Fennel and White Wine Meatballs

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It seems like The Kid asks for spaghetti and meatballs for dinner every day. I would love to oblige, but I ate a lot of jarred sauce in my early 20's. At this stage in my life, I like to have adult meals every once in a while. So I made these Fennel and White Wine meatballs the last time The Kid asked for "sketti." And guess what--she loved them as much as I did.

To make the meatballs, I used ground pork and some Italian sausage.

Pork and fennel go really well together.

I put a bunch of garlic cloves and some onion in my food processor and chopped them up finely.

Then they were added to the meat mixture.

Some hot pepper flakes will wake your taste buds up (but don't worry, these meatballs aren't super spicy, I promise!)

And of course, some fennel is added, because these are fennel meatballs. For optimum flavor, toast the seeds in a hot, dry pan before adding them.

And, as always, don't forget to add salt and pepper.

An egg will bind your meatballs together.

As will some breadcrumbs.

Regular breadcrumbs would have been more traditional--unfortunately, I was all out and Panko crumbs were all I had. Worked out okay though.

Drizzle in about half a small bottle of white wine. You know those little bottles that they sell in 4-packs? Yeah, those. You'll need two of those for this recipe in total. Or just buy a big bottle of wine and measure it manually.

Finally, some olive oil will add some moisture and richness to your meatballs.

Remove any jewelry you don't want to gunk up with meat, and start mixing!

Wash your hands well and pour some olive oil into a large pot.

Form your meat mixture into meatballs.

Then (very, very carefully!) drop them into the hot oil.

Now, here's the thing about these meatballs. They're very, very delicate. If you're the person who likes to touch their food constantly, open the oven to check on baked goods every couple of minutes, etc., I would put someone else in charge of these meatballs. You need to let them form a nice crust before flipping them, or they'll fall apart.

And flip them carefully. I used my little spatula to slowly lift them, making sure that there was no sticking (if they're sticking, just let them cook a bit longer.) Then slowly roll them over.

You'll also want to make sure that you have plenty of room to flip the meatballs, since there will be no lifting and moving them to other parts of the pot until they're completely crusty on the outsides.

When all your meatballs are golden brown on the outside, carefully remove them and put them in a bowl or plate and set them aside for later.

Oh, and if some of your meatballs break, don't sweat it--they'll melt into the tomato sauce and will ust make it more hearty and delicious.

So anyway, once your meatballs have vacated the pan, add more olive oil if necessary. You'll need it to saute some onions and garlic.

Once the onions and garlic have soaked up the meat bits and are softened, pour in the remaining wine. The rest of the bottle from before, and another whole bottle (and remember, we're talking mini bottles here!)

I decided to use a can of tomato sauce and a can of diced tomatoes in the sauce.

Pour the tomatoes in. Sauce first.

Then diced.

To tie the meatball flavors to the sauce, both have white wine and fennel seeds.

Stir the sauce together and then add the meatballs back in to the pot.

Cover and let the sauce poach the meatballs for at least half an hour.












That should give you the perfect amount of time to make some spaghetti to serve under your sauce and meatballs! Long noodles are great for this--the sauce is on the thinner side, but the noodles absorb it so well that you get the taste of tomato in every bite.

Recipe: Fennel and White Wine Meatballs

1 lb. ground pork
1/2 lb. ground sausage
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 large onion, peeled
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 1/2 tsp. fennel seeds
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 egg
2/3 c. bread crumbs
1/2 c. white wine (about 1/2 a small bottle)
1 tbsp. olive oil
olive oil, for frying


Recipe: Fennel and White Wine Tomato Sauce:
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 onion, peeled and diced
1 1/2 bottles white wine (about a cup and a half)
1 can tomato sauce
1 can diced tomatoes
2 tsp. fennel seeds

Prosciutto and Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs

If you remember one of my first Kim Chee Casserole recipes (Cheese-Stuffed Bacon Burgers), you'll recall that I love stuffing cheese into the middle of ground beef. I love seeing peoples' surprised faces when they bite into something and come up with a string of melty, gooey cheese. And who can argue with adding more cheese to anything? (Well, unless you're lactose intolerant...but you can still make the meatballs! And it really isn't very much cheese. You'd probably be safe.)

Start your meatballs by turning a pound of ground beef into a large bowl (and, if you plan on photographing it, steer clear of metal bowls. I don't know why it didn't occur to me that a metal bowl wouldn't photograph well...)

For flavor and moisture, add some finely minced onion and garlic. If you've got someone in your household who's picky about onions, you could grate them instead, or chop them finely in a food processor.

Next I add breadcrumbs, grated Parmesan cheese, and milk.

Since my breadcrumbs were unseasoned, I sprinkled in some Italian seasoning, as well as salt and pepper.

I also cracked in an egg, which will keep my meatballs from falling apart.

Mix all the meatball ingredients together--I like to do it by hand to make sure everything is well mixed.

Once your meatball mix is finished, you can start on the filling. Usually I only use mozzarella, but I wanted to make the meatballs a little more special, so I used prosciutto too.

Prosciutto is an aged, cured Italian ham. It's served thinly sliced and uncooked (although you can cook it--it's delicious in pasta.) You can even make it at home, if you've got the dedication, and it doesn't have to be made from pork. Michael Ruhlman has a gorgeous-looking yet very simple recipe for duck prosciutto on his blog (and his book, Charcuterie.)

I used to think I didn't like prosciutto. Back in my deli-worker days, the prosciutto I dealt with had a weird, floral-y smell that just seemed off to me. It probably was off, at least slightly, and likely not a very high quality product. I felt weird because prosciutto was supposed to be this big, impressive, fabulous ingredient that at one point chefs were putting in everything, and I didn't like it.

Then I had a good quality prosciutto, and boy did my mind change. It was still a bit floral-y, but not overpowering. The layer of fat that ran around the outside of the very, very thinly sliced ham melted in my mouth and the leaner parts had just enough chew to them. Finally I realized what all the fuss was about.

Now, even just a few years later, good (or even just decent) prosciutto is more available. What I bought today was from the lunch meat aisle, in one of those plastic Tupperware containers, and it was perfect for what I needed it for.

I cut the prosciutto into small pieces--maybe splitting the prosciutto into eighths or sixths. The size will depend on the size of your meatballs and the size of your cheese. If you're using just a pound of ground meat for the meatballs and making them about the same size as mine, you'll need between 12 and 16 pieces. They don't have to be huge. Just large enough to wrap around a bit of mozzarella.

Which brings me to the cheese. My grocery store carries fresh mozzarella in balls, large balls, and pearls. I was so happy the day I discovered the mozzarella pearls. They are perfect in a caprese salad--just the right size to match halved grape tomatoes. Splash with some balsamic vinegar, extra-virgin olive oil, and fresh basil, and you're in business.

You can use block mozzarella or string cheese if you can't find fresh at your grocery store.

I wrapped my small pieces of prosciutto around the mozzarella.

I made a bunch at a time, for efficiency.

Now you can form your meatballs. Scoop up a mound of meat. I made mine just large enough to fully enclose the prosciutto and mozzarella.

Use your finger to make a depression in the meatball and stuff your meat and cheese inside.

Cover the depression with more meat and then gently roll the meatball between your hands to fully enclose the filling.

If your meat mixture feels sticky, run your hands under the faucet to moisten them. It will make rolling the meatballs smoother.

I got 14 meatballs out of my recipe.

I sauteed them in a large pan with some olive oil, over medium-high heat.

When your meatballs have browned to your liking, it's time to pour in your sauce of choice. I went with a simple jarred sauce; if you've got homemade, all the better.

Turn the heat down to medium-low and cover. Let the meatballs simmer for at least 20 minutes.














I like to serve my stuffed meatballs over regular spaghetti, but they would be a hearty meal on their own, or great as a sandwich (can you imagine these between a loaf of crusty bread, with maybe some melted provolone on top? It'd be the best meatball sandwich ever!) Give your regular spaghetti and meatballs a grown-up makeover!

Recipe: Prosciutto and Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs

1 lb. ground beef

1/3 onion, finely minced

1 garlic clove, finely minced

1/3 c. breadcrumbs

1/3 grated Parmesan cheese

2 tbsp. milk

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

1 egg

salt and pepper, to taste

12-16 pieces mozzarella

12-16 pieces prosciutto

1 jar spaghetti sauce

In a large bowl, combine ground beef, onion, garlic, breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, milk, Italian seasoning, egg, and salt and pepper.

Wrap prosciutto around mozzarella.

Form meat mixture into meatballs. Use your finger to poke a hole into the meatball; stuff prosciutto and mozzarella inside. Gently roll meatball between your hands to fully enclose the filling.

Lower heat to medium-low; pour spaghetti sauce over the meatballs. Simmer for at least 20 minutes, and then serve.

Swedish Meatballs

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These meatballs are a cross between the Swedish meatballs I remember eating as a kid and the frikadeller served at the Harbor View in Pepin, Wisconsin. I just call them Swedish Meatballs because, well ... it rolls off the tongue easier, haha.

The meatballs start with ground meat. I usually use ground beef for this, but I had ground pork in the fridge so I used it instead.

Gotta roll with the punches.

Next are the onions. Instead of finely chopping them or sending them through the food processor, I grated them.

I do the same to the garlic.

Here's the meat with my grated onions and garlic.

Then, probably to the chagrin of Scandinavian grandmas everywhere, I add in some breadcrumbs.

If I were really Scandinavian, I would have soaked some bread in milk and then added it. But I'm Asian so I use panko :P

I do add half and half, though.

Next are the spices that give these meatballs their special flavor. The first one is nutmeg--freshly ground nutmeg if you've got it.

I also add cardamom. If you've never smelled cardamom, it has a pretty distinctive smell and taste. The Harbor View puts it in their meatballs, and that's one of the things that make them so special, so I do it too.

Finally, crack an egg. This is the "binder' and will keep your meatballs together.

Mix everything together and then shape into spheres. Flatten them down into pucks if you want (which is another Scandinavian grandma thing to do.) Sorry, no pics of this--it's hard to roll meatballs and take pictures at the same time ;)

While you're rolling the meatballs, you can start melting a big hunk of butter in with a little olive oil.

Doesn't it look like it's having fun?

Gently drop your meatballs into the pan. Butter burns hurt!

Be sure not to crowd the pan. Make sure there's lots of space between all the meatballs, or you won't get that yummy crust on the outside. They'll just poach in the butter (which, okay, doesn't sound all bad, but come on--caramelized meat...)

Carefully flip them when they start getting golden brown. They're pretty delicate--in retrospect, smushing them into granny pucks probably would have been a better idea than leaving them round.

See? This is why I'm here. To make the mistakes first and then advise you on what not to do ;)

After your meatballs are browned on all sides, take them out and leave them in a bowl for later.

Don't worry that they're not cooked all the way through. You just want color on the outside. They'll be cooking more later on.

Now, you should be left with a nice pool of drippings from your meatballs.

Sprinkle in some flour to make a roux.

I know many people are put off by making a roux (ROOOOO). Honestly--it is not a big deal. As long as you stir the flour in thoroughly (and there's enough fat to soak up the flour) and you add your liquid slowly, there should be no problems. It's not hard at all. Here, I'll show you.

Use a spoon or a whisk and combine the flour and fat.

Next, slowly pour your broth into the pan. I like to add about a half a cup, let the roux absorb it, and then add the rest.

Here it is after the broth is absorbed. See? How easy was that?

You're not done, though. To make these the meatballs of my childhood, you'll need a big ol' spoonful of sour cream. Stir it in thoroughly until it's melted into the gravy.

Now for the dill. I love fresh dill (and it goes so beautifully with these meatballs!) but ... well ... our cat ate our dill. I left it out and he chewed on it for a while. So I was stuck with dried. It was not the same. Please, please, use fresh dill. And don't let your cat get it.

I also sprinkle in some more nutmeg and cardamom.

Once all your sauce ingredients (including fresh dill!) are in the pot, you can pour your meatballs back in.

Cover the pan and let your meatballs hot tub in the sauce. I let mine hang out for about half an hour.

The perfect amount of time to boil up some water, throw in some egg noodles, and drain them.

Pour your meatballs and sauce right over the noodles. Sprinkle with fresh dill if yours hasn't been gnawed on by a cat.

Recipe: Swedish Meatballs

1 lb. ground beef or pork

1/2 onion, grated

1 large clove garlic, grated

1/2 c. breadcrumbs

1/2 c. half and half or milk

1/2 tsp. ground cardamom

1/2 tsp. grated nutmeg

1 egg

salt and pepper, to taste

2 1/2 tbsp. butter

1 tbsp. olive oil

1/4 c. flour

1 can beef broth

1/2 c. sour cream

1 tbsp. fresh dill (or 1 tsp. dried)

1/4 tsp. ground cardamom

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

Combine ground meat, onion, garlic, bread crumbs, half and half, cardamom, nutmeg, egg, and salt and pepper. Shape into meatballs; flatten slightly.

Melt butter and olive oil in large pan. Cook meatballs in pan over medium heat until outsides are golden brown. Remove from pan and set aside.

Sprinkle in flour; stir or whisk until incorporated fully with the pan drippings.

Slowly pour in beef broth; whisk or stir vigerously until beef broth is fully absorbed. Allow gravy to bubble.

Add sour cream; stir until completely combined.

Add dill, cardamom, and nutmeg. Stir well.

Add meatballs back into pan. Cover and simmer gently for 30 minutes.

Serve over egg noodles, sprinkle with fresh dill, and enjoy!