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And happy Thursday to the rest  😊

Financier's? Financierers? :P

Happy Thanksgiving! Making cherry pie atm.

I made my signature meatballs again this year, 4lbs of them. I put them next to 2 (injected & baked) turkeys, a large ham, and pork sausage. I was the only one to walk away with an empty crockpot.

Quote from: asromzek on November 24, 2016, 08:46:54 PM
I made my signature meatballs again this year, 4lbs of them. I put them next to 2 (injected & baked) turkeys, a large ham, and pork sausage. I was the only one to walk away with an empty crockpot.

Is the recipe for the meatballs a family secret, or are you willing to share?  :D

Quote from: jeremiahsvow on November 24, 2016, 10:22:10 PM

Quote from: asromzek on November 24, 2016, 08:46:54 PM
I made my signature meatballs again this year, 4lbs of them. I put them next to 2 (injected & baked) turkeys, a large ham, and pork sausage. I was the only one to walk away with an empty crockpot.

Is the recipe for the meatballs a family secret, or are you willing to share?  :D

I was always taught to share. I'll type up the recipe the best I can... (I don't measure much).

Preparation Time: About an hour and a half. Faster if you decide to skip some steps, slower if you dilly daddle around the kitchen.
Feeds: 4ish people.

Meatballs

• 2lbs burger (10% fat preferable, 15% max, 20%+ and you'll have a layer of grease in the gravy)
• 1 Full Stack Ritz Crackers
• 2 Eggs
• 1 Medium Onion
• 1ish Tbsp Worcestershire sauce (I don't measure this, whatever looks good for 2lbs of burger)
• 1ish Tsp Soy Sauce (I don't measure this, usually a few splashes to help the Worcestershire)
• 2ish Tbsp Parmesan Cheese (I don't measure this, can you have too much cheese?)
• Basil (I don't measure this, at least a Tsp)
• Salt (I don't measure this, at least a Tsp)
• Pepper (I don't measure this, at least a Tsp)
• 1 to 2 Tbsp Milk (acts as a binding agent)

Gravy

• 1 Large-ish Onion (or more)
• 1/2 Pack of Baby Bella Mushrooms (or more)
• 1 Bottle Chateau St. Michelle Cabernet Sauvignon Wine
• 1 Container Beef Broth
• 2ish Tbsp Flour
• Water (to dissolve flour)
• 2 Tbsp Butter
• 1 Tbsp-ish Olive Oil
• Salt
• Pepper

Making the Meatballs
First: Avoid squishing the burger as much as possible (this applies to the entire process, until you get to the rolling part). Crumble the burger in a large bowl so that it's sufficiently loosened up in the smallest pieces possible, or so that it's sort of "fluffy". Crumble the Ritz crackers (or food process them into oblivion) and throw them in the big bowl. Roll the burgers and crackers around so the burger is evenly covered in cracker dust.

Mince or pulverize the onion in a food processor so that you have tiny little onion pieces (the smaller, the better). Put the onion in a medium sized bowl and add the eggs, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, Parmesan cheese, basil, salt, pepper, and milk. Use a fork to mix the whole mess into a slurry, then pour it over the burger/cracker stuff in the larger bowl. Roll the whole thing around until the burger is evenly mixed up with the seasoning stuff.

Roll the meatballs into roughly 1 inch balls and place on an un-greased cookie sheet. Oh yeah, go back in time about 15 minutes and preheat the oven to 350 degrees first. Bake the meatballs for a while until they're cooked through (this is a good time to start the gravy). I tend to alternate between baking and broiling a few times to evenly brown the little buggers. I don't time any of this. As soon as you think they're cooked through, pull them out. It's OK to eat some at this point, for science.

Gravy Time
Chop the onion and mushroom into roughly 1/2 cubed pieces. Use a fairly deep pan (needs to hold all of the meatballs and gravy), add the butter & olive oil, and heat it up until it's all melted. Throw in the onions & mushrooms and saute until they're nicely browned. Pour in some of the Cabernet Sauvignon wine (don't over do it, just enough to cover the onions & mushrooms) and simmer that down just until it starts to turn a little syrupy. Continue to drink the rest of the wine until gone during the remainder of the process. Pour in the beef broth and bring to a boil. At this point I usually toss the meatballs into the gravy mess and simmer things down. To thicken things up, mix the flour and some water in a small tupperware container, shake the crap out of it to dissolve the flour, and pour into the gravy (mixing it in evently). Simmer the gravy down until it's thick enough, or about as thick as you think gravy should be. Use salt & pepper to season the gravy to taste. Sometimes I throw some more soy sauce in because I can.

Serving
I like to serve the meatballs & gravy poured over buttered noodles, with a side of fresh green beans sauteed in an unhealthy amount of butter and salt. They also work well with mashed potatoes or rice, and any other side that contains excessive amounts of butter and salt.

Conclusion
If you follow these instructions to the letter, I have no idea what you'll end up with. Good luck!

@asromzek

Thank you!!!  parrot parrot

I will give them a try.    :D

I took about 3 different recipes (including chicken marsala) and merged them into this concoction. If you need clarification on anything, let me know.

I know what I'm doing later this week! LOL 😋

Process documentation photos.