It is no secret around my place that I am the kitchen wizard. To say Will is inept in the culinary arts would be a gross understatement. He is barely proficient at the microwave for reheating, so I really do not allow him to venture forth into culinary adventures. Yesterday was our day for pasta on the menu, and I usually make a meat sauce to go with whatever shape of pasta I am using this week. However I got adventurous in the morning and tried my hand at making Parmesan Meatballs. They turned out surprisingly easy to make. I started with the basic recipe found on the back of a container of Kraft Grated Parmesan and went from there. The recipe I came up with has the following ingredients: 1 pound ground chuck, 1/2 pound ground breakfast sausage, 1 cup grated Parmesan, 1/2 cup seasoned Italian bread crumbs, 2 tablespoons minced garlic, 1 egg and a generous dusting of onion powder. You combine all the ingredients in a large bowl, mashing them all together thoroughly by hand. Then you can roll portions of the meat into balls in the size of your choice while preheating your oven to 375 degrees. I ended up with 23 good size meatballs which I placed in a foil lined baking pan, then baked them for about 25 minutes until cooked through. I then refrigerated them until evening when I combined them with my standard marinara sauce to pour over rotini pasta. I have to make a supplemental sauce for my pasta as Will is not too fond of the spicy version I really like. I start with the basic marinara sauce in a medium sauce pan then add mushrooms, Rotel diced tomatoes and green chilies, some chopped jalapenos, onion powder and Italian seasoning. I then spooned this mixture over a plate of pasta with the some of the milder marinara sauce and the meatballs, then served it all up with a side of garlic bread. It turned out to be delicious and the meatballs really added a welcome variation to our standard pasta fare. Little did I know at the time that this was not the only culinary delight I was to have on the menu for this day. During my working time I usually eat something we have in the store as we have a wide variety of hot foods that we sell. From hot dogs and cheeseburgers to taquitos and breakfast foods, we also have 4 flavors of hot wings, potato wedges, chicken strips and two kinds of pizza. Now the franchisee, his brother and two of the employees, Vigi and Sean, are all from Sri Lanka. Vigi had brought some traditional home made Sri Lankan dishes for Sean, which he shared with me. We had curried chicken over steamed rice with a side of dahl, which is a yellow grain of some type, all of which was delightfully spicy and delicious. So I ate really good food while being just a little adventurous both in the cooking and the dining. I am going to have to do this more often.
Now that I have made your mouth water just a bit this morning, I will perk up your ears and provide you with a feast for your eyes to top off your Tuesday. Like I posted yesterday, I am in a rather symphonic mood this week and I have not posted any Beethoven in a while, so I thought I would go with Symphony Number 1 in C Major by Ludwig von Beethoven performed by the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Evgeny Mravinsky from a 1982 recording for today's play list. Then I have some 30 sultry and sensuous Sexy Studs in Swimwear lounging about the page below the play list for dessert. That should satisfy most all your appetites for today, come on back tomorrow to see what I come up with next! Until next time as always, Enjoy!
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