Youvarlakia (Meat Balls with Lemon Sauce)

Youvarlakia (Meat Balls with Lemon Sauce)

    I recently made Beef in Wine Gravy (delicious) from the same cookbook this recipe is from. That cookbook is Hellenic Cuisine copyrighted in 1957 by St. Helen's Philoptochos Society and Sts Constantine and Helen Parent-Teacher Association. I wasn't sure about the texture of the sauce, because it came out pretty foamy (not sure if it was supposed to be so foamy), but it tasted good. I had to buy mint, but the parsley I used was from my garden.  Yay!

Ingredients:

2lbs ground beef or veal (I used ground turkey)

2 small onions, chopped finely (I used one large)

3 tbsps chopped parsley and mint leaves (This is for sprinkling over the dish when serving, so you can actually use more)

1/2 cup rice, cooked

2 tbsps butter or oil

1 tsp vegetable salt (I used a salt free table seasoning)

2 cups water

1/2 cup flour

salt and pepper, to taste

plus

2 eggs 

1 lemon, juiced

Directions:

in a large bowl, thoroughly mix the meat, onion, salt, pepper, rice and vegetable salt. Form into small meatballs (I laid out my meatballs in a 9x13 pan and it was completely filled when I was done making the balls). Sprinkle with flour. Bring a saucepan with water and a little salt, to boil. Add meat balls and butter or oil and simmer for 40 minutes.  When you have about ten minutes of cooking time left, make your sauce by separating eggs and beating the whites until they form soft peaks. Beat yolks with lemon juice and fold into the egg whites. Remove the pan from heat and drain any leftover water. Pour the sauce on top and stir to coat meat balls. Sprinkle with chopped mint and parsley. Serve over rice or even noodles if you'd like that better.  Serving size depends on how many meatballs each person gets.  

Youvarlakia (Meat Balls with Lemon Sauce

Pie Number 14 - Strawberry Cream Cheese Pie

The Year of Pie

Pie Number 14 - Strawberry Cream Cheese Pie

    From Favorite Eastern Star Recipes - Old Family Favorites - Including Menus comes this yummy pie. A little history for you: the Order of the Eastern Star (OES) is a Masonic organization. It is a primarily a women's organization affiliated with the fraternal organization, the Freemasons. Male members of OES are required to be Freemasons.  There are no female Freemasons; female members of OES simply join the organization. I am a member of OES, but admittedly have not attended in decades. In the event that I ever decided to attend after moving several states away from where I grew up, my late father and now my step-mother, have kept up my dues all these years. 

    This recipe was submitted by Mrs. Amy Sanders, Secretary of Sylvan Hills OES, Chapter 602 in North Little Rock, Arkansas. While the flavor was somewhat similar to cheesecake, the texture was much lighter and creamier. Soooo good with the fresh strawberries I got a great deal on.  Sliced peaches or any kind of berry, would be good with the cream cheese base. This recipe uses a regular pastry crust, but it would be good also in a graham cracker crust. I really liked this pie and plan to make it again. 

Ingredients:

1 8oz package cream cheese, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 pint heavy cream

1 tsp vanilla

1 9-inch baked pie crust

1 pint fresh sweetened strawberries or 1 10oz package frozen strawberries, thawed and drained (I actually used the bottom of the pie pan to measure my strawberries, by laying halved strawberries in the pan in a single layer, until the bottom was covered; it was perfect!

1 tablespoon sugar (maybe a little more) for sprinkling over strawberries (optional)

Directions:

Use your favorite pie crust recipe and bake pie shell according to directions. Cool your crust. Wash, stem and slice strawberries in half. In a bowl, whip cream cheese with powdered sugar. In a separate bowl, whip cream until thickened (go for those stiff peaks) and add vanilla. Fold the cream and vanilla mixture into the cream cheese mixture (The original directions say to fold in the cream cheese mixture, but I did the opposite and folded the cream and vanilla into the cream cheese mixture. It worked just fine.). Scoop your filling into your cooled pie shell and cover with strawberries or other fruit. Sprinkle sugar lightly over berries. Chill in refrigerator until ready to serve. Serves 8. 

Strawberry Cream Cheese Pie

Strawberry Cream Cheese Pie

Jalapeno-Cheese Cornbread

 Jalapeno-Cheese Cornbread

    This recipe is based off of a cornbread recipe in Betty Crocker's The Big Book of Bread, published in 2013.  I have tried a number of recipes in this cookbook and have enjoyed all of them, including this Jalapeno-Cheese Cornbread. This recipe would have been perfectly fine plain (as in the cookbook); without jalapeno and/or cheese, but I wanted to "jazz" it up a little. I used fresh jalapeno from my garden, which was nice because I have all these pepper plants and trying to think of things to use them in. I used finely shredded Monterrey-Jack cheese, but you could use whatever shredded cheese you like. Finally, I used a 9-inch cast iron skillet for baking. I'd read recently about pre-heating the cast iron, before filling with batter. It's supposed to give it a crispier crust. It did and I liked it. You don't have to do that, but you should give it a try!

Ingredients:

1 cup milk

1/4 cup melted butter

1 egg

1 1/4 cup yellow, white or blue cornmeal

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup shredded cheese

2-3 diced jalapenos

Directions:

    Heat your oven to 400 degrees. If you are using cast iron, go ahead and put it in the oven after greasing the bottom and side of the pan, to pre-heat. If you are not using cast iron, grease the bottom and side of a 9-inch round or square pan. Mix together cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a separate large bowl, beat together milk, butter and egg with a whisk. Stir in the dry mixture all at once until moistened. You'll see some lumps. Stir in cheese and jalapeno. Take your heated skillet out of the oven and pour the batter into your skillet or other pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve warm with butter and a drizzle of honey.

Jalapeno-Cheese Cornbread

Pie Number 13 - Miracle Custard Pie

 The Year of Pie

Pie Number 13 - Miracle Custard Pie

    The recipe says it makes it's own crust and I wanted to see what happened. The recipe is in Better Homes and Gardens: All Time Favorite Pies 169 Recipes!, published in 1978. The pie was tasty and I enjoyed it overall.  I didn't care for the crust, which really wasn't a crust. It's just that the bottom and sides of the custard mixture, thickens a bit and is a different texture than the rest of the pie. I would recommend letting it cool way down, before serving, because it will help it come out of the pan better. It was still a little too warm when I cut into it, to try it out. This was yummy with a good dollop of whipped cream on top. 

Ingredients:

2 cups milk

4 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup butter or margerine, cut up into little bits

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup flaked coconut

ground nutmeg

Directions:

The original recipe uses a blender to mix the ingredients. I used a bowl and a hand mixer and a wooden spoon. 

In blender or with a hand mixer, combine milk, eggs, sugar, flour, cut-up butter or margarine, vanilla and salt until well-mixed (don't over blend). Stir in coconut and pour this mixture into a greased 9-inch pie plate. Sprinkle nutmeg lightly over top and bake in an oven at 350 degrees for 40 minutes, or until a knife inserted comes out clean. Cool and chill before serving. 

Miracle Custard Pie

Miracle Custard Pie
(The pie set up nicely, but my piece fell apart a bit, because I didn't wait long enough for it to cool)

Keftethes Me Saltsa Krasi (Meat Balls in Wine Gravy)

 Keftethes Me Saltsa Krasi (Meat Balls in Wine Gravy)

    This recipe is in Hellenic Cuisine, produced by St. Helen's Philoptochos Society and Saints Constantine and Helen Parent-Teacher Association in 1957. My copy is a thirteenth printing from 1966 and belonged to a man named Frank Guarnacci. I just searched Mr. Guarnacci's name and I not only found him, I identified his wife, Marguerite. Mr. Guarnacci served in the United States Navy during WWII and he sounded like an amazing person. He and Marguerite were married for 55 years before his passing. I dedicate this post to Mr. and Mrs. Guarnacci. This recipe was not difficult, but you do have shape small meatballs (I used a tablespoon and ended up with 40) and it is worth the work. It was yummy and I am excited for my leftovers. You could serve this over rice, noodles or even make a hot sandwich with nice, toasty French bread.

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef (try it with ground chicken or turkey)

3/4 cup bread or cracker crumbs (I used fine, plain bread crumbs)

1 small onion, minced

1 egg, beaten

3/4 cup cream or milk

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup oil or butter (I used avocado oil)

6 tbsp flour (divided use)

2 cups water

1 cup red wine

salt

pepper

Directions:

Mix together ground beef, crumbs, onion, egg, cream/milk and salt. Shape into small balls. I used a tablespoon for scooping and rounded them out, but rolling between my hands (This method produced forty small meatballs and I thought were the perfect size for this). In a small bowl, roll meatballs in 3 tbsp of flour and set aside. While you are working on shaping the meatballs, start heating the oil in a large skillet (I used a 12 1/2 inch cast iron skillet and it was perfect). When you've floured all of the meatballs,  your oil should be hot enough. You can test out the oil by dropping a little piece of meat or flour in and seeing if it sizzles. Brown the meatballs a few at a time and remove to a bowl or platter. Blend flour with the oil left in the skillet, stirring in wine and water. Stir with a whisk, cooking and stirring until smooth. Place meatballs back into the grave and simmer on low to medium low for thirty minutes, stirring occasionally.  

Keftethes Me Salts Krasi (Meat Balls in Wine Gravy)