Thanks to "bwellborn" for the mentioning the animal mistreatment issues surronding veal. I completely agree and never use veal. So, now I have alternatives to veal, such as dark meat turkey or even lamb, thanks to all of you reviewers' for your comments and suggestions!
I'm making meatballs tonight!
My time saver is to freeze 4-6 oz. amounts of left over chicken, turkey, ham, roast beef, etc. in freezer bags. During the week when I am really tired and don't want to cook, I pull out one of the frozen meats and defrost in the microwave. I then add the protein to canned soup -- like Progresso Classic Veggie or Campbell's Select Tomato Basil -- to have a hearty and soothing and QUICK tasty meal. Works every time.
I believe that the bread you select is the key to making a Great Panini Sandwich whether it is flattened, sliced, stuffed, folded, or wrapped. I follow these simple, but basic rules about the bread I choose and have success with my paninis everytime - and yes, I always us a panini press (as opposed to the fry pay with the foil-wrapped-brick-as-weight method).
Be sure that the bread is:
1) strong enough to hold the other ingrediants inside;
2) dense enough to hold a sauce or oil;
3) large enough to accomodate the ingrediants;
4) of a flavor that complements the inner ingrediants.
I have 3 favorite Panini sandwiches. Please let me know if you want the them, I would be glad to e-mail them to you. My favs are:
1) Honey-baked Ham w/ Shaved Apple Salad - add cole slaw if you wish.
2) Bacon Cheddar on Raisin Bread - savory and sweet at the same time!
3) Roasted Asparague and Sweet Onion w/ Gruyere - absolutely divine.
I can't wait to read these new Panini book!
I use SAGE in my tomato soup. I also add parsley and basil to the soup. I love the smokey plus hint of sweet (fromthe basil) taste that cuts the tomato acidity just a bit. I also do the same with my mixed veggie soup. TASTY!
I never learned to cook and thus, never had cooked a chicken. A friend of mine, Stanley, lives on a farm in Northern Minnesota and said he would teach me to make the best fried chicken in the country. He always has chickens on the farm and said that one rooster was acting up and that was the one we were going to cook. Upon visiting him, we went out to catch Ralph the rooster, as Stanley had named him. However, Ralph intuitivly knew something was up and started to chase me around the yard, jumping up at my legs with his spirs. Needless to say, this city girl had never seen anything like this before and in attempting to get away from Ralph was running around in circles - just like a ...well, I won't say the rest of this similie, but I am sure you know it. Ralph continued to chase me behind rainbarrels, under fences, and around tractors until Stanley successfully threw a gunney sack over old Ralph. The rest is my first fried chicken expereince. True story
I have been making Ina's Spaghetti & Meatballs for a few years and there is nothing better. Personally, if you really watch Ina, she is very percise on every measurement and very matter of fact of how she cooks. She wants it to taste perfect. I have read where she will make the same recipe 20-30 times a day until she gets it right. Do you really think the Yummo woman does that??? I think not!!! Ina takes her cooking very serious and I think she is one of the best stars the FoodNetwork has.
I have been making meatballs (a recipe from Giada's show) for awhile now using breadcrumbs soaked in whole milk and ground turkey.
They are moist, tender and delicious. Even better the next day!
I would not use this recipe because of the veal.
I adore Ina and use alot of her recipes but will stick with my other meatball recipe for now.
For those concerned about the ethics of using veal, I would suggest finding a trustworthy butcher. Many animals are bred humanely now, in serene environments. The meat is much pinker than historically, because calves are outside and moving; it's also flavorful, unlike meat of yore. I use veal , if I know from where it comes. In response to the meatball recipe, I agree with soaking bread in milk; this recipe looks very typical to me, nothing special, though I'm sure it's tasty.
While this recipe for meatballs is indeed spot-on, you are right...Ina can't compete with the generations of Italian cooks in my family...this just tomato sauce heated up for half an hour without any character. Solution? Use a real sauce recipe, take a Saturday morning, cook up a big pot and freeze in quarts. Then when you need your quick meal, make Ina's meatballs, defrost the good stuff and simmer away. You'll be much happier!
Yesterday, I cooked spaghetti and meatballs from the James Beard cookbook and it was very good...no bread or breadcrumbs in the meatballs. I will try Ina's recipe soon, every one of her recipes that I have tried has been a winner.
it was late when i wrote my comment, what i meant to say was how much milk soaked white bread would you use in lieu of breadcrumbs. any help would be appreciated, i want to make this over the weekend.
I like the idea of using white bread soaked in breadcrumbs, what's the quantity conversion from breadcrumbs?
Just finished the recipe I had wanted to try for awhile. My husband insists that sauce have peppers, so I added a little red and green in with the onions and garlic. I bought a really nice Chianti import and I had a loaf of sourdough bread just baked, so I ended up using that for the larger crumbs. I also had to rush so baked the meatballs - there were lots - at 400 degrees, then added most of them to the sauce to finish up. Because I baked the meatballs, I sauteed the vegetables, then added them to the wine and tomatoes, therefore missing out on the browned bits this time. I cooked the sauce down, tasted, and added just a bit of sugar, then added the meatballs. My husband said he thought tasty and I thought worth the extra time to prep and cook. There will be enough meatball for hot subs another day - hooray.
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