{MiniChow} Meatball Sliders

Yesterday, the weather was almost cool here at the beach!  Today is even better -- sometimes a little break from this Southern summer heat is just what the doctor ordered.  I was outside enjoying the cloudy sky and below- 80 degree temperature when I decided it was time to make a little cozy meal for dinner... and nothing says cozy like a pot of sauce bubbling away on the stove and some deliciously moist meatballs baking in the oven.  

Now I don't know how you all like to make meatballs, I usually go for the bread soaked in milk trick, but these meatballs contain a cup of ricotta cheese to keep them moist so I gave it a whirl and boy were they great!  Definitely give these meatballs a try sometime, even if you just throw them in a bowl of pasta.  

On to the sauce -- everyone has their favorite and it's my personal taste to have a sauce that is just a teensy bit sweet.  Some people don't like this so feel free to omit the sugar in the recipe.  This sauce is super simple to put together but it really contains tons of flavor and pretty much impresses people every time they taste it.  
The sauce recipe makes more than you need for the sliders so save it for spaghetti the next day or simply freeze the leftovers for another time!  

{MiniChow} Meatball Sliders
adapted from Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice

Meatballs:

1/2 pound ground pork
1/2 pound ground beef
1/4 cup yellow onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese, fresh grated
1 egg (beaten)
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning, crushed between fingertips
salt and fresh black pepper
8 slider buns
4 slices sharp provolone cheese

Sauce:
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small white onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 heaping tsp red pepper flakes
1/3 c. dry red wine
1 tsp sugar
salt and pepper
1 large can crushed tomatoes
1/4 c. flat leaf parsley, chopped


For Sauce:
Place a medium sized saucepan over medium heat.  Drizzle pan with olive oil and add onion.  Stir and cook until onions are starting to become translucent, about 2 minutes.  Add garlic to the pan and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Add red pepper flakes and wine to the pan and bring to a boil.  When wine is boiling, add sugar, salt and pepper.  Decrease heat to low and add can of tomatoes and 1/2 c. water.  Stir, cover and simmer for 2-3 hours.

For Meatballs:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly grease with olive oil a large roasting pan or baking sheet with sides. In a large bowl combine all the meatball ingredients using your hands or a fork. Roll into large meatballs {this recipe should make 7 to 8 meatballs} place on baking sheet and bake 30 minutes.  Remove from oven. Place 1/2 slice of cheese on top of each meatball and top with a generous scoop of sauce.  Place meatballs back in the oven to allow cheese to melt. 

Assembly:
Butter and toast slider buns. Place a meatball on each slider bun and top with more sauce if desired.  

Korean-Style Tacos

So last week my husband had to have an intervention with me.  He sat me down and said something to the tune of, “honey, I know you love your blog but you are spending 2 grand a month on groceries.”  Wham!  I have to admit that I really don’t pay any attention to what I spend on food because it is my full blown passion.  Every now and again I realize what’s happening and tighten up the budget -- but then a few months pass and I get lazy -- I stop trying to turn my leftovers into something else....I start going to the crazy expensive grocery store that is closest to our house....I don’t plan out meals  at all....  So that’s where I started last week -- staring at a large pork butt and thinking, “we are going to eat this all week and I’m going to make something different with it every day!!!!”  Not all of it is blog-worthy, but these tacos sure are!  

I’ll tell you the best part of these tacos: the pickled cucumbers!  You might be thinking, “aren’t pickled cucumbers just pickles?!”  NO!  These are pickled for just a few hours in rice wine vinegar, giving them a classic asian flavor that I love!  Give these spicy tacos a try -- it’s like street food in your own house!

Korean-Style Tacos (makes 4 servings)

from Key Ingredient

1 pound cooked pulled pork, cooked shredded chicken

12 corn or flour tortillas

¼ cup Quick Cucumber Pickle (below) or prepared kimchi (Korean pickled, spicy cabbage)

For the Kogi BBQ Sauce

2 tablespoons Korean fermented hot pepper paste (gochujang)

3 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar

2 teaspoons sesame oil

Whisk all ingredients together until sugar has dissolved and mixture is smooth. You can make this a few days in advance and store tightly covered in the refrigerator.

For the Quick Cucumber Pickle

1 large English cucumber (or 2 Japanese cucumbers), sliced very thinly
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon finely minced fresh chili pepper (or more depending on your tastes)
generous pinch of salt

Mix together all ingredients. You can make this a few hours in advance and store in refrigerator.

{MiniChow} Bahn Mi Bites

I love Bahn Mi sandwiches!!!  If you don’t know what they are, here it comes:  the bahn mi is basically a Vietnamese style sandwich filled with a variety of meats, most commonly pork, pickled vegetables {daikon, carrots}, cucumber, cilantro, jalapeno, scallions and finished off with a mayo based sauce made with my favorite condiment: Sriracha! {wow, that was quite the run-on sentence back there!}

Don’t be nervous to give this a whirl -- it really is delicious.  I’m just crazy depressed that our area doesn’t have ANY Vietnamese style restaurants ... so not only do I miss out on this delicious sandwich, but also my favorite soup -- PHO!  

This style of sandwich is traditionally served on a baguette or french roll, but I decided to make them as a little delicious bite on a crostini. The pickled veggies in this recipe are shredded for easier piling onto the crostini.  It really is the perfect little bite: crunchy bread, hot pork, cold crunchy slaw and creamy, spicy sauce!  Mmmm!!  If you want a big honking sandwich, feel free to put these ingredients on a roll or baguette!

Bahn Mi Bites

1 baguette, sliced into crostini sized pieces and toasted 

Sauce:

1/2 c. mayo

2-3 tbsp Sriracha, or more to taste

juice from 1 lime

Slaw:

2 large carrots, peeled

6 radishes, trimmed

1/2 cucumber, peeled and seeds removed

1 jalapeno, minced

1 handful fresh cilantro, roughly chopped

1/4 c. rice wine vinegar

2 tsp sugar

squeeze lime juice

1/2 tsp sesame oil

Pork:

1 lb ground pork

salt and pepper

1/3 c. panko

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 small handful fresh cilantro, roughly chopped

1. For the sauce, combine all ingredients and set aside.
2. For the slaw, grate cucumber, carrot and radish on the large side of a box grater, or if your food processor has a grating piece, use it!  Add grated veggies to a bowl with jalapeno and cilantro.  In a small bowl, whisk together rice wine vinegar, sugar, lime juice and sesame oil.  Pour dressing over veggies and set aside.
3. For the pork, combine all ingredients and roll into small 1 inch balls and flatten into patties.  Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and add 1 tbsp vegetable oil to pan.  Cook pork patties until browned, about 2 to 3 minutes per side.  Remove from pan and set aside.
4. Assemble:  Place one pork patty on each crostini piece and pile veggie slaw on top.  Drizzle with Sriracha mayo and serve immediately.

Oktoberfest & Schnitzel

The main entrance to Oktoberfest

Oktoberfest may have been the last stop on our trip to Europe, but it was definitely my favorite.  I found that Munich reminded me a lot of a typical American city, bustling with people, big buildings, corner restaurants and taxi cabs.  It was a comforting feeling of familiarity when I was starting to feel slightly homesick.

The Oktoberfest is simply amazing -- a must-see for anyone who likes to party, have fun, sing songs, drink beer, people watch and eat pretzels the size of your head.  The carnival outside the tents is packed with street food {schnitzel sandwiches, brats, gingerbread cookie hearts covered in German/Bavarian sayings and worn as a necklace}, rides and games.  The beer is carted in on horse-drawn carriages and the beer tents are where the real party happens.  They are packed with tables where guests sit and are served liter beers and food while meeting new table-mates and singing German drinking songs played by the band.  Each tent is named for the type of beer that they serve. 

Bringing in the Beer!

As the day goes on, the crowd gets quite lively.  They move from sitting down to standing on their seats, to dancing on their seats, then dancing on the tables themselves.  All of this is encouraged. {And by the way....I was nervous to enter the bathrooms at a party of this magnitude but I went in all day and night to find them spotless and fully stocked with TP at all times! }

Amazing panoramic of the Spaten tent 

Now to the food!  The night before the ‘fest, we ate at a German restaurant that my husband deemed “the best meal he ate on vacation”.  Pork Wiener Schnitzel with German Potato and Cucumber Salad.  Amazing.  Usual schnitzel recipes call for simple ingredients of pork with a breading of egg and plain bread crumbs, fried and served with lemon....but this was a special breed of schnitzel...juicy pork with a tang of mustard and horseradish.  I knew it would be the first meal I replicated at home.  The potato-cucumber salad was fantastic; creamy, yet vinegary.  The cucumbers add a lovely crunch and brightness to the dish!  Serve these recipes up with some good cold beers and you’ll be feeling like a German in no time!

Wiener Schnitzel

Marinade:

1/3 c. cider vinegar

3 tbsp grainy dijon mustard

1 heaping tbsp prepared horseradish

4 pork cutlets or chops, pounded to 1/4 inch thickness

1/4 c. flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 c. bread crumbs

2 eggs

vegetable oil for frying

1. Combine marinade ingredients in a large ziplock bag and add pork to bag.  Place in refrigerator and marinate 2 hours.
2. Set up three shallow dishes.  Place the flour and 1/2 tsp salt in one and breadcrumbs in another.  Beat eggs well and place in a third dish.
3. Heat at least 1/4 inch of oil in a frying pan to 350 degrees.
4. Working one at a time, dredge cutlets first in flour until surface is completely dry.  Dip in egg to coat, allow excess to drip off then quickly roll in breadcrumbs until coated.  Place meat immediately in pan with hot oil.  Do not crowd pan.  Cook in batches if necessary.
5. Fry the schnitzel for 3 to 4 minutes on one side.  Turn them over once and fry until both sides are golden brown.  Remove from pan and place on plate with lemon slices. 

German Potato-Cucumber Salad

from Edible Austin

2 lb. Yukon gold potatoes

1/2 c. chopped fresh parsley

1 small white onion, chopped

1 English cucumber, seeded, halved and sliced

1/4 c. tarragon vinegar

1/4 c. vegetable oil

1/2 c. chicken broth

1 to 2 tsp sugar

salt and pepper to taste

1.  Boil potatoes until soft but firm.  Cool them in an ice bath.  Once cooled, cut the potatoes into bite-sized pieces.  Add parsley, onion, cucumber, vinegar and oil.  Mix well.  Stir in chicken broth.  If more broth is needed to moisten, add up to 1/2 cup.  Add 1 tsp sugar, salt and pepper.  Taste and add more sugar, if desired.

Chinese Roast Pork on Garlic Bread

Since I started blogging, I’ve come to a food conclusion ... I freaking love Asian-inspired food.  I could eat Asian food any day of the week!  I love hoisin sauce, I love sriracha sauce, I love fish sauce, etc, etc.  Todays’ recipe was pure gold in my mouth -- combining two of my favorite things...sandwiches and Asian flavors! {{my absolute favorite sandwiches by the way??  Banh Mi’s of any kind...}}

So here we go....garlic bread + hoisin + sesame oil + pork and other yumminess = crunchy, buttery, salty, sweet heaven!  I really don’t have any other words to say except you need to try this open-faced masterpiece immediately.

Chinese Roast Pork on Garlic Bread

adapted from Rachael Ray Magazine

1 small pork roast, 1-2 lbs

1 tbsp olive oil

1 c. water

1/4 c. soy sauce

salt and pepper

1/4 c. hoisin sauce

3 tbsp honey

8 cloves garlic, pasted

2 tsp sesame oil

1/2 stick butter @ room temperature

1/2 large loaf of italian bread, split in half

1/4 c. store bought duck sauce

sesame seeds, for garnish

green onions, sliced, for garnish

1. Position rack on lower third of oven and preheat to 450.  Season pork with salt and pepper.  
2. Prepare dutch oven on stove with olive oil over high heat.  Sear pork on all sides, 2 to 3 minutes per side.  Remove from heat and pour water and soy sauce over pork.  Transfer dutch oven to preheated oven and braise for 45-60 minutes, until tender and cooked through.
3. In a small bowl, combine hoisin sauce, honey, 1 tsp garlic and sesame oil.  
4. Combine butter and remaining garlic and spread on bread.  Wrap bread together in foil and bake 10 minutes.  Open foil, turn bread cut side up and bake 5 more minutes.
5. Thinly slice pork and toss with hoisin sauce mixture.  Place pork on bread, top with duck sauce and top with sesame seeds and green onions.  Cut and serve.

BBQ Pulled Pork Pizza w/ Crispy Onion Straws

As you may have read, I’m constantly on the search for the perfect pizza crust -- I’ve had some successes with various recipes but MAN, have I had a lot of failure.  I feel the need to tell you all about my worst pizza crust experience...  I had slaved all day making the perfect dough, kneading in lots of love and whispering sweet nothings into my ball of dough.  I had read about how to make your crust extra crispy by placing a preheated large cast iron skillet in the oven along with your pizza stone and throwing a couple ice cubes in to create steam that would eventually create that crispy crust with a chewy inside.  I carefully stretched my dough over my piping hot pizza stone and layered it with  homemade sauce, fresh mozzarella and spices.  I smiled to myself when I put that baby in the oven, thinking, “I’ve done it!  I’ve really done it!”  When the pizza was done I cut it up, relishing the sound my pizza cutter made when it cut through the crisp edges.  I served up a slice to my husband, standing next to him with a ridiculous smile on my face; he takes a bite and chews...                     then lets the bite fall out of his mouth, grotesque look on his face and hands me his plate.  “Terrible!”, he said, “It tastes like cardboard.”  It’s an understatement to say that I was devastated.

After that scene, I retired myself from making pizza dough for a while and started using balls of fresh dough from family owned pizza shops.  This way I can get great results at home without making my own dough, which I clearly have no talent for.  So today’s pizza uses pizza shop dough!  Keep in mind that most grocery stores will sell fresh refrigerated dough, most of the time in the deli section.  

I really loved this pizza because it was a great way to use up some extra pork BBQ that I made over the weekend.  I mean, how many days in a row can you eat leftovers without tweaking them a bit?  The only challenge to this pizza were the onion straws due to the fact that I rarely bread and fry food...but these onion straws really made this pizza...don’t go without them!

BBQ Pulled Pork Pizza with Crispy Onion Straws

1 ball fresh pizza dough, at room temperature

about 1 cup of leftover BBQ pulled pork, shredded

1 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 c. shredded monterey jack cheese

1 small onion, very thinly slices and separated 

1/3 c. milk

1/2 c. flour

salt and pepper to taste

vegetable, canola, or peanut oil for frying

chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees and place pizza stone in oven.  Pour milk in a small bowl and place flour, salt and pepper on a small plate and set aside.
2. When pizza stone is preheated, remove stone and spray with cooking spray.  Stretch the dough over the pizza stone and drizzle with olive oil.  Bake pizza dough at 500 degrees for about 5-7 minutes, until center of dough is slightly cooked and edged just start to brown.
3. Remove pizza from oven and top with pulled pork and both cheeses, return to oven and bake 5-7 more minutes, or until crust is browned and cheeses are melted.
4. While the pizza bakes, heat 1 inch of oil in a saucepan over medium high heat.  Dunk onion straws in milk then flour mixture.  Knock off any extra flour then place onions in the hot oil. {{I had to do mine in a couple of batches}} Fry until browned and crispy, drain on paper towels, season with salt.
5. Remove pizza from oven and top with crispy onion straws and chopped cilantro if desired.

Cinco de Mayo Celebration!

Cinco de Mayo is one of my favorite holidays to celebrate -- and not just because of my love of tequila.  Ok, the tequila is mainly it.... BUT this girl loves her Mexican food!  Beans, rice, salsa, guacamole -- I can’t get enough.  I created a menu that would be easy to throw together so you can enjoy your own party, have a margarita (or 5) and even if the tequila makes you a tad fuzzy, you can’t mess up dinner!  The decorations were fun to DIY and very inexpensive.  So let’s get this party started!!

The Decor

I thought it would be fun to have a party favor so of course mustaches on a stick were appropriate.  Not only are they cute but they made for some fabulous pictures throughout the night -- most inappropriate for this blog.  I used the template from here.  All you need to do is trace and cut the mustaches out of black poster board and tape them to a long wooden skewer.  Done!

The main decor were the flag banners -- scrapbook paper mixed with tissue paper and simply stapled onto ribbon.  The fun part about the banners is that the colors and shapes are completely up to the creator so use your imagination to create something you love that fits your theme.  

The place mats are all paper as well.  I used craft paper as a base then glued ripped pieces of scrapbook paper on the base to create a sturdy and colorful mat.  The menus were printed at home and I created a smaller version of the flag banners and glued them on top.  Those little details really make your party special!

Lastly, I made a bunch of tissue paper flowers and made a backdrop wall for photos.  For an easy DIY tutorial on these flowers, click here.

Now on to the food!  The menu is a mix of SkinnyChow and heartier dishes so we could please the men in our group. 

SkinnyChow Sparkling Margarita

“I Hate Tequila” Margarita

Black Bean Fresh Dip

Grilled Pineapple Guacamole

Crispy Pork Carnitas

Tres Leches Cake 

SkinnyChow Sparkling Margarita (makes 1 pitcher)

2 c. tequila

1/2 c. triple sec

2 packets Crystal Light lemonade, limeade or if you're lucky -- Margarita flavor if you can find it

juice from 2 limes

Club Soda (to fill up pitcher)

In a pitcher, combine tequila, triple sec, Crystal Light and lime juice.  Add club soda to fill up pitcher.  Serve over ice.  Garnish with lime and a salted rim if desired.

"I Hate Tequila" Margarita (makes 1 drink)

My brother-in-law, Brian, came up with this delicious concoction.  It has that margarita feel to it, without the tequila!

1 1/2 oz gin

3 oz pink grapefruit juice

lime wedge

Shake ingredients over ice.  Garnish with a lime wedge and serve with a salted rim if desired.

Black Bean Fresh Dip

This is a spin-off of a dip that I had in a restaurant years ago.  It's a big hit every time it's made!

2 cans black beans, one drained, one undrained

2 tbsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp salt

pinch of cayenne pepper, or to taste

2 roma tomatoes, diced

1 small red onion, diced

1 small bunch of cilantro, chopped

1/2 c. crumbled queso fresco 

juice from 1/2 lime

Combine black beans, cumin, salt and cayenne pepper, spread mixture on platter.  Top with tomatoes, onions, cilantro, and queso fresco.  Squeeze lime juice on top and serve with tortilla chips.

I couldn't even get a picture before people were digging in!

Grilled Pineapple Guacamole

Three 1/2-in slices fresh pineapple

3 medium ripe avocados, halved, seeded and peeled

1/2 c. finely chopped red onion

2 tbsp pineapple juice

1 tbsp snipped fresh cilantro

1/2 tsp salt

pinch of cayenne pepper, or to taste

Grill pineapple slices on greased rack of an uncovered grill directly over medium heat for 6 to 8 minutes or until browned, turning once.  Core and chop pineapple.

Place avocados in medium bowl and mash.  Stir in pineapple, red onion, pineapple juice, cilantro, salt and cayenne pepper.

Crispy Pork Carnitas

2 lbs pork shoulder

4 garlic cloves, minced

1/3 c. cilantro leaves, plus 1/4 c. chopped cilantro

1 large onion, chopped

1 1/2 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp orange zest

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1 can (15oz) low sodium chicken broth

zest and juice of 1 lime

3 tbsp vegetable oil

1 package soft corn tortillas

sour cream, cheese, lettuce, salsa for serving

1. Combine pork, garlic, 1/3 c. cilantro leaves, onion, oregano, orange zest, salt and red pepper flakes in slow cooker and pour broth over top so pork is mostly submerged.  Cover and cook on high for 3 hours or low for 6 hours, until pork is tender.

2. Remove pork from slow cooker and cool slightly.  Shed pork with 2 forks and stir together with 1/4 c. cilantro, lime zest and juice 1/2 c. cooking liquid (from slow cooker) .  In a large pan, heat vegetable oil over medium-high heat.  Add meat and press into bottom of pan.  Let bottom layer of meat develop a crisp crust, about 3 to 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and serve in warm tortillas with lettuce, salsa, sour cream and cheese if desired.

Coconut Tres Leches Cake

from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

I liked this recipe because it allowed you to use a boxed cake mix, cutting down on your hands on time!

1 box yellow cake mix

Milk Syrup:

1 can (15oz) cream of coconut

1 can (12oz) evaporated milk

1 c. heavy whipping cream

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Garnishes:

2 medium ripe bananas, sliced

1 tub whipped topping

1 c. sweetened coconut, toasted (bake coconut at 350 until golden brown, about 7 minutes)

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Lightly spray a 13 by 9 in baking dish with cooking spray.  

2. Prepare cake mix according to instructions and bake.  Cool cake.

3. Combine milk syrup ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.  Poke holes all over cake and pour milk syrup over cake.  The milk will not soak in immediately -- no worries!  Just pop that baby in the fridge for 2 hours until the cake soaks up all the milk.  

4. Top cake with whipped topping and garnish with bananas and toasted coconut.

Happy Cinco de Mayo, everyone!  If you have any questions about anything you see, let me know!  And don't forget to tell me how your parties went this year!!!