Monday, May 18, 2015

Meatball Subs!

One of the things I miss about not living in New York any longer is good pizza.  (And bagels - but that's a different story).  There are acceptable pizza places here in the realm of the Brave Astronaut.  For good NY Style pizza, I tend to like Mamma Lucia's.  Of course, the Italian Inn is our go-to for Pizza / Movie night, but that is a different kind of pizza.

I also miss a good "meatball parmigiana hero" - I put it in quotes because here, they call it a sub, or a hoagie.  But when it's done right, it's a hero.  And heroic.

I spotted this recipe a while back in the Washington Post Magazine - it seems like a lot of work, but it might be worth my time in the future.

Campano Meatball Sub 
Servings: 6

Ingredients
For the meatballs
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for your hands 
  • 1 small onion, cut into small dice 
  • 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced 
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano 
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 
  • 8 slices white/country bread, preferably crusts removed, torn into bite-size pieces 
  • 1/2 cup whole or low-fat milk 
  • 2 pounds ground veal 
  • 2 pounds 80/20 ground beef 
  • 1 pound ground pork shoulder (butt) 
  • 8 ounces finely chopped or ground prosciutto 
  • 1 cup freshly grated pecorino-Romano cheese 
  • 1 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese
  • 6 large eggs 
  • 2 cups freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese 
  • 1 1/2 cups finely chopped flat-leaf parsley 
  • 4 tablespoons kosher salt 
  • 1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper 
  • 2 cups "00" flour, for dusting 

For the sauce
  • 28 ounces canned whole San Marzano tomatoes 
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 
  • 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced 
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano 
  • Pinch crushed red pepper flakes 
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano 
  • Kosher or sea salt 
  • Freshly cracked black pepper 
  • A few fresh basil leaves (optional) 
For assembly
  • 6 sub rolls, partially split 
  • 12 thin slices good-quality mozzarella cheese 
  • 6 slices provolone cheese 

Directions
For the meatballs: Heat the olive oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat. Once the oil shimmers, stir in the onion, garlic, dried oregano and crushed red pepper flakes. Cook just until the onion and garlic have softened but not browned; transfer to a very large mixing bowl.

Combine the bread pieces and milk in a medium bowl; let the mixture sit for a few minutes so the milk is completely absorbed.

Add to the large bowl the ground veal, ground beef, ground pork shoulder, prosciutto, pecorino-Romano, ricotta, eggs, Parmigiano-Reggiano, parsley, kosher salt, freshly cracked black pepper and the soaked bread pieces; use your clean hands to blend the mixture until well incorporated.

Position oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat to 450 degrees. Line two large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Place the "00" flour in a wide, shallow bowl.

Grease your hands with a little oil. Form the meatball mixture into 65 meatballs of equal size (shell-on walnuts). Coat each one lightly with "00" flour, dividing them between two parchment-paper-lined rimmed baking sheets. Roast on the upper and lower racks for 10 to 14 minutes, rotating the baking sheets top to bottom and front to back halfway through, until the meatballs are browned and cooked through. Discard any remaining flour.

Meanwhile, make the sauce: Use a food mill to puree the tomatoes. Discard the seeds; reserve the can juices for another use, if desired.

Heat the extra-virgin olive oil in a pot over medium-high heat. Once the oil shimmers, add the garlic, dried oregano, crushed red pepper flakes and dried oregano. Cook just until the garlic starts to brown, then stir in the tomato puree. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, then taste, and season lightly with kosher or sea salt and cracked black pepper. Stir in 6 to 8 basil leaves, if desired. Turn off the heat. Transfer 30 of the meatballs to the saucepan, turning them until coated. Cool and reserve the remaining meatballs for another use.

When ready to assemble, preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Open the sub rolls, keeping their halves partially attached and laying them on two rimmed baking sheets. Tear out some of the inside bread (to create room for the meatballs). Spread a tablespoon or two of the marinara sauce over both halves of each open-faced roll; toast in the oven for 5 to 10 minutes; keep the oven on.

Line each sub roll with the mozzarella and provolone slices, overlapping and/or tearing the slices so the inside roll surfaces are covered. Line up 5 sauced meatballs at the center of each sub roll; return to the oven just until the cheese has melted.

Close each sandwich, top side up, then cut crosswise in half. Serve hot.

Thursday, May 14, 2015

21 Pop Culture References You Make That Go Over Your Kids’ Heads



One of the proudest moments I've had as a father was recently, when Harrison Ford crashed his plane on a California golf course back in March - I was explaining what had happened to LBA.  I asked him if he knew what I had immediately thought of when I heard about it.  He paused for a moment, I hinted to him that I was thinking of a movie line - and he immediately came up with the above.  There are occasions when LBA, Mrs. BA, and I will tell the other "I will text you"

So I'm fairly confident that LBA would get most of these. Via BuzzFeed

1. When you leave the room for a few minutes (it's possible that LBA may already do this):
Orion Pictures







2.  When your kid asks if you like the new Ariana Grande song:
NBC







3. When your kid runs to their room and slams the door (although slamming doors in our house means you lose your device for a period of time):
Morgan Creek









4. When your kid asks for milk, then whines that they want something else:
Dreamworks









5. When you drop your kid and their friends off at the mall (LBA recently discovered Rick Astley, unfortunately):
Epic











6. When your kid graduates from kindergarten/grade school/junior high:
Fox








7. When your kid asks if they can have ice cream for breakfast:
Paramount Pictures









8. When your kid is getting on your last nerve:
CBS











9. When your kid says something crazy:
NBC







10. When you “accidentally” turn off your kid’s video game at bedtime:
ABC










11. When your kid freaks out that their crush is going to be at a party (this movie might have to make it into the pizza/movie night rotation):
20th Century Fox










12. When your kid wants you to get up off the couch and play with them:
LifeCall








13. When you tell your kid you’re going to buy them a pony and they buy it hook, line, and sinker:
Paramount












14. When your kid wants to know “the truth” about something (it's possible that LBA has stumbled onto me watching this movie):
Columbia Pictures









15. When you walk in on your kid making a huge mess:
Calgon









16. When you see the new trailer for the supercool-looking new Pixar movie:
E!


 





17. When your kid complains they don’t have any money:
Fox









18. When your kid tells you they got the lead in the school play (I am sorry to say that LBA and SoBA have "discovered" Full House - really, really sorry):
ABC









 19. When your kid says, “I know, Mom/Dad”:
Hasbro
20. When your kid asks for a snack:
Virgin / EMI









21. When you’re teaching your kid to swim and they tell you not to let go (Ship Sinks - Boy Dies):
Paramount

Monday, May 11, 2015

Mocha Chocolate Chip Cookies

I would so eat these.  All of them.  At one time.

Via Spoon University

Mocha Chocolate Chip Cookies

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 12-14 minutes
Total time: 22-30 minutes
Serving Size 48 Cookies

Ingredients
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon 
  • ¼ teaspoon salt 
  • 10 oz (2 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature 
  • 3 tablespoons instant espresso powder (or 4 tbs. instant-coffee granules, crushed) 
  • 1 cup confectioners’ sugar 
  • ½ cup brown sugar 
  • 1 ½ cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a cooling rack with paper towels. 
  2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. 
  3. In a larger bowl, beat the butter and coffee until well combined. Add the confectioners’ sugar and brown sugar and beat until combined. 
  4. Stir in the flour mixture about ½ cup at a time. 
  5. Stir in the chocolate chips. 
  6. Scoop out about 1 tbs. of dough at a time, flattening it into disks. 
  7. Place each disk on an ungreased baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart. 
  8. Bake until the edges start to darken, 12 to 14 minutes. 
  9. Let the cookies cool for 1-2 minutes and then transfer them to cooling racks.