It’s been a little bit of time since I posted. Writing a blog is time consuming and I was trying to do three a week. I think two a week is a little more manageable plus cooking, working, hanging with my homies, and writing. I have a full life.
As life goes on, as it does, I’ve stopped pulling out the grays because I want to keep what remaining hair I have, I become more and more interested in spending quality time with my friends. To me, that means, cooking together. Not necessarily eating but the time you spend chopping and stirring. There is definitely something beautifully human in the idea of “hanging out in the kitchen”. We, meaning people, love being in the space where the food resides, not because we are hungry but because it’s where we are nourished. Physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually nourished.
Recently, I came to a place in my cooking where I kind of just wanted to cook but not eat. I know that’s an odd thing to say but it’s where I get my satisfaction, turning the ever-present “committee” off. You know, that round-table of voices saying, “You aren’t good enough”, “You can’t do that” and my favorite….”You will never be loved.” (I can only imagine what goes through Gordon Ramsey’s head….actually, I don’t want to know.)
So, on one of these past Sundays Shelley said, “Why don’t we cook?” With Shelley, since she’s always working, we need to do something simple. I like simple, easy, obtainable food even when eating out at restaurants and at home. Pizzas, Tuscan food, sometimes French. I know many people love 15 ingredients cooking like making Moroccan or even high-end dining where the food is pristine and artistically maneuvered. I was in the mood to make Pork Apple Burgers. Something kind of different but kind of not. Still an easy thing to make and it’s my recipe. (Really. I’m sure there is a recipe you can follow but I made this one up. A little shocking, I must say.) Then, I thought, while I was at the Farmers Market, since it was a Sunday, why don’t I get a couple of hero rolls and make a submarine sandwich. Instead of burgers, make meatballs.
That’s what I did. Served up with a salad, tossed with a Blood Orange Vinagrette which Shelley made. Couldn’t be simpler and more perfect for two friends, hanging in the kitchen.
You Will Need:
1 pound ground pork
1 Fuji Apple
1 egg
1/2 cup of breadcrumbs (Or more depending on how “wet” everything is when assembled.)
1 cup (or thereabouts) freshly grated Asiago, Pecorino or Parmesan.
2 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons each of assorted fresh herbs (Chopped). You can use rosemary, basil, chives, oregano, thyme…any combination or use them all. Just skip the dill.
1 12 oz can of canned tomatoes or prepared sauce. Happy Girl Kitchen in Monterey has the BEST canned tomatoes EVAH! If you live in the Bay Area you can buy it at Farmers Market in the Ferry Building. Stunning. Fresh. Not cheap but worth it if you don’t want to grow and can your own tomatoes.
Let’s Finish This Puppy Up:
1. Assemble everything minced or chopped into a bowl. Just go at it and mix…with your hand. (Make sure you washed them first though.)
2. Once that’s accomplished, form into “balls”. You can make your own size but you want to get them into the rolls and you want to get them into your mouth. (You can go there…) I make my about 2 inches approximately. It should yield about 12 balls. Three per hero….(If only…sorry, I know, I know…high school humor.)
3. Add some olive oil to a skillet and fry them up on until brown on all sides.
4. Once browned on all sides, add the tomatoes, cover and finish cooking.
5. Cut the bread, leaving the seams intact. Hollow out one side (This is for the meatballs to have a bed.) Brush with a little olive oil and toast in an oven. When toasted to a “toasty” brown, take a peeled garlic clove and scrub the inside of the rolls until the garlic becomes a nub and the bread is fragrant.
6. Place the meatballs in the “bed”, pour some sauce, add some grated cheese.
7. Voila….eat heartily….and with a lot of napkins.
