Random Trivia for a Food Connoisseur

According to the guidelines of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 65% of a meatball should comprise meat.

Glazed Grape Jelly Meatballs A perfect hors d'oeuvre, make 16 servings of this festive dish with the following. Ingredients: Eggs, 2 (beaten) Grape Jelly, 1 12-ounce jar (preferably SMUCKER'S® Concord Grape Jelly) Chili sauce, 1 12-ounce bottle Beef, 1 pound (ground) Breadcrumbs, ½ cup (fine, dry) Onion, ½ cup (chopped) Milk, ¼ cup Vegetable oil or butter, ¼ cup Salt, 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, ½ teaspoon Pepper, ¼ teaspoon Procedure: You will be able to make about 3 dozen meatballs from the mixture. Now to make the meatballs, follow the steps given below. Once done, place the meatballs on paper napkins in order to get rid of the excess oil. Pour the chili sauce and the jelly into a nonstick skillet and heat the mixture on medium for 3 minutes. Do not stirring the concoction throughout this duration. Pour the liquid mixture into a bowl and place the same skillet back on the stove. Place the cooked meatballs into it and now pour the sauce jelly over them. Swirl the skillet lightly in order to cake each meatball well. Cover the skillet and heat it until a steady simmer sets in. Use a spatula to stir every 2 - 3 minutes. After 10 minutes, take the skillet off heat. The meatballs coated with the sauce need to be then transferred to a chafing dish for serving. Place colorful toothpicks on the side for the guests to use for picking the meatballs up. Note: You can also use ready-to-use frozen Italian-style meatballs for this recipe as well and use half and half instead of milk. Sautéing a finely sliced onion and a little freshly ground garlic in a 1:1 mixture of and extra virgin olive oil (total ¼ cup) before adding the jelly and chili sauce to the skillet has a delectable flavor to offer, thus enhancing the taste of the sauce and the dish overall.

[ Top ]

Barbecued Grape Jelly Meatballs All I shall say for this dish is "Yummmmmmmmmm!" Ingredients: Chili sauce, 1 bottle Vinegar, ½ bottle Beef, 1½ pounds (lean, ground) Italian breadcrumbs, ¼ cup Breadcrumbs, ¾ cup (regular) Parmesan cheese, ⅓ cup Beer, ¼ cup Brown sugar, ¼ cup Grape jelly, ¼ cup Lemon juice, 2 tablespoons Parsley, 1½ tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, 1 tablespoon Mustard, ½ tablespoon Onion, ½ tablespoon (minced, dry) Garlic powder, a pinch Salt and Pepper Procedure: Preheat the oven to 356º F (180º C). Thoroughly mix the beef, the Italian and the regular breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, parsley, salt, pepper, and 3 tablespoons of chili sauce together. Take 1 tablespoonful of the meat mixture into your palms at a time and roll gently to shape into a 1" ball. Refrain from packing the meat too firmly as it will affect the texture. Repeat. All the meatballs should be approximately of the same shape and size so that the cooking rate is equal for all. Place these meatballs on a baking tray.Bake for about 20 minutes. Take a saucepan and add the remaining chili sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, mustard, grape jelly, beer, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, powdered onion, and powdered garlic to it. Stir the mixture continuously and bring it to a boil. Check the thickness and add a little water if the consistency is too thick for your liking. Once the sauce has cooked enough and reached the desired consistency, take it off the stove. Pour this sauce over the baked meatballs and serve in a crock pot. Note: Some people prefer using seafood sauce instead of chili sauce.

[ Top ]

Sweet and Sour Meatballs Great to served with some mashed taters and Brussels sprouts, this dish will take about 2 hours and 35 minutes to cook. To make about 5 - 6 servings, you must have the following. Ingredients: Meatballs, 1 32-ounce bag (frozen) Barbecue sauce, 1 18-ounce bottle (spicy) Grape jelly, 1 9-ounce jar Procedure: In a slow cooker, commingle the barbecue sauce and the jelly with a spatula and then add the meatballs to the sauce. You can add a pinch or two of dried red pepper flakes to the mixture. Cook for 2½ hours on high heat. Serve with some mashed potatoes and some steamed broccoli or Brussels sprouts. A variation of this very recipe is given below. You can make 12 servings of this appetizer with the following. Ingredients: Cocktail meatballs, 3 5-pound bags (frozen) Chili Sauce, 2 12-ounce bottles Grape jelly, 1 32-ounce jar Cayenne pepper, 1 pinch Procedure: In a saucepan, add the jelly, sauce, and pepper and heat. Keep stirring until warm and uniformly mixed. Take it off the heat. Add the meatballs in a slow cooker and pour the sauce over them. Cook for anything between 3 - 4 hours (depending on how well the get cooked) on low. Garnish with chopped parsley before serving.

[ Top ]

Swedish Meatballs Perfect for atop a pound of egg noodles that have been cooked al dente and coated in 2 tablespoons of molten butter, make 4 servings of this delectable dish with the following. Ingredients: White bread, 2 slices (torn, soaked briefly in about ¼ cup of milk, squeezed to dispel excess liquid) Dill pickles, 2 (chopped) Egg, 1 Onion, 1 (medium, finely chopped) Beef, ½ pound (ground) Pork, ½ pound (ground) Veal, ½ pound (ground) Beef stock, 1 cup Chicken stock, 1 cup Italian parsley, ½ cup (chopped) Grape jelly, 2 tablespoons Butter, 2 tablespoons Flour, 2 tablespoons Sour cream, 2 tablespoons Allspice, 1 teaspoon Salt, to taste Pepper, to taste (freshly ground) Gingersnap cookies, 5 (finely ground)Procedure: First, melt the butter over medium heat in a largish pan and throw in the chopped onions once warm. Sauté and cook for 6 minutes until the bits soften and turn translucent. Mizzle flour from top and keep stirring to mix it well with the butter and onion bits.After a minute, pour in both the stock varieties and heat until it just starts to boil. Add salt and pepper at this point, bring the temperature down to low, and let a slow and steady simmer thrive. In the meanwhile, loosen the ground meat types with your fingers and put them all in a single and large bowl. Add the soaked bread, egg, allspice, salt, and pepper and commingle really well with swift kneading motions. Take 1 tablespoonful of the meat mixture into your palms at a time and roll gently to shape into a walnut-sized ball. Refrain from packing the meat too firmly as it will affect the texture. Repeat. All the meatballs should be approximately of the same shape and size so that the cooking rate is equal for all. Drop these into the gravy as soon as you are done shaping them one by one. Once you have exhausted the mean mixture, increase the heat to medium and let the meatballs cook in the simmering gravy for approximately 10 minutely. Keep stirring every 2 minutes. Pour the ground cookies into the gravy after that and stir to mix well. Let it cook for another minute and then add the sour cream and grape jelly to the pan. Stir to incorporate, cook on low heat for a while more and take them off heat. Garnish with parsley and pickle. Serve them on noodles or on their own - either way they are magic! Note: You can also replace the grape jelly with currant or lingonberry jam with rather pleasing effects.

[ Top ]

Grape Jelly Meatballs with Ketchup For 36 appetizing meatballs (approximately 6 servings) in 45 minutes, try this dish. Ingredients: Beef, 2 pounds (lean, ground) Ketchup, 1 cup Breadcrumbs, ½ cup (chopped) Lemon juice, ⅓ cup Grape jelly, ⅓ cup Parsley flakes, 1 tablespoon Oregano, 2 teaspoons (dried) Basil, 2 teaspoons (dried) Garlic salt, ¼ teaspoon Vegetable oil Procedure: Preheat oven to 350° F. In a large, clean mixing bowl, add the ground beef, breadcrumbs, parsley flakes, oregano, basil, and garlic salt. Commingle all the ingredients thoroughly. Take 1 tablespoonful of the meat mixture into your palms at a time and roll gently to shape into a 1" ball. Refrain from packing the meat too firmly as it will affect the texture. Repeat. All the meatballs should be approximately of the same shape and size so that the cooking rate is equal for all. Heat the oil in a skillet and fry the meatballs until they turn brown all over. Brown in a large skillet. Place meatballs on a baking pan. In the meanwhile, whisk the ketchup, grape jelly, and lemon juice to mix well. Place the brown meatballs on a baking tray, pour the jelly sauce uniformly over them and bake for a good 35 minutes.