So, the cheese bread 2 ways? Yeah, it went with meatballs and linguine. These are really great meatballs that are even better as leftovers. Meatball sandwich anyone?
best eva meatballs
Meatballs
2 lbs grass fed ground beef
1 cage free egg
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 clove garlic minced
1/3 cup grated romano cheese
1/2 Italian-style bread crumbs (I make my own. take leftover bread, toast in oven, add basil, and a little romano)
finely chopped basil leaves (to taste, I use 3)
Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Shape into balls. You pick the size. Place on cookie sheet bake at 350 until browned, about 40 minutes.
meanwhile........
Sauce
2 cans organic tomato sauce
1/3 cup parmesan cheese
Heat the sauce on low for 10 minutes. Add cooked meatballs and cook for another 30 minutes.
Serve with your favorite pasta!
In the winter, I serve plain ole cheese bread to accompany an Italian dish. In the spring and summer, however, I have a little more to offer. My basil plants are growing beautifully and were just begging to be cut back this morning.* I used my clippings for an almond basil pesto, which was then smeared onto 1/2 of the bread.
cheese bread, 2 ways
for the bread:
1 cup warm water
1 packet of rapid rise yeast
1 tsp salt
1 TB olive oil
2 cups (+ more as needed) organic flour
Pour warm water and yeast into bowl. Let stand 10 minutes. Stir in oil, salt, and flour. Kneed for 5 minutes. Add more flour until dough is not sticky. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size. Pour out onto a pan in either a round (pizza style) or rectangle (think breadsticks). Let rise 15 more minutes.
pesto:
1 cup basil leaves, packed
1 clove garlic
3 TB olive oil
1/3 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup almonds
Place ingredients in a food processor and chop thoroughly.
Now put it all together:
Bake bread at 350 for 10 minutes. Take out of the oven. Add toppings as you like and bake for another 15 minutes. I added 1/2 parmesan cheese, 1/2 pesto. You can use the same dough recipe for pizza dough.
* when cutting back a basil plant (or any plant for that matter), use the rule of 1/3. Always cut back by no more than 1/3.
I grew up eating this timeless cajun dessert, tarte a la bouille. The crust is a traditional pate brisee, and the filling, a vanilla custard. It's simplistic and exquisite all at the same time. I made one to take to my wonderful Mississippi in-laws yesterday. It was enjoyed by all.
CUSTARD:
- 2 cups milk
- 1 cup half and half cream
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 4 tbsps cornstarch
- 1 tbsp vanilla
- 1/2 cup butter
CRUST:
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 pound butter
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 1/2 tsps baking powder
- 2 cups all purpose flour
METHOD:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. You should begin the recipe by combining the milk and cream and scalding the mixture over a low fire until skin forms on the surface but milk does not boil, approximately 200 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl, combine egg, sugar and cornstarch. Using a wire whisk, whip gently until cornstarch and sugar are dissolved. Add approximately one cup of the hot milk to the egg mixture while beating constantly. This will temper the eggs, prior to adding them to the hot milk. While whisking the scalded milk, add the egg mixture and continue to whip until mixture thickens to the texture of a very heavy cream. Add vanilla and butter and continue to cook until thick custard is achieved. Remove from heat and cool thoroughly before pouring into the uncooked pie crust. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade, combine eggs, sugar, butter and vanilla. Blend 1-2 minutes until ingredients are incorporated. Add baking powder and flour and continue to process until flour is absorbed and a dough ball forms in the process. Remove dough and refrigerate one hour. Roll dough into a large pie-shaped crust, approximately 1/8-inch thick. Place the dough in a pie pan, allowing the excess to rest out on the work surface. When the custard is cooled, pour it into the pie shell and fold the pie dough over to the center of the pie in an uneven fashion. It isn't necessary for the crust to be sealed on the top. Bake 30-45 minutes or until crust is golden brown.
recipe from John Folse
http://www.jfolse.com/recipes/desserts/pies24.htm
