So Many Dishes

It has been a different sort of holiday season for us. I had not expected to be dealing with orthopedic issues through these weeks, but it is what it is. Fortunately, the cortisone injection into my SI joint that I received last Friday appears to be having a positive effect (fingers crossed), and I’m definitely in better spirits.

Our “first Christmas” celebration with Luke, Alice, and Dante was last Saturday, as Luke left for New York this past Friday, to spend Christmas with his dad’s family. This was a momentous occasion because, now that he’s 11, we decided that Luke is old enough to participate in the family holiday sport of guessing gifts based on clues. My father was responsible for this tradition. He would put clues on gift tags for my mother, and she would have to try to guess what was in the package. Eventually, it spread to the entire family. It really is a lot of fun, although I’m still grumbling about the year Ken decided to write all my clues in Russian.

We did our gift exchange first, because it’s just not fair to make a kid wait for Christmas gifts. There were a lot of laughs. Dante is a New York Jets fan, but Ken and I pranked him with an Eagles ball cap. We got Alice, too, indirectly. When Luke stayed with before Thanksgiving, we realized that he loves to wear sports jerseys. We gave him one from our favorite English Premier League club, Manchester City. Since Alice is a huge Liverpool fan, she wasn’t thrilled that Luke put his new jersey on immediately, but he covered it up a little later with a Florida Panthers hockey sweater that she and Dante gave him.

Then it was dinner time. We made one of Alice’s favorite dishes, meatball stroganoff. I say we because Ken and I were essentially co-chefs. He has been doing so much of the cooking (and everything else) the past few weeks, to allow me to rest and heal.

The meatball stroganoff recipe is from one of my oldest cookbooks, 365 Ways to Cook Hamburger, by Doyne Nickerson. The copyright on the book is 1958; my copy was a bridal shower gift in 1971. The cookbook saw a lot of use when we were first married, especially when we were in grad school. These days, there are only a couple of recipes that I make occasionally, so the book only comes off the shelf a couple times a year.

The dish is a pretty basic one, but delicious nonetheless. I’ve made a couple changes over the years. The original recipe calls for MSG. Uh, no. I also now bake the meatballs, rather than brown them on the stovetop. That’s a technique I learned from The Complete Meatball Cookbook by Ellen Brown. It’s really useful here, because the meatballs are rather soft, and tend to fall apart as you try to turn them in the pan. Baking solves this issue.

Meatballs Stroganoff

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup beef broth
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 cup sour cream (regular or reduced fat)

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil, and spray the foil with cooking spray.

Combine beef, bread crumbs, milk, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Mix thoroughly, then form into 1-inch diameter balls. Place on prepared baking sheet. Spray tops of meatballs lightly with cooking spray. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until cooked through. Remove from oven and keep warm.

While the meatballs are baking, melt butter in a large skillet. Add the mushrooms and onions, and sauté until mushrooms are cooked, 7 to 10 minutes. Mix in flour, then add beef broth, stirring until smooth and sauce begins to thicken. Add Worcestershire sauce and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper, then add meatballs to the pan. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Just before serving, mix in sour cream. Serves 4.

We always serve the stroganoff over noodles, and added glazed carrots as a side. It was quite a festive table.

We actually extended our celebration with Alice and Dante by taking them to a “jazzy Christmas” concert at the Maltz Theater in Jupiter this past Saturday. This performance was in the smaller of the two theaters at the venue, an intimate space that was perfect for this performance. We had reserved a table on the floor, rather than opt for theater seating, and it turned out that we were practically in the band! For a family of musicians, it was perfect. Alice said she doesn’t ever want to not sit in the band 😀

I hope your holiday is off to a good start. Happy holidays, and happy eating!