Week Three: About Meatballs and Life

Text from Laura to me this week: “If you’re home put on Channel 4 making a similar recipe to Thurs.” Between that and she finally bought an electric mixer, I’m pretty sure she’s getting into the cooking thing.

A couple of years back, it happened that Laura and I met for lunch the week Sheila Lukins died and I told her that my version of Julie and Julia would be starring Sheila Lukins and The Silver Palate Cookbook. That’s when Laura told me about having mastered Lukins' Chicken Marbella. “I had to have one thing I could cook,” she said. “You know, so if I liked someone, he’d think I can cook.”

I laughed.  Guys do it too ... learn to cook something to impress dates they think might be more than well, dates. Mine was Duck L’Orange. My boyfriend, now my husband of nearly 40 years, loved it. It seems we always look to impress with complicated recipes. Julia Child was fond of saying, “You don't have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces - just good food from fresh ingredients.” 

This week’s cooking lesson for Laura is about as true to Julia Child’s sentiment as possible.  And if the picture posted here of Laura’s son - ready to bite into his meatball grinder - doesn’t say it all, nothing will.

Italian Meatballs and Sauce
Active Time: 20 minutes  Cooking Time: 6-8 hours on Low
Meatball Ingredients
1- 1.3 pound package of ground turkey
1/2 cup of seasoned bread crumbs
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup hot tap water
Sauce Ingredients
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1 - 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes with basil
1 - 28 ounce whole peeled tomatoes
1 - small can tomato paste with Italian herbs
1/2 cup red wine
Directions
Stir all the sauce ingredients in the slow cooker bowl.  Use a potato masher to squish up the tomatoes into smaller pieces (or you squeeze them as you add them to the cooker between your well washed fingers -- it’s a fun way to mush ‘em for kids).

In a large bowl, mix together bread crumbs, egg and water.  Allow water to soak into crumbs, about 3 minutes. Add your ground turkey to the bread mixture and blend well.

Roll meat mixture into approximately 1.5 inch diameter balls (like golf balls) and drop them evenly into the sauce that’s already in the cooker.  Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Serve on pasta or in grinder rolls. Sprinkle Parmesan on top, if desired.

Week Two: NOLA Style Shrimp and Rice

Let me start by being honest and correcting Debby. I am 48, not 47.

Twenty-five years ago, I was very lucky. I met and fell in love with a wonderful guy from a big family: a great dad, five siblings and a mother who taught them to cook, vacuum, wash clothes and iron. His family is obsessive about ironing. His sister ironed toddler shorts and T-shirts when we all vacationed at the beach!

During the summer when we first met, Steve and I made pasta salad for a party crowd.  It was Steve adding the finishing touches of parsley and paprika for a nice presentation that really caught my interest.  Steve Waldron and I had twenty-three great years together.

When Steve passed away, the fact that I’m not a confident everyday cook reared its ugly head. It’s now time to break my fast food habit and learn to cook meals at home that are easy and healthy for me and my son. Many people in our community do not know that Debby is a fantastic cook. She enjoys cooking and making healthy meals.

Friday, she taught me how to cook shrimp amd rice in the crockpot. It was fantastic for the following reasons (1) it was easy (2) it requires no extra work to serve after an exhausting hour at my physical therapy, and (3) my son loved it!

Here is the recipe.

NOLA Style Shrimp and Rice 
Active Time: 15 minutes Cooking Time: 7-8 Hours on Low

Ingredients
1 lb package frozen pre-cooked shrimp, deveined, peeled
1-1/4 cups uncooked long grain white rice
1 cup veggie broth
1 can low sodium cream of mushroom soup
1 (15 ounce) can Rotel diced tomatoes with mild chilis
1 small onion, grated
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 cup frozen peas (or any favorite frozen veggie)
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic
1 tablespoon fresh parsley (1 teaspoon if dried)
dash crushed red pepper (optional)
Directions
This New Orleans, Louisiana (NOLA) style rice and shrimp is easy in the slow cooker. Mix up everything (make sure not to defrost the shrimp) in a slow cooker liberally prepared with cooking spray.  Cook on low for 7-8 hours.  Serve hot. If you use the tail on kind of frozen shrimp, you’ll have to pull the tails off as you go about eating dinner: pain in the behind, or a fun activity - up to you. Serves 4.

Week One: Moroccan Chcken Thighs

My friend Laura is 47 years old and doesn't own an electric mixer.  When I asked if she had kitchen shears to cut the fat from the chicken thighs during our first week of cooking lessons, I was not surprised she responded in the negative. We used our well-washed hands to remove skin and fat from the meat for this recipe.

Then came time to open the bag of dried apricots to continue making this wonderfully flavorful Moroccan Chicken recipe and she said, "I have scissors." She pulled her "scissors" out of the drawer and handed them to me. "I got them with my knives," she said. You guessed it, she had no idea they were kitchen shears.

Laura's recipe repertoire is thin and she mostly relied on convenience foods and take-out; Laura's late husband never seemed to mind. You read correctly. Laura is a young widow with a 10 year old son. Most people do not understand the grief and the tremendous life change that a widow or widower is going through. And the truth may be that none of us want to see it, we prefer to believe it when we hear, "I'm fine."

Everything changed a little more than a month ago when a sick and exhausted Laura hit the wall and landed in the hospital for a week.  It's a long road turning overwhelming life changes and grief to renewal of body, mind and spirit. She has a lot going for her; a 10 year old bundle of energy named JJ, a nice home, a good job and lots of family and friends to help her find her way to a healthy and happy life. One big goal is to learn how to cook. And that's where I come in.

I love to cook and I am a good cook. This is an easy recipe with exotic appeal, a perfect starting point for a new cook to really feel good about their new adventure. The finished product proudly posted on Laura's Facebook page started people asking for the recipe. So Laura and I decided to start this blog. You'll be hearing from both of us as we travel down our cooking highway and we'll post one new recipe every week. Who knows? We may BOTH learn a thing or two about food and about each other.

I hope you'll enjoy coming along for the ride!

Slow Cooker Moroccan Spiced Chicken Thighs
Active Time: 25 minutes 
Cooking Time: 6 hours on Low
Ingredients
4 bone-in skinless chicken thighs
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1 can low fat low sodium chicken broth
1 can 15-ounce diced tomatoes, drained (no salt added)
1 can 15-ounce white kidney (cannellini) beans, rinsed and drained
1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped 
1/2 small onion, grated 
1/2 cup dried apricots, sliced
2 cups cooked couscous
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon cold water (or apple cider)
Directions
In gallon-size resealable plastic bag, combine chicken thighs with cumin, coriander, cinnamon, ginger and pepper; refrigerate overnight.

Combine chicken broth, tomatoes, beans, sweet potato, onion, and apricots in your slow cooker bowl. Place chicken in slow cooker bowl on top of vegetables.  Cover and cook 6 hours on low.  Transfer chicken to a plate and cover with foil tent to keep warm.

Mix cornstarch and water in a small bowl until blended.  Drain cooking liquid into a small pan.  Add cornstarch mixture and bring to a boil. Stir dash of sea salt into thickened cooking liquid.

Serve chicken and vegetables over cooked couscous. Drizzle with sauce. Garnish with almonds.