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thaiworthy

My Recipes

Post by thaiworthy »

Mama Lee's Recipe for Meatballs and Sauce (for spaghetti, penne or other pasta)

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
1 cup plain bread crumbs
3 garlic cloves
2 teaspoons fennel seed
2 teaspoons sweet basil
2 medium-sized onions
2 teaspoons parsley
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons parmesan cheese (or romano)
12 oz. red rose wine
a little cooking oil
2 eggs
3-4 tablespoons water
1 12 oz. can tomato paste
1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
3 large bay leafs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Chop up the garlic into little pieces. In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground beef with the breadcrumbs, parsley, 1 teaspoon of the salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, garlic, eggs and parmesan cheese. Wash your hands thoroughly and mix these ingredients together, adding the water until it is the right consistency. Shape the meatballs into 1 1/2" round and put them on a cookie sheet. Place into an oven for 5-10 min only. Set aside and make the sauce below:

Chop up the onions. Add a little oil to a frying pan and saute the onions on med heat until they just start to turn brown. Drain on a paper towel and set aside.

Put a large pot onto a burner on low heat. Add crushed tomatoes and tomato paste. Fill the empty 28 oz. crushed tomato can with water and pour into the pot. Fill and pour 2 more times. Fill the empty 12 oz. tomato paste can with water and pour into the pot. Fill and pour two more times. Fill the empty 12 oz. tomato paste can with the red rose wine and pour into the pot. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Then add the onions, sweet basil, fennel seed and bay leafs. Mix well. Add the meatballs.

Cook on low for 5 hours, stirring occasionally.

Pour over cooked pasta and serve with the meatballs, a little parmesan cheese and a nice glass of the rose wine.

I usually make a double-batch and portion out dual servings into a tupperware container and then freeze for later use for a quick and easy meal.

I hope you like this. Bon Appetit!

P.S. Way back when I first posted this on GayThailand, lvdkeyes suggested I add sugar to cut down on the tomato acid. If you like, you can add this to your own liking.
thaiworthy

Re: My Recipes

Post by thaiworthy »

I have another recipe from Mama Lee for baked chicken. I don't know if it's an Italian recipe, but it's very good. It is simple to make, too.

Ingredients:
1 cut-up chicken (with or without the skin; I usually remove the skin.)
4 cups of finely crushed corn flakes combined with 4 cups finely crushed potato chips
2 beaten eggs, 2 tablespoons melted butter
Salt and pepper

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Wash your hands and wash the chicken thoroughly. Dip the chicken parts into the egg/butter, then into the crushed mixture and coat on all sides. Set into a foil-lined baking pan and bake for 1 hour. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with baked potato wedges and corn.

Enjoy!

---------

My grandmother was the only person in my family who accepted me as a gay person. When I was a child I would visit her and she would cook these recipes for me every week on Wednesday nights. When I turned 18, I came out to her. She said "I think I know what you're going to tell me. And it doesn't matter to me. You're still my grandson and I still love you." I never got that kind of love from anyone else, not even my own parents.

When I make these recipes I think of her and it makes me cry that she is gone. It is amazing how important these foods can be to us later in life as a reminders of how much love there was between us. She died in 1989 at the age of 84. I still love her and miss her. She was an amazing woman but led a hard life. I have some of her belongings and furniture. She lies buried in All Souls Cemetery in Long Beach, Calif. I visit the cemetery some times on my way to Thailand.

I am sorry to get all blubbery, but I hope you like these recipes as much as I do and maybe you have some of your own to share.
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Re: My Recipes

Post by lvdkeyes »

Here is one of my favorites:

Chicken Tajine with preserved lemon and olives
Morocco’s second most popular dish after couscous and considered to be the national dish.

Serves 4
INGREDIENTS

Chermoula Marinade
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbsp chopped fresh ginger
1/2 preserved lemon, rinsed and thinly sliced
2 onions, chopped
½ birds eye (Thai) chili
1 tbsp sweet paprika
1 tbsp ground cumin
salt
2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander, stems and leaves
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon saffron threads, soaked in a little water
1/2 cup olive oil
2 bay leaves, torn in half

1 whole chicken
1 tomato, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 large potatoes, cut into wedges
1 onion, sliced
1 tomato, sliced
150g pitted green olives
1 bunch fresh coriander, chopped
1 cup water
1 preserved lemon, cut into 6 segments.
DIRECTIONS
1. Marinade: Process all ingredients together in a food processor until finely chopped and thoroughly combined. Leave for 30 minutes before using. Can be stored in the refrigerator for up to seven days.
2. Wash and dry the chicken and remove backbone, wing tips and any excess fat. Cut into pieces. Rub all over with ½ of the chermoula marinade and refrigerate overnight or for at least 2 hours.
3. Combine the tomato and onion with a little more chermoula and spread into the base of the tajine (this will prevent the chicken from burning on the bottom).Arrange chicken pieces in the centre of the tajine on top of tomato mixture. Coat potato wedges with chermoula and arrange around chicken. Top with onion slices, then tomato slices and olives in between the potato wedges.
4. Mix chopped coriander with remaining chermoula and water. Pour over mixture. Decorate top with preserved lemon wedges.
5. Cover tajine with lid and cook on a very low gas heat for 45 minutes. Do not stir or lift the lid during the cooking process. Serve the Tajine directly to the table and impress your guests with a waft of fragrant steam when it’s time to serve with couscous and harissa.

If you don't have a tajine (I don't) you can use a heavy bottomed Dutch oven.


How to Make Preserved Lemons

Many Moroccan and Middle Eastern recipes call for preserved lemons, lemons that have been pickled in salt and their own juices. It's quite easy to do, though takes at least three weeks before the lemons are ready to use.
8-10 Meyer lemons or ordinary lemons, scrubbed very clean
1/2 cup kosher salt, more if needed
Extra fresh squeezed lemon juice, if needed
Sterilized quart canning jar
1 Place 2 Tbsp of salt in the bottom of a sterilized jar.
2 One by one, prepare the lemons in the following way. Cut off any protruding stems from the lemons, and cut 1/4 inch off the tip of each lemon. Cut the lemons as if you were going to cut them in half lengthwise, starting from the tip, but do not cut all the way. Keep the lemon attached at the base. Make another cut in a similar manner, so now the lemon is quartered, but again, attached at the base.
3 Pry the lemons open and generously sprinkle salt all over the insides and outsides of the lemons.
4 Pack the lemons in the jar, squishing them down so that juice is extracted and the lemon juice rises to the top of the jar. Fill up the jar with lemons, make sure the top is covered with lemon juice. Add more fresh squeezed lemon juice if necessary. Top with a couple tablespoons of salt.
5 Seal the jar and let sit at room temperature for a couple days. Turn the jar upside down occasionally. Put in refrigerator and let sit, again turning upside down occasionally, for at least 3 weeks, until lemon rinds soften.
6 To use, remove a lemon from the jar and rinse thoroughly in water to remove salt. Discard seeds before using. Discard the pulp before using, if desired.
7 Store in refrigerator for up to 6 months.
Note:
You can add spices to the lemons for preserving - cloves, coriander seeds, peppercorns, cinnamon stick, bay leaf.

Harissa Sauce
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 tablespoon caraway seeds
4 large garlic cloves, unpeeled
4 large red bell peppers
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons dried crushed red pepper
preparation
Stir coriander and caraway in small skillet over medium-high heat until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Transfer to processor. Cook garlic in same skillet, covered, over medium-low heat until tender, turning occasionally, about 10 minutes. Cool. Peel garlic; add to processor.
Char bell peppers over gas flame or in broiler until blackened on all sides. Enclose in paper bag; let stand 10 minutes. Peel, seed, and coarsely chop peppers; add peppers, oil, sugar, and crushed red pepper to processor. Puree. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
Makes about 2 2/3 cups.
gertrude

Re: My Recipes

Post by gertrude »

Who is Mama Lee?
lvdkeyes
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Re: My Recipes

Post by lvdkeyes »

If you read what Thaiworthy wrote after his recipes you will know.
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Re: My Recipes

Post by Gaybutton »

lvdkeyes wrote:Chermoula Marinade
Can you tell us where to buy that or how to make it?

I also remember a few weeks ago you were looking for lard. I suggested trying bakeries. Did you ever find it?
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Re: My Recipes

Post by lvdkeyes »

The recipe tells you how to make the chermoula marmalade. No, I haven't asked around for the lard yet.
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Re: My Recipes

Post by Gaybutton »

lvdkeyes wrote:The recipe tells you how to make the chermoula marmalade.
Ok, I missed that on the first read-through. I see it now. But the recipe calls it a marinade. You are calling it a marmalade. Which is it?
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Re: My Recipes

Post by lvdkeyes »

The recipe is correct. I mistyped when I answered your question.
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