Apricot BBQ Meatballs with Basil & Peanuts

Sometimes, one recipe's just not enough.  Awhile back, I learned about Grape Jelly Meatballs, the best and easiest meatballs you'll ever make.  After making them a hundred times over the past 2 years, I decided I was ready to switch up the recipe.  This is a take off of that recipe, with a few new flavors added to the mix.  These meatballs are sweet and robust, with a hint of asian flare.  They are splendid as a party food or appetizer or as a main course served with rice and veggies.  

Apricot BBQ Meatballs with Basil & Peanuts

1 C. of Apricot jelly

1 Small can of crushed pineapple

1 C. of BBQ sauce

1 Pinch of red chile flakes

1 Bag of traditional frozen meatballs (not italian flavored) 

Basil, sliced thinly 

Peanuts

Turn your crockpot to low heat.  Add the apricot jelly, pineapple BBQ sauce and chile flakes.  Stir to thoroughly combine.  Add the meatballs and gently toss to coat them in the sauce.  Cook on low heat until they are cooked through, up to 8 hours.  Toss them a couple times so the meatballs soak up all that great flavor.  To garnish sprinkle with basil and peanuts.  

*You could use this sauce as a mild, sweet version of General Tso's chicken, especially for kids.

5 Drinks to Spring You Into Summer!

Hello world!  It's been ages since my last post.  I apologize.  I hope you've been cooking and eating wondrously since we last spoke.  My busy life has gotten the better of me lately, but I'm back and ready to share some more approachable, impressive and delicious recipes!

Since summer has just started, I thought a series of refreshing drink recipes would be a good way to enjoy the new season.  In my opinion, everyone should be armed with several go-to beverages for their summer parties.  These recipes are simple, easy to personalize and thirst-quenching.  Happy drinking!


5.  Basil Bloody Mary

Bloody Mary’s are a staple at any worthwhile brunch.  They are a classic that rarely get enough attention, let alone a makeover.  Now, I know everyone makes them differently.  In fact, I know people who throw Bloody Mary parties with a bar-ful of ingredients, flavors and accoutrements.  To me, the Bloody Mary should be simple, fresh and crisp.  To achieve this, I employ basil ice cubes.  New, unique and unexpected, this Basil Bloody Mary will make you reconsider any reservations about tomato juice.  

Basil Bloody Mary 

1 C. Tomato Juice (I prefer the spicy kind)

1 Basil Ice Cube (recipe follows)

½ T. Worcestershire Sauce

1 Shot of Vodka

Squeeze of lemon juice

Pepper, if desired

Basil, celery & lemon for garnish

In a blender, combine tomato juice, basil ice cube, Worcestershire and lemon juice.  Pulse to combine.  Add the shot of vodka and season to taste.  Pour into a tall glass and garnish with fresh basil, celery and lemon.  Enjoy.

Basil Ice Cubes

Unique.  Flavorful.  And yeah, a little badass.  Give these basil ice cubes a try.  They're perfect blended into tea or juice, as a surprising garnish in H2O or as the new chill factor for your vodka.

2 lbs. Basil leaves, cleaned
Water

Place the cleaned basil leaves in a large bowl of cool water.  The water helps provide more juice than the basil leaves would give by themselves.

Put the basil through a juicer, a handful at a time.  I juice the basil twice because I find that not all the juice comes out the first time.  Add water along with the basil as needed.

Immediately pour the basil juice into ice cube trays and set in the freezer.  Check back later this week for new recipes and ideas for Basil Ice Cubes!



4.  Blue Basil Vodka

Continuing with my rant on basil ice cubes, here’s another drink that highlights their unusual crisp, fresh flavor.  I actually made this drink a year ago and it was a total flop.  I blended blueberries and basil in a food processor and then froze them.  The mixture didn’t come out of the ice trays and when you took a sip, you had to chew the small pieces of berries and herbs.  Needless to say, it was a disaster.  So, this new version has been perfected and it’s impressive, if I do say so myself.  Pair the basil ice cubes with premium vodka and fresh blueberry juice for a provocative summer-inspired beverage.

Blue Basil Vodka

3 oz. Blueberry Juice

1 oz. Vodka (I use Finlandia)

1 Basil Ice Cubes

Combine the blueberry juice and vodka (shaken, never stirred) and pour into a martini glass.  Gently add the basil ice cube on top.  As the basil cube begins to melt, the drink changes its flavor and color subtly.  

3.  White Chocolate Milk

In this mix of heavy hitting summer drinks, I felt that we needed some whimsy.  So, take a break from your overwhelming everyday and regress to a simpler time with a cool glass of white chocolate milk, littered with coffee ice cubes.  

4 t. white cocoa powder or melted white chocolate

2 C. Whole Milk

Coffee Ice Cubes (a pot of cooled coffee frozen in ice cube trays)

Fill a glass with coffee ice cubes.  In a measuring cup, stir the drinking chocolate into the whole milk.  Pour the chocolate milk on top of the coffee ice cubes and give it a stir.  Revel in sweet, delicious simplicity.



2.  Coconut Thai Iced Tea

Everyone loves Thai Iced Tea.  I’ve posted about it before and I’ll post about it again.  It’s such an exotic take on an afternoon tea (or latte, for that matter).  Why not take it to the next level?  Add some coconut to your next Thai iced tea for something truly remarkable.  Thanks to my friend Kye who gave me some fantastic suggestions on Thai tea leaves!

Coconut Thai Iced Tea

2 C. Water

1/4 C. Thai Tea leaves
1/4 C. Sugar

2 C. Half & Half

Coconut Milk Iced Cubes (frozen coconut milk in ice cube trays)

Tip:  Don’t let the leaves steep in hot water for more than a few minutes or your tea will be bitter.  Thanks, Kye!

Fill a tall glass with lots of coconut ice cubes.  Pour the cold Thai tea over the ice, almost all the way to the top.  Gently pour a splash of half and half on top and let it cloud down.  

1.  Raspberry Rosemary Blended Iced Tea

Last, but not least.  My dear Kateryna introduced me to an amazing Brazilian Iced Tea during our visit in New Hampshire earlier this spring.  I was hooked after the first sip I took and I felt so inspired by its unique flavors that I had to experiment with them at home.  This recipe is my spin on the outstanding concoction from Pao Cafe. My Blended Iced Tea with Rosemary and Raspberry is sweet, frothy and herbaceous and a brilliant new thirst-quenching delight.

Raspberry & Rosemary Blended Iced Tea

2 C. Hibiscus Tea, chilled

The juice of ½ a lemon

1/3 C. frozen raspberries
2-3 T. Rosemary Simple Syrup (recipe follows)

In a blender, combine the hibiscus tea, lemon juice, frozen raspberries and simple syrup.  Pour into a chilled glass and escape. 

Rosemary Simple Syrup

1 C. Water
1 C. Sugar
5 Rosemary Sprigs, finely chopped

In a small saucepan, heat the water, sugar and rosemary over medium heat.  Stir gently until the sugar dissolves.  Remove from the heat and cool.  Strain the mixture and discard the rosemary.  

Pasta Rossa

I have a thing about spaghetti noodles.  I don’t like them.  There’s something about the shape and the way it doesn’t hold sauce that distracts me.  Ridiculous, I know.  But I like to pay attention to that kind of thing.  It’s the perfectionist in me that I can’t seem to suppress.  The way I see it, why not make a simple change, like the type of pasta, and arrive at a result that much closer to perfection?  No distractions.  Just pleasant-looking, sauce absorbing, delicious, reassuring pasta. 

With that said, I LOVE ‘spaghetti sauce!’  This recipe really is closer to a Bolognese, so, I’ve renamed it Red Pasta for the sake of simplicity.  But by George, feel free to use whatever your favorite shape and size of pasta is and call it whatever the hell you want!

This red pasta sauce is thick and sumptuous, packed with veggies and meat and deep, rich flavor. 

Good to know:

Marinara Sauce – a simple, tomato-based sauce with basil and garlic.

Spaghetti Sauce – an “Americanism” for a basic red pasta sauce normally served with spaghetti pasta. 

Bolognese – a tomato and meat sauce made with onion, carrots, celery, beef & pork. 

Puttanesca – a tomato sauce with anchovies, chili flakes, olives and capers, named after ‘women of the night.’

4 slices of bacon

1 lb. of ground Italian sausage

1 onion, diced

4 medium-sized carrots, diced

4 ribs of celery, diced

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 C. of your favorite red wine

1 jar of pasta sauce (like garlic & onion OR use several Tablespoons of tomato paste)

1 28 oz. can of tomatoes

Salt & Pepper, to taste

Basil, julienned (thin strips), to garnish

Bacon, crumbled to garnish

Italian sausage, to garnish

Parmesan, to garnish

Your favorite pasta, cooked al dente

In a large pot, cook the bacon over medium-low heat.  By cooking over low heat, you will render all that fat from the bacon, which will help give this sauce even more depth.  Remove the bacon when it’s chewy and cooked through.

Add the Italian sausage to the bacon grease and cook over medium heat, stirring the meat to break it into pieces.  When it has turned brown, remove the sausage and set in a bowl to rest.  Add the diced onion, carrots and celery to the bacon and sausage grease.  Cook this trinity of vegetables (called mire-poix in French, pronounced “meer-pwa”) over medium heat, stirring occasionally.  You want them to turn translucent and start to brown.  Do not let them burn.  Add the garlic and stir to mix it into the veggies.  Cook until it’s fragrant – less than a minute. 

Add the wine to the veggies and bring the mixture to a boil.  Turn down the heat slightly and let the mixture simmer until the wine has reduced and thickened and coats the veggies, about 7 minutes.  *As Ina says, choose a wine that you would actually drink.  If you don’t, then you wont want to eat it either.  If you absolutely HATE red wine, choose a bold white wine like Chardonnay.  It will stand up to the strong meat flavors.  Really, you’re just looking for depth of flavor. 

Once the wine has reduced, add the canned tomatoes and the pasta sauce.  Add the Italian sausage back to the pot as well, reserving just enough to garnish at the end.  Stir to combine and turn the heat to low.  Let this sauce cook for about 30 minutes to all day long.  The longer it cooks, the better it tastes.  If it starts to get too thick, just add a bit of water.  Taste it along the way as well and season with salt and pepper, if needed. 

When you’re ready to eat, cook your pasta to al dente.  This just means that it’s still got a bite to it so it’s not mushy and saturated with water.  You know, like those awful noodles you find in cans of chicken noodle soup! 

I like to drain my noodles thoroughly and then add them right to the sauce.   This way each and every bite of pasta gets coated by sauce.  To garnish, sprinkle with the reserved Italian sausage and bacon, Parmesan cheese and basil.  Serve with garlic bread. 

Squisita!  

*This makes a ton of pasta sauce, so eat some and store the rest in the freezer for later.  

 Like this red pasta?  Try this white one too:

Pasta Bianca

BLT's with Basil Mayo

 Sometimes, I find there’s nothing quite as sating as a BLT.  

Bacon.  Who can resist that?  Warm, crunchy and chewy freshly baked bread.  Yes, please!  Lettuce and tomato.  Okay, fresh crisp veggies never hurt anyone!  I was craving this perfect combination of ingredients a few days ago and thought I’d make an herb mayo to compliment all the flavors.  Basil just seemed to fit perfectly.  Slightly sweet and incredibly aromatic, this mayo will give your BLT’s (or any other sandwich for that matter) the extra ummmmmmph that we all need from time to time. 

4 slices of cooked bacon (I like chewy bacon for these BLT’s versus crunchy)

1 tomato, sliced thinly

Iceberg lettuce, torn

2 slices of fresh Sourdough bread

Basil Mayo (recipe follows)

Lay out the ingredients, so it’s easy to assemble your sandwich. 

Toast the Sourdough bread in a toaster or under the broiler.  Spread a healthy* tablespoon of basil mayo on each slice of bread.  Lay a couple leaves of lettuce on top and then put the tomato.  I never put the tomato right on the bread because it gets soggy.  Top it off with the chewy bacon and place the other slice of bread right on top.  Press down gently and cut the sandwich on the bias.  Perfection.  

*Healthy = oversized and proud of it

Basil Mayo

Sweet, in a licorice kind of way, Smooth & Aromatic.  Yumm. 

¾ C. Mayo (I use Hellmann’s)

¼ C. Basil, finely chopped

Salt & Pepper, to taste

This couldn’t be any easier!  In a small bowl, mix the mayo and basil together.  Season it with salt and pepper until it tastes delicious.  Cover and refrigerate for a couple hours so the basil can infiltrate the mayo.  Serve on toast or sandwiches or use as a dip for French fries!