Author: Liz

Spanish-Style Meatballs

Albondigas (aka Spanish-Style Meatballs)

Ingredients for the Sauce (A Books n’ Cooks Original; inspired by this Food Network Recipe and this recipe from Spain Recipes)

  • 2 Tbs. olive oil
  • 1/2 an onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 2-28 oz. cans whole tomato, chopped
  • 2 Tbs. red wine
  • 1 Tbs. chopped fresh basil
  • 1 Tbs. chopped fresh rosemary
  • salt & pepper

Ingredients for the Meatballs (Adapted from this recipe from Spain Recipes)

  • 1 lb. ground beef or meatloaf mix
  • 1/2 tsp. turmeric
  • 2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
  • 1 egg
  • 1 c. plain breadcrumbs
  • 3 cloves garlic

I had used up all my manchego cheese before making this, but would like to add the recommended 2 Tbs. of grated manchego next time.

Make the Sauce

Heat olive oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add onions & garlic and cook for 5 minutes, until the onions are translucent.

While the onions are cooking, open the cans of tomatoes and roughly chop the tomatoes (save the juice!). This step is in here because I got ahead of myself and forgot to chop the tomatoes. 🙂

Add tomatoes, and remaining ingredients to the onions & garlic. Lower heat and let simmer.

Make the Meatballs

In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients with your hands.

Roll mixture into small balls and place on a foil-lined cookie sheet.

Bake for 10 minutes, until browned (I forgot mine in the oven, hence why they’re a bit crispy looking!)

Meatballs 1-1

Add meatballs to sauce. If you’re serving them within the hour, let everything simmer together. Otherwise, turn off heat and reheat on low at least 20 minute before serving.

Meatballs 2-1

Cranberry White Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

Dec 2009 Update: So very sorry to all my readers! A friend pointed out a typo in this recipe in the amount of flour used. The correct amount is 2 1/4 cups of flour!

Cranberry White Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

Adapted from Ocean Spray

Makes 5 dozen cookies.

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/4 c. butter, softened
  • 1 c. confectioner’s sugar
  • 2 1/4 c. flour
  • 1 c. dried cranberries
  • 1 c. white chocolate chips

Cranberry Shortbread Cookies 003-1

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 F and prepare a baking sheet with a sheet of parchment paper.

Cream together butter and confectioner’s sugar, until light and fluffy.

Gradually add flour, beating until combined. Dough will be a bit crumbly looking.Cranberry Shortbread Cookies 001-1

Stir in cranberries and white chocolate chips.

Gather dough into small balls, using a 1/8 measuring scoop for guidance. Roll dough together.

Put dough onto baking sheet and press down slightly.

Cranberry Shortbread Cookies 002-1Bake for 14 minutes (less if you pressed the cookies fairly flat). Let sit on the cookie sheet for a minute or two before moving to a wire rack to cool, as cookies will be very soft.

Enjoy with a cup of tea or an afternoon coffee.  🙂

Cranberry Shortbread Cookies 004-1

Baked Shrimp Scampi

Baked Shrimp Scampi 009-1

Serve over pasta for a quick weeknight meal. I added a bit of extra panko breadcrumbs and parsley for some extra crunch. It was really good; there was a great layering of sweet and salty flavors, with just a hint of spice from the red pepper flakes. Next time, I’ll probably try to mix it up a bit, and add in some Parmesan cheese.

Baked Shrimp Scampi

Source: The Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten

Serves 6

Ingredients:

  • 2 lb. (12-15 per pound) shrimp in the shell; peeled (tails on) and deveined
  • 3 Tbs. olive oil
  • 2 Tbs. dry white wine
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 12 Tbs. (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 4 tsp. minced garlic (4 cloves)
  • 1/4 c. minced shallots (I used 1/8 c. dried onion flakes)
  • 3 Tbs. minced fresh parsley leaves
  • 1 tsp. minced fresh rosemary leaves
  • 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1 tsp. grated lemon zest
  • 2 Tbs. freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 extra-large egg yolk
  • 2/3 c. panko breadcrumbs
  • Lemon wedges, for serving

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425.

Place shrimp in a mixing bowl and toss with olive oil, wine, 2 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. pepper.

Baked Shrimp Scampi 006-1

In another bowl, mix softened butter and all other remaining ingredients, except the lemon wedges.

In a 14-inch oval gratin dish, arrange the shrimp in a single layer, cut side down, with tails pointing up. (Ina recommends beginning at the edge and working towards the center.) Pour what’s left of the olive oil and wine mixture on top of the shrimp. Spread/crumble butter mixture on top of the shrimp.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, until hot and bubbling. Then, broil for 1 minute, until top is slightly browned.

Book Review: two young adult books by Avi

So after my first experience with a book on tape, I decided to try out a couple more. The first book was a bit odd, and probably not the best choice for a book on tape. Since I do mostly local travel, I decided to listen to a couple books by Avi, who writes for young adults. I remember reading his books when I was in grade school, and enjoyed them, so thought I’d give them another whirl. Both books were easy to listen to (only about 4 hours each), so perfect for my local drives.

About the Author: Avi began his career in writing as a playwright, but I know him best for his young adult books. However, when I was checking out Avi’s website, I discovered the Avi also has written all sorts of works, including picture books and short stories.

Don’t You Know There’s a War On? : This book tells the story of a boy who has a crush on his teacher, who is fired. As the boy, Howie, follows and tries to help his teacher, you get glipmses of what it is like living in NYC during WWII – war bonds & stamps, rations, air raids, etc.

My favorite part of the book, however, was not the story but the language. Howie, both the main character and narrator, speaks in slang for most of the book. This completely took me into the book!

Poppy: Poppy is a young mouse that first gets in trouble for going into the forest without the great horned owl’s permission. When her family asks the owl permission to move to New House, they are denied because of her actions. Poppy then goes off on her own to seek out the real reason for the owl’s refusal, encountering many adventures along the way.

I did not enjoy Poppy as much as Don’t You Know There’s a War On? Perhaps it can be blamed on the narrator of the story (since I was listening to it), but I felt like the story was told incredibly dramatically, considering it was a mouse. I’m not sure what I was expecting out of this book, but as I was listening to it, I felt like it should be a picture book, like the Peter Rabbit stories, and not a young adult book, as I thought it was.