you're using a sheet pan and not a cookie sheet, otherwise the fat from your meatballs will drain into your oven as opposed to the waiting pan. Bake in 500° oven for 15-20 minutes until well browned.

At this point you could stop and store the meatballs (they're cooked) or you could continue and cook them further in a tomato sauce.

Tomato Sauce

1 medium onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, chopped finely

2 28oz cans whole tomatoes

1 handful fresh basil leaves

2 sprigs thyme

1tsp salt

1tsp black pepper

2tsp red pepper flakes

Sweat the onion and garlic over medium heat until softened. Combine with other ingredients in slow cooker. Cook on low 8 hours.

Cycling Update

I've not done so well with the cycling, but I've managed to keep my weekly average between 20-30 miles (except for last week when I only did 9 miles in a single ride). This week I've broken the 40 mile mark mainly due to some crazy riding yesterday.

I have a new bike which is almost complete. I still have moments where I wish I'd have gone with a Jake the Snake, but I couldn't get one locally and wanted to buy something from a local shop. I ended up with a Giant TCX frame (aluminum with a carbon fork) that is built up with Shimano 105 and Ultegra components. It's a much nicer bike than the Jake, but it doesn't have the coolness factor that comes with a Kona bike. My main dislike is that the Jake came with everything I wanted o n the bike -- pedals, cross top levers, etc. I've had to wait for parts to come in on the giant. That said it's a great bike and I really enjoy riding it.

Yesterday I got the clipless pedals and a pair of shoes which makes riding much easier than with the platforms. My previous bike (which Sarah is now riding) had clips and straps and I had shoes/pedals on the bike before that. I really got a chance to realize how inefficient bare platforms can be over the past few weeks. Riding with shoes and pedals is a joy, and I didn't kill myself like I thought I might after 12 years not using them.

Now I have to learn to track stand.

Ice Cream of the Moment: Nata (Cream Ice Cream)

Nata is Spanish word for cream. The latest in the ongoing series of ice cream flavors is simple, unadorned cream. The sugar content is slightly higher in this recipe than in previous recipes resulting in a much softer freeze -- it is very scoopable. This ice cream is a perfect partner for any type of dessert, especially those usually served with whipped cream. You'll achieve the same flavor, but have the coolness of ice cream. Our first serving was with Alton Brown's Moo-Less Chocolate Pie.

I can't stress enough how important it is to use high quality dairy for this recipe. If you have a local dairy that you can use I strongly encourage it. For this recipe I used dairy from Memory Lane in Fordland, MO (which can be purchased at many stores in Springfield).

Nata Ice Cream

1 pint half-and-half

1 cup heavy cream

1 1/2 cups sugar

Bring the dairy to 175° over medium low heat. Combine with sugar and chill overnight. Freeze according to your ice cream manufacturer's directions. This ice cream most likely will not be as firm as other recipes, it is to be expected. If you want a firmer texture reduce the sugar by 1/2 cup.

Ice Cream of the Week/Moment Update

Making a quart and a half of ice cream every week has finally pushed our ice cream eating over the edge, so the frequency of frozen desserts will slow down until the end of Summer. The title of the series will now be Ice Cream of the Moment. I'm writing up the next post shortly.

Restaurant Week: Flame

The past week (actually 9 days starting last Wednesday and continuing through Thursday) have been Restaurant Week here in Springfield. 417 Magazine got some of the best restaurants in town (and a couple of random, not so nice places) to offer special fixed price menus ($41.70 for two) and to donate a portion of the proceeds to the local Boys and Girls Club.

Sarah and I went to Flame tonight with Steve and Tammy. We managed to convince them to forgo their obsession with Agrario and try some place new. None of us were disappointed.

Flame is owned by Mike Jalili who also owns Bijan's and the newly opened Touche. Several people have commented that the decor in Flame is a bit gaudy, and from looking through the windows during the day the red and purple seems overwhelming. Once you're in the restaurant though the environment is good. The restaurant features modern artwork, flat, wall mounted fountains, and a balcony that causes the staff to duck to go under the duct work. It is dimly lit -- too dark for a photo without a flash, but not too dark for dining and conversation.

The staff is very attentive and the service was exceptional. There is hardly anything I could find at fault within the restaurant. I think on a busier night it might be a bit loud, but it didn't seem bad tonight.

The fixed price menu consisted of split appetizers and deserts and a choice of two steaks. Steve and Tammy split the Garbage Salad while Sarah and I had the Calamari. The steak choices were a Top Sirloin and a Bistro Medallion with a mushroom demi-glace. Tammy had the medallion and the rest of us ate the sirloin. All of the steaks were prepared nicely. The sirloin was topped with an herbed compound butter. We were also given an assortment of sauces for the steaks -- bernaise, Flame A-1, and an herbed oil (I can't remember the name). The steaks came with a choice of sides. Sarah ordered a twice-baked potato, Steve and Tammy both got the marshmallow topped sweet potatoes which also had candied pecans. I had the salt-and-vinegar French fries.

The fries were some of the best I have ever eaten. They are fried to perfection -- crispy and not at all greasy. While tasting of salt and vinegar the predominant flavor is potato, as it should be. The fries are served Belgian style in a parchment cone (with a nice wire holder) and accompanied by a smoky ketchup and a garlic mayonnaise. The clear way to tell that these are exceptional French fries is that the cone is never greasy and even the fries at the bottom (20 minutes after it was set on the table) remained crispy. By far the best fries in Springfield, MO.

Dessert was a chocolate bowl filled with white and dark chocolate mousse and coffee frozen custard. The other choice was a New York style cheesecake, but I think we made the right choice with the chocolate.

Overall this was a great meal and the Restaurant Week special made it about the same price as if we had just ordered the steaks. While there are only two nights left of this special, if you have the opportunity try out Flame.

Adagio Teas - Highly Recommended

I'm a huge fan of tea -- especially loose teas. One of the reason I like the Mudhouse in Springfield is that they have a selection of loose tea available. Last week I received a package from Adagio Teas containing their ingenuiTEA teapot and four ounces of tea (earl grey, rooibos earl grey, golden monkey, and cherry). I've now had the opportunity to sample all of them and must say I'm hooked on Adagio. It is some of the finest tea I've ever tasted.

The ingenuiTEA teapot is great as well. You put boiling water and tea in from the top (or it's microwave safe for heating the water), allow your tea to steep, then place the pot on a cup and watch your tea strain into your cup. It's great fun. The teapot cleans up quickly under running water and is also dishwasher safe.

Other than the cool teapot and the outstanding tea Adagio wins me over with their packaging. The package they sent to me was gift wraped, a very nice touch. The one ounce samples of tea are shipped in a very stylish, sturdy metal tins. Larger portions come in nice cannisters. I can't tell you how much it angers me to pay $10 for loose tea and have it show up in a ziplock bag. Adagio also labels the canisters with the type of tea, recommended water temperature and time to steep. Perfect if you're new to loose teas.

If you're wanting to get started in loose tea Adagio offers four different $19 starter kits that include four tea samples and an ingenuiTEA teapot.

Fish -- Much Improved

As you may remember my first visit to Fish was good, but not what I would have expected from a restaurant owned by James Clary. Sarah and I decided to give it another try last weekend and I was very pleased. I had a pan seared tuna steak that was cooked perfectly rare with the twice baked potato and the creamed spinach. If you've never had good creamed spinach before Fish is a great place to try it. Sarah had the sole which as also very good. Since we were last there they've added a bit of bread to start the meal -- it's a savory fried dough served with herb butter. The closest thing I can compare it to would be a beignet. Overall Fish is much improved over our previous experience.

Ice Cream of the Week: Blackberry Frozen Custard

This is the first French style ice cream in the ice cream of the week series. The key difference between this recipe and the previous Philadelphia style ice creams is the addition of egg yolks to make a custard.

This recipe was inspired by the Good Eats episode about gourmet ice creams. Alton Browns formula is very similar to the one I normally use except dramatically more egg yolks. I would generally only use 3 egg yolks in this much ice cream. I decided to try the 8 yolk approach and thought the texture was a bit greasy. I also didn't strain the mixture before freezing, a step that I've added to the recipe to remove the crunchy seeds.

Blackberry Frozen Custard

1 cup heavy cream

3 cups half and half

1 cup sugar

8 egg yolks

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup finely chopped up blackberries (and juice from chopping)

Combine the dairy and bring to 175° over medium low heat. While heating the dairy whisk the egg yolks until they lighten in color then slowly add the sugar. Whisk eggs and sugar until a ribbon forms on the surface of the mixture and the color is light yellow. Add the dairy slowly (1 cup at a time, whisking constantly) to temper the egg yolks. When you've added about half of the dairy to the eggs combine both back in the sauce pan and return to low heat. Bring the mixture to 170° or until nape (thickened). Pour into an airtight container, add vanilla and blackberries. Chill overnight in the fridge. Strain the mixture to remove seeds. Freeze according to your ice cream freezer's instructions.