Attifood

Something different to do with ground beef. The dancing is optional, but it does make it taste better.

The Recipe:
1 lb Ground Beef, 80-85% lean
1 Large White Onion, grated & water drained
1 Garlic Clove, crushed
1 Large Egg, beaten or stirred
1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
1 tsp Turmeric
1/8 tsp Black Pepper

Mix meat, onions, garlic, egg, salt, pepper and turmeric well and leave in the refrigerator for a few hours, or overnight.

Press the meat around long, thick metal or wood/bamboo skewers and shape evenly. Grill each side for about 5-6 minutes. If skewers are not available or grilling is not possible, kabobs can be broiled in an oven.

Serve with hot Basmati rice or on middle-eastern bread. Grilled tomato kabobs are also a nice complement.

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The next episode is almost wrapped up. Sadly no dancing in this one-- just a lot of flubbed lines. I just have some voice-over stuff to do and then it's going live. Hopefully before the weekend, in time for your Sunday brunch.

Tonight's dinner was a last minute throw-together thing that required about five minutes of prep and about 40 minutes of oven time.

It's October and nothing says "October" better than 'kraut, sausage, apples, cider, and beer. So here it was: I emptied a can of sauerkraut into a baking dish, mixed in a 1/2 cup of apple cider and two peeled/chopped McIntosh apples, and then put some turkey kielbasa on top. I convection-baked at 350 degrees for about 35-40 minutes (go with 375 if you're not using convection.) I served it with some dijon mustard for dipping and a good German lager for the wash-down. Before I knew it, there was a mini-Octoberfest in 45 minutes or less. The sweetness of the apples and cider played off against the sourness of the 'kraut really well and the beer was the perfect compliment. Even the kids liked it-- minus the beer, of course!

See, this cooking thing is not so hard sometimes!

For some reason I've been craving spaghetti and clams for the past couple of days. So today Tonya and I made a quick stop to the Safeway on the way home where I picked up a couple of cans of clams-- yeah, yeah, I know they weren't fresh out of the rake-- but they got the job done admirably. I also picked a cheap bottle of white wine while I was there to use for cooking.

This is another really easy one and again even the kids liked it. The only "work" part was crushing the garlic. I kind of played around with this one and added about a tablespoon basil and a pinch of oregano so it ended up being a merging of pesto and white wine clam sauce. Adding a pinch of ground red pepper added a hint of zing, too. And let's face it, the smell of garlic being sautéed in olive oil is olfactory perfection.

Try it some time:

2 6 oz. Cans of Chopped Clams in Clam Juice
2-3 Garlic Cloves, Crushed/Minced (go for the 3, go for the 3!)
1/3 Cup Finely Chopped White Onion
2 Tbl Butter
1 Tbl Basil
1/4 tsp Ground Red Pepper
1/2 cup White Wine
1 lb Thin Linguini/Spaghetti
Salt and Pepper to taste

Start the water for the pasta-- don't forget to salt the water!

Open the cans of clams and drain the juice from each one into a container-- save the juice, you'll be needing it! Coat the bottom of a pan with Olive Oil and heat on medium-high. Saute the garlic-- the kitchen will now smell perfect. Lower the heat and carefully add the wine and the reserved clam juice from the cans. Then add the Basil, Red Pepper, and a few grinds of black pepper. Let it simmer.

Cook the pasta. When the pasta is almost ready, add the chopped clams to the simmering sauce and let them heat thoroughly-- don't cook them too long or they'll get too tough and rubbery.

Drain the pasta, put it in a large bowl, add the butter and give it few tosses. Pour the clam sauce over top. Serve it up.

Add a Caesar salad as a side, and some white wine, and you're go to go.

It was at Pedals Cafe (Shutters on the Beach, Santa Monica) where I first tasted the heaven that is Lemon Ricotta Pancakes. I knew right away that was a breakfast item that needed to find its way to my breakfast table back on the East Coast. They are creamy, rich, and a fresh spin on an old classic.

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

Dry Side Ingredients:
1 Cup All Purpose Flour
1 1/4 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Nutmeg

Wet Side Ingredients:
1 1/4 Cup Ricotta Cheese
4 tsp Sugar
2 Eggs
3/4 Cup Milk
Juice of 1 Lemon
Zest of 1 Lemon

Combine dry-side ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine wet-side ingredients, then mix with the dry ingredients, being careful to not over-mix. Over-mixing means tough pancakes!

Heat non-stick electric skillet to about 350 degress. Or, a lightly-oiled, Old-school iron skillet can be warmed over medium heat. ;-)

Ladle batter onto hot skillet. Cook pancakes until bubbles form on top, then flip and continue cooking until golden brown.

Keep warm on a plate or baking sheet in a 200° F oven until all pancakes are cooked. Serve with fresh berries and/or a dusting of powdered sugar if desired. Don't forget the Maple Syrup!

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