My mom used to make these as one of her Christmas cookie repertoire -- it has a nice bright color and a very fresh taste because of the fresh cranberries and orange juice. It is also very quick to make, which is nice if you're making a lot of fancier Christmas cookies to give away. The recipe doubles very well -- handy, since cranberries usually come in 12-oz. bags. Can't say for sure, but I think the base recipe makes about 3-4 dozen.
1/2 c butter
1 c sugar
3/4 c brown sugar
1/4 c milk
zest of one orange
2 tblsp orange juice
1 egg
3 c flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 c pecans, chopped
6 oz cranberries, chopped (I use my blender -- try it in two batches)
Preheat oven to 375. Cream sugars and butter. Add milk, juice, zest, and egg. in a separate bowl, combine the flour, soda, baking powder, and salt. Add to the other mixture. Stir in the pecans and cranberries. Drop by the spoonful onto a greased cookie sheet and bake for about 14-15 minutes or until lightly browned on the bottom. cool on a cookie rack. These keep quite well if tightly sealed in a tin or tupperware.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Lefty's Meatballs
Made this one up myself. Tested in our Rattlesnake Gutter test kitchens. Got a 4 Rattlesnake rating from our very picky judges.
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 lb sweet italian sausage (removed from casings)
3/4 c panko or matzo meal or bread crumbs in that order of preference
1/2 c parmesan, grated
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 large onion (about 1 cup) onion, minced
1 tsp dried basil
1 tblsp fresh italian parsley, minced
1 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
1 egg
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1 tblsp olive oil
Mix all ingredients except olive oil in a bowl with your hands. Form into balls about 1"-1 1/2" in diameter. Heat olive oil in a skillet. Brown the meatballs in batches, gently rolling them to brown different sides. (At this point you can freeze some if you want to -- they freeze very well) Immerse in bubbling tomato sauce (1-2 quarts, one of our judges recommends a straight tomato-only sauce). Cook in sauce at least another 10 minutes. Makes about 28 1 1/2" meatballs, enough for 6 hungry people ,with pasta or as meatball subs. Makes very good leftovers, or extras can be frozen after being browned, as noted.
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 lb sweet italian sausage (removed from casings)
3/4 c panko or matzo meal or bread crumbs in that order of preference
1/2 c parmesan, grated
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 large onion (about 1 cup) onion, minced
1 tsp dried basil
1 tblsp fresh italian parsley, minced
1 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
1 egg
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1 tblsp olive oil
Mix all ingredients except olive oil in a bowl with your hands. Form into balls about 1"-1 1/2" in diameter. Heat olive oil in a skillet. Brown the meatballs in batches, gently rolling them to brown different sides. (At this point you can freeze some if you want to -- they freeze very well) Immerse in bubbling tomato sauce (1-2 quarts, one of our judges recommends a straight tomato-only sauce). Cook in sauce at least another 10 minutes. Makes about 28 1 1/2" meatballs, enough for 6 hungry people ,with pasta or as meatball subs. Makes very good leftovers, or extras can be frozen after being browned, as noted.
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