Twice Cooked Meatball Dumplings

Makes 30 Dumplings

The next time you want to impress your guests with an over the top appetizer or first course you want to serve twice cooked meatball dumplings – savory meatballs surrounded by a golden flaky biscuit dipped in a rich marinara. The inspiration for this dish came about when I realized that I had two cans of Pillsbury^® Grands Biscuits in the refrigerator that were getting ready to expire at the same time I had a desire for meatballs. I combined the two elements into a unique new appetizer that will satisfy children of all ages. I served the dumplings with marinara sauce but you can substitute any dipping sauce that you heart desires such as honey mustard or barbecue sauce. You can prepare them ahead of time and keep them in the refrigerator. Just bake and serve immediately after they come out of the oven. Don’t forget the napkins!

Meatball Ingredients *

4 Slices of White Bread (chopped)

½ tsp Garlic Powder

½ tsp Salt

1 tsp Dried Parsley

¼ tsp Ground Black Pepper

2 TBS Grated Italian Cheese

2 Lg Eggs

2 TBS Water

1 lb Ground Meatloaf Mix or Ground Round *

Other Ingredients

3 pkgs. Pillsbury^® Grands Jr. Golden Layer Biscuits

2 C Marinara Tomato Sauce

Shredded Mozzarella

All Purpose Flour for dusting

Preheat your oven to 375°F.

In the bowl of your food processor place the bread (ripped into smaller pieces), garlic, salt, parsley, black pepper, and Italian cheese. Process until it forms bread crumbs. Add the eggs and water. Pulse just until it comes together. Place the bread mixture into a large bowl with the ground meat and mix until the meat and bread are fairly well mixed. Avoid over mixing, you will still see small clumps of bread. If you over mix the meatballs they will be tough.

Using a 1 tablespoon measure or a 1 tablespoon scoop measure out the meatballs. Roll the meatballs between your hands and place them on a cookie sheet. Place the cookie sheet with the meatballs into their preheated oven for 15 minutes or until the meatballs reach an internal temperature of 140°F.

While the meatballs are cooking, remove the biscuits from their package and dust a cutting board with flour. Press each biscuit dough round flat with your hand then roll it out to a four inch circle with a rolling pin or dowel. Keep the board and the rolling pin dusted with flour or the biscuit dough will stick to the board.

Let the meatballs cool for 10 minutes after you take them out of the oven.

Lay a rolled-out biscuit dough round on a flat surface. Brush water over the edge of the biscuit dough. You can make 1 of three variations at this point or some of each.

1 – Just place a meatball in the center of the dough

2 – Place a teaspoon of marinara sauce in the center of the dough then place the meat ball in the center.

3 – Place a teaspoon of mozzarella cheese in the center of the dough then place the meat ball in the center.

Raise the temperature of the oven to 400°F.

Fold two sides of the dough over the top of the meatball and crimp together about 2 inches of dough leaving the ends open (see photo). Fold up the remaining ends and crimp the remaining edges.

Place the filled dumplings on a cookie sheet and bake them for 8-10 minutes or until they are a golden brown. Check them after 8 minutes to make sure that they are not burning on the bottom.

Serve hot with extra marinara sauce.

* Pronto Substitutes

White Bread – Use a good quality white bread such as Arnold Country White.

Ground Meatloaf Mix – Many grocery stores now sell a ground meat mixture that contains beef, pork and veal. This really enhances the taste of the meatballs but you can easily substitute ground round (93%).

Meatballs – If you don’t want to make the meatballs you can buy frozen mini meatballs and cook them according to the package directions.

Fresh Bread vs. Breadcrumbs – Most meatball recipes you will find use breadcrumbs because it makes it easier. I use fresh bread mixed with water and egg to make a panada. This will make the meatball more tender and the risk of over mixing is minimized making a tender meatball.

To print a copy of this recipe go to Twice Baked Meatball Dumplings

Eggs Dominick

I’ve reinvented the brunch classic Eggs Benedict with Italian bacon, fried spinach and Italian salsa. It will leave your mouth smiling. Pancetta is a featured ingredient in this recipe. It's Italian bacon that is salt cured (American bacon is smoked) and seasoned with nutmeg, fennel, peppercorns, dried ground hot peppers and garlic, then dried for at least three months. Pancetta is often used in pasta dishes like carbonara and can be substituted for most recipes calling for American bacon.  You will enjoy it's savory flavor in anything you prepare with it. You can find it in the deli department of many mega marts.

Eggs Dominick

Italian Salsa Ingredients

2 Roma Tomatoes (diced)

5 Fresh Basil Leaves (chiffonade)

1 tsp Chopped Fresh Italian Parsley

1 tsp Balsamic Vinegar

1 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

¼ tsp Table Salt

Ingredients

6 slices Thick Cut Pancetta (~1/4 lb) *

18 spinach leaves (optional)

3 English Muffins

6 Large Pasteurized Eggs *

Put up the water for your egg poacher. I purchased an insert to one of my pots that holds 6 poachers and makes it simple to poach eggs. You can also purchase silicone poachers. If you don’t like poached eggs you can substitute fried eggs for the poached eggs.

Prepare the Italian salsa.

1.    Dice the roma tomatoes

2.    Chiffonade the basil (roll the leaves together and cut them so that you form thin slivers of basil)

3.    Chop the parsley

4.    Mix the diced tomatoes, basil, parsley, salt, vinegar, and olive oil together in a bowl

Heat up a large frying pan over medium high heat and cook the pancetta until crisp – drain on paper towels. Using the grease left in the pan from the pancetta, fry the spinach leaves until they start to crisp up. Drain on paper towels.

Split and lightly toast the English muffins.

Cook the eggs.



Pancetta



While the eggs are cooking, place 2 English muffin halves on a plate and top each with a slice of the fried pancetta and 3 fried spinach leaves. Place a poached egg on top of the fried spinach leaves. Top the eggs with the Italian Salsa.

* PRONTO SUBSTITUTES

Pancetta – You can substitute Canadian bacon directly for the pancetta or you can remove the casings from ½ lb of Italian Sausage and fry it until it’s cooked.

Eggs – I use pasteurized eggs because I like my yolks to be runny. If you cook your eggs fully you can substitute regular eggs

To print this recipe go to Eggs Dominick

Fontina and Sausage Melt

Whenever my kids came home from college they would eat standing next to a counter in the kitchen and I would tell them to sit and enjoy what they were eating. Well, over the years we have started to adopt some of their eating habit without even realizing we were doing it. When we have company over we always seem to gather around the island in my kitchen eating appetizers and drinking wine. As a result of this I now try to come up with appetizers that enhance this mode of eating.

Now this dish takes a while to prepare but it is worth it. It can be prepared ahead of time and kept covered in the refrigerator overnight – just bake and serve when you company gets there. My melt is a combination of sweet carmelized onions, savory sauteed leeks, spicy hot Italian sausage and creamy melted cheese on top of grilled Italian bread – a melded cocophany of flavors.

Ingredients

3 links of Hot Turkey Italian Sausage *

2 TBS Olive Oil

3 Large Yellow Onions

2 tsp Kosher Salt (or 1 tsp Table Salt)

2 Leeks (sliced)

2 cloves Garlic (minced)

1/3 C Dry White Wine

8 oz Fontina Cheese (grated)

Cooking Spray

Bruschetta Ingredients

1 French baguette

1/8 C Olive Oil

Remove the casings from the turkey sausage and break it into clumps. Place the sausage into a large frying pan and cook over medium high heat. Keep breaking the sausage into smaller pieces as it cooks. Cook until the sausage is cooked and you see no more pink. Remove the sausage to a bowl using a slotted spoon. Leave the juices in the pan.

Cut the onions in half and then cut them into ¼ to ½ inch slices. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the juices remaining in the pan and heat over medium heat. Add the onions and 1 teaspoon of kosher salt. Once the onions have started to simmer lower the heat to medium low and continue cooking until they turn a golden brown color. This will take 20-30 minutes. Stir continuously. If you walk away from the onions they will burn. This will caramelize the sugars in the onions and make them sweet. Remove them from the pan and place them in a bowl.

Remove the green leaves and bottom of the leeks and cut them lengthwise in half. Cut the leeks into ½ inch slices. Break apart the layers of the leeks and place them into a bowl with cold water. Leeks will frequently have dirt between the layers and it’s important to wash them before cooking. Drain thoroughly. Heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in the pan and add the leeks with 1 teaspoon of kosher salt. When the leeks have wilted and are soft add the 2 cloves of minced garlic and cook for an additional 30 seconds. Add the white wine and cook until the wine has evaporated and you have scrapped up the brown bits on the bottom of the frying pan. Transfer to a bowl.

Shred the Fontina cheese using the large holes on a box grater.

Heat you oven to 425°F and your grill to high.

Slice the baguette on a diagonal into ¼ inch slices. Brush olive oil on one side of each slice.

Building the Melt:

1.  Spray an 8X8 baking dish with cooking spray.

2.  Layer the caramelized onions on the bottom of the baking dish in an even layer.

3.  Layer the sautéed leeks over the onions

4.  Layer the sausage over the leeks

5.  Cover the top with an even layer of the shredded Fontina cheese.

Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Note: if you prepare the melt the night before and they are cold it can take up to 30 minutes to bake.

While the melt is baking, place the side of the baguette slices that have been brushed with olive oil on a hot grill using long tongs. Cook until grill marks appear. Do not grill the unoiled side of the bread. Remove to a platter to serve. Note: this can be done up to 1 hour before serving if desired.

Let your guests spoon the melt onto the baguette slices themselves.

* Pronto Substitutes

Fontina Cheese – You can substitute shredded mozzarella for the fontina but it will have a milder flavor.  

Turkey Italian Sausage – I use turkey Italian sausage in many dishes to reduce the fat which can overwhelm some dishes and is healthier for you. You can substitute regular Italian sausage for the turkey sausage but make sure that you drain the grease before you sauté the leeks.

To print a copy of this recipe go to Fontina & Sausage Melt

Taking the Stress Out of Parties

Getting over feeding each other the cake before the wedding

This past weekend my wife and I hosted my daughter’s wedding shower. It was the first time we were meeting my future son-in-laws family and we had member of my wife’s family flying in as well. Talk about a stressful weekend. The one thing I didn’t want to stress about was the food. Italian food is ideally suited to make-ahead dishes and it does not have to be baked ziti.

I started to cook about three weeks before the shower. I baked the cake layers for the carrot cake. It’s much easier to ice a frozen cake layer than one fresh baked. I wrapped the baked cake layers in plastic and stuck them in the freezer.

The following weekend I had a marathon cooking weekend. I grilled the eggplant on my panini maker and made grilled eggplant lasagna where I substituted the eggplant for the lasagna noodles. I also made chicken parmigiana using chicken tenderloins to give me smaller portion sizes. I froze both of these dishes.

The weekend before the shower I frosted and decorated the frozen carrot cake layers and put it back in the freezer. Once it was frozen I wrapped it in plastic wrap. This technique is used by many bakeries and by your local grocery store.

Two days before the shower I placed the frozen lasagna and chicken parmigiana in the refrigerator to defrost.

The day before the shower I started my last batch of cooking. I made the grilled marinated vegetables and the unbaked fontina sausage melt (recipe in a separate blog) and placed them in the refrigerator.

The first thing I did on the day of the shower was to take the cake out of the freezer to defrost at room temperature.  20 minutes before I expected the first guest to arrive I popped the fontina sausage melt in the toaster oven and grilled the baguette slices. Once the guests started to arrive I baked the eggplant lasagna and chicken parmigiana in the oven. The only real “cooking” I did was grilling the baguette slices for the melt.

My advice on reducing stress at parties:

1.       Make lists detailing what need to be done and on what day.

2.       Always make something that a vegetarian can eat

3.       Prepare as many entrees and desserts ahead of time as possible

4.       Prepare an appetizer so that people can arrive late and not throw off your timing

5.       Never plan on starting your main course for at least 1 hour after you tell people to arrive

6.       If it’s a major event, like a bridal shower, ask a friend to take pictures so you will not be stressed worrying about doing it yourself

7.       Plan on an icebreaker or game to get everyone relaxed. (we played bocce - Italian lawn bowling)

8.       Tell your spouse ahead of time what you want them to do at the party

9.       Focus on having fun instead of on how the food tastes
10.  Keep it simple. A few good dishes is better than many mediocre dishes.

By the way, my daughters shower was a great success. Everyone had fun and ate almost everything I cooked. So much for eating leftovers all week. The best part was spending time with my son-in-law and meeting some of his family.

Restaurant Review: PieBird Raleigh NC

Restaurant Review: PieBird $$ ★★★★☆

Location: 618 N Person Street, Raleigh NC 27604

PieBird, located in the historic Oakwood district of Raleigh near C rispy Cream Donuts, brought me back to my childhood as soon as I entered the restaurant. Walking into PieBird reminded me of the taste and smell of my mother’s homemade chicken pot pie.  With its rustic ambiance and attentive staff they raise comfort food to a whole new level. 

They have a good selection of savory pies such as classic chicken pot pie, madras curried chicken pot pie, and shepherds’ pie. The crust on the chicken pot pie was thin and flaky complimenting the rich creamy interior full of chicken and vegetables. Unlike many restaurants, the shepherds’’ pie had a perfectly proportioned thin layer of parmesan mashed potatoes and a generous layer of savory ground lamb, roasted carrots and fresh herbs. The curried chicken pot pie was spicy with generous portions of chicken, sweet potatoes, peas, carrots, onions in a sweet curried sauce served with mango chutney and cucumber raita sauce on the side.

The sides were just as good as the entrees. The side of the day was a large dish of crisp green beans in a light vinaigrette with fresh herbs and cherry tomatoes. The bowtie pasta salad had big chunks of feta cheese, crisp red peppers, and artichoke quarters surrounded by a homemade creamy dressing.

After a great meal we had to have some dessert. If you like good strong coffee, they serve small pots of PieBird’s Nest Blend coffee made in a French press that makes you feel like you are in a Parisian café. The pies however are pure American and each one was better than the other. We kept tasting each other’s pies to make sure we tasted as many as possible. I had the Coconut cream pie that was light and creamy with a flaky crust topped with toasted slivered almonds. If you are a fan of peanut butter, try the peanut butter pie – it tasted like a Butterfinger chiffon with a chocolate graham crust.

This is definitely a restaurant that I will go back to when I want some comfort food.

Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta

6-8 servings

This is not the punishment vegetable of your youth.  This remake has a wonderful mild flavor with overtones of pancetta and garlic.

1lb Fresh Brussels Sprouts

¼ lb Pancetta * (diced)

1 Small Onion (diced)

2 tsp Olive Oil (omit if using bacon)

2 Cloves Garlic (minced)

2 tsp Chopped Fresh Parsley *

Salt & Pepper

Steam the Brussels Sprouts

Wash the brussels sprouts in water with a little lemon.  Trim the bottom of the brussels sprouts and peel off the out layer of leaves. Cut the sprouts in half through the tail and place them in a steamer.  Steam until they can be easily pierced with a fork.  Remove and drain.

Note: if you do not have a steamer you can place the brussels sprouts in a covered glass dish with 2 tablespoons of water and cook them in the microwave until they are fork tender.

Prepare the Brussels Sprouts

While the brussels sprouts are steaming, prepare the onions and pancetta.  Dice the onions in large pieces and the pancetta in very small strips.  Heat 2 tsp of olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet and add the onions and pancetta.  Cook until the onions start to become translucent.  Add the cooked and drained brussels sprouts and the minced garlic and stir for 3-4 minutes until the brussels sprouts start to brown.  Add the chopped parsley and serve immediately. Note: if you use dried parsley add it with the brussels sprouts.

* Pronto Substitutes

Pancetta – Pancetta is Italian bacon and is available in the deli department of most Harris teeters.  You can substitute 4 slices of premium bacon for the pancetta.

Fresh Parsley – If you do not have fresh parsley use ½ tsp dried parsley in its place but add it earlier so that it has time to hydrate.

Frozen Brussels Sprout - You can substitute frozen Brussels Sprout for fresh.

To print a copy of this recipe go to Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta