JJR4884's Meatballs and mashed potatoes

Wowwwwwwww its been a while.

Didn't take any pics until the dish was made, but i'll make this as detailed as possible.

Homemade meatballs with a corn/scallion mashed potato and a roasted tomato cream sauce


Meatballs:
1.20 lb ground beef, 80/20
1 egg
Eyeballed about 3/4 cup of bread crumbs (italian flavored)
Salt and Pepper
1/2 teaspoon of cumin
1 small yellow onion, 2 cloves of garlic, both chopped and sweated before mixing
1/4 cup (est) of thinly sliced scallions
Little bit of EVOO
Few sprinkles of parsley and basil

Mix it up very well, let the meat sit for a bit in the fridge.


Potatoes: Cut up 3 russett potatoes in 1/8s, boil until cooked, drain ALMOST all of the water out. Added 3tbsp of butter, salt, pepper, some milk. Mash just a couple times with a potato masher, then use a big wooden spoon for mixing for the remainder... i like keeping some small whole pieces of potato, so i'll only mash a tad. Towards the end, i put about a 1/4 cup of slice scallions (use the greener part sliced thin) and a half cup of corn. Mix well... adds great flavor and texture to the potatoes.... the corn was awesome too.


Before you start all of this, get some tomatoes, quarter them, and roast them in the oven. In the mean time, get 1 cup of water and bring to a boil, add a half of beef/chicken bouillon (or whatever the ratio to 1 cup calls for) and reduce that down a little bit. Turn to simmer, add some light cream (1/2 cup maybe), wisk frequently, and have that thicken up a tad... tomatoes took about 30 min at 400 in the oven, so do them ahead of time and then add them to the sauce whenever... if the sauce needs a little thickening, add s little bit of flour...


Meatballs- form into balls the size of.. idk... half way between a golf ball and a tennis ball. I fried them in a little bit of veggie oil in a cast iron skillet. Let them burn a little bit, that deep golden brown is where its at. You'll have to cook the meatballs on 4 or so sides until the entire outside of it is fully crusted over with deliciousness. Word to the wise, use two tablespoons to flip, pick up, move, etc the meatballs. One spoon to push the meatball on, the other the push/guide it. If you use tongs or a spatula, good luck... you are going to either squeeze the shiit out of them causing them to split, or just make a mess using a utensil that is anything bigger than a spoon.

FYI I cooked this on med heat on an electric, i would suggest med-high on a gas stove.

Add your mashed to the dish, meatballs on the side, sauce, and then a small drizzle of balsamic vinegar

viola



pics coming soon, my phone is taking wayyyyyyyy too long to upload pics to photobucket

man fuuck. I want this now too.

Originally Posted by JJR4884

FYI I cooked this on med heat on an electric...

I don't know how you do it man.

I HATE, I mean I FUKCING DESPISE trying to cook on an electric range. When traveling for work somtimes I used to stay at Extended Stay America or a place with a kitchenette but they were invaribly those fukcing electric jobs with the coiled burner...I don't even bother anymore.

Do you have the glass top type?

Originally Posted by chivo328

I don't know how you do it man.

I HATE, I mean I FUKCING DESPISE trying to cook on an electric range. When traveling for work somtimes I used to stay at Extended Stay America or a place with a kitchenette but they were invaribly those fukcing electric jobs with the coiled burner...I don't even bother anymore.

Do you have the glass top type?

I have glass top electric. I never really have issues.

Originally Posted by DylloS

I have glass top electric. I never really have issues.

+1 here too. I always used gas too until recently, like any other range, once you get used to it's easy.

Originally Posted by chivo328

I don't know how you do it man.

I HATE, I mean I FUKCING DESPISE trying to cook on an electric range. When traveling for work somtimes I used to stay at Extended Stay America or a place with a kitchenette but they were invaribly those fukcing electric jobs with the coiled burner...I don't even bother anymore.

Do you have the glass top type?

my gf's apt is all electric, so ya... gotta use it. i prefer gas obviously, but electric isn't that bad once you get used to it. typically if you turn the head down 1/4 to 1/3 of what you should do on a gas stove, you'll be fine

i use med high for steaks on that stove and they come out perfect

I've only cooked on the antiquated exposed metal coil type electrics. My experience has always been that they heat unevenly, and it would take a lot longer to drop the temperature when you needed to. I'm guessing the newer glass top versions have come a long way.

Originally Posted by chivo328

I've only cooked on the antiquated exposed metal coil type electrics. My experience has always been that they heat unevenly, and it would take a lot longer to drop the temperature when you needed to. I'm guessing the newer glass top versions have come a long way.

yeah I used to have those in my house and they were awful

looks good!

Originally Posted by OrisuE46

looks good!

you look good. what?

we all look good naked

what

I add bout 20% ground pork to my mixture that has similar spices for that extra juicy-ness

In for later.

THREADJACK

Originally Posted by chivo328

I don't know how you do it man.

I HATE, I mean I FUKCING DESPISE trying to cook on an electric range. When traveling for work somtimes I used to stay at Extended Stay America or a place with a kitchenette but they were invaribly those fukcing electric jobs with the coiled burner...I don't even bother anymore.

Do you have the glass top type?

Originally Posted by DylloS

I have glass top electric. I never really have issues.

Originally Posted by accolade

+1 here too. I always used gas too until recently, like any other range, once you get used to it's easy.

Originally Posted by JJR4884

my gf's apt is all electric, so ya... gotta use it. i prefer gas obviously, but electric isn't that bad once you get used to it. typically if you turn the head down 1/4 to 1/3 of what you should do on a gas stove, you'll be fine

i use med high for steaks on that stove and they come out perfect

Originally Posted by chivo328

I've only cooked on the antiquated exposed metal coil type electrics. My experience has always been that they heat unevenly, and it would take a lot longer to drop the temperature when you needed to. I'm guessing the newer glass top versions have come a long way.

I've used old-school coil type burners my whole life with no complaints. I would say I cook more than the average person. I've tried gas and conductive heating, but I like what I'm used to. I've discussed this with my dad, who cooks more than any non-professional I know. He cooks a lot, including a 5-7 course meals about once a week typically which he does by himself using electric. His opinion is that electric heats up food/cookware faster, and that's his main priority. I've seen a scientific article to back this up, but I don't have a reference.

With electric, even-heating is not much of an issue with quality cookware. If I have to compensate for it, I must do it subconsciously because I never give it much thought. As for instant flame adjustment, I simply move off the heat if I need to. I know of the "shortcomings" with electric only from people selling or justifying expensive gas ranges. No complaints from me though.

oh yea forgot to mention.... typcially i would have done a mix of pork, beef, lamb, veal.... choose 2 or 3 out of that list for ground meat