Scotchathon Sweet and Savory Chicken Meatballs

I've neglected to post this recipe for a shamefully long time (gotta love the hustle-and-bustle and lack of work-life balance that happens during the legislative session). Alex's birthday is toward the end of February, and for the past 5 or 6 years, he has thrown himself a party affectionately named "Scotchaton." In addition to providing multiple scotches for guests to enjoy, Alex also provided beer, wine, other liquor, and lots of food from Costco - including a full ham.

Alex opted not to throw Scotchathon this year because of the cost, but he seemed really bummed about it. There's nothing sadder than a 6-foot 4-inch bearded man mourning the loss of scotch, so I schemed with his friends to throw a surprise Scotchathon. Thanks to my new (since January) medical diet, in addition to needing to hide alcohol, supplies, and planning, I also had to make the food myself to ensure that there was some food I could eat at Scotchathon.

(As an aside, I've found parties and other social events to be one of the most challenging parts of treating illness through nutrition. More on that later.)

Some of Alex's friends helped me out by scheduling a board game night about a week before the party, but that left me with just one night to myself to purchase everything and cook everything. Unfortunately, that same group of friends also ruined the surprise by asking Alex about a friend from another group of friends, which tipped Alex off that something was up. (I will never forgive you Michael Graham, and I plan to haunt you after I die.)

Nevertheless, it was a really fun night. We had friends come in from multiple other states, booked a beautiful space, and crushed 9 bottles of scotch. Furthermore, I had other friends with food restrictions (vegetarian, celiac's, other autoimmune disorders, and gout) comment that they had plenty of food they could eat, and that it was all delicious. Party food success! Many thanks to Sarah Olivier and Chris Revel for help securing the space, setting up, and letting me prep the food in their apartment before the party.

The recipe below is one I made up to be Whole30, freezable, fast and easy to prepare, and appropriate for a large party with lots of drinking.

Scotchathon Sweet and Savory Chicken Meatballs
Servings: 16 (assuming 3 meatballs per person)
Time: 45 minutes - 75 minutes (15 minutes active)

Ingredients
2 1-lb packages of Coleman Basil and Roasted Garlic Meatballs (purchased at Costco)
3 red or orange bell peppers
2 tbsp. high-heat cooking oil such as coconut oil, avocado oil, or lard
1 tbsp. olive oil
8 cloves of garlic
1 cup mashed sweet potato
1/4 cup sundried tomatoes (soaked if not packed in oil)
balsamic vinegar to taste (approx 1 tbsp.)
1-2 cups water
1 tbsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried oregano
salt to taste
pepper to taste
chopped parsley

Directions

1) Roast your bell peppers.
    a) Preheat oven to broil. Set rack as close to the broiler as possible.
    b) Cover a large cookie sheet with aluminum foil.
    c) Cover your peppers with high-heat cooking oil.
    d) Broil your peppers, turning once each side becomes black until peppers are charred all over.
    e) Put peppers in a paper bag set inside of a bowl and turn down the top of the bag to seal.
    f) Allow peppers to steam until cool enough to handle, approximately 20 minutes. 
    g) Remove peppers and place on a cutting board. Use your fingers to peel off the charred skin.
    h) Cut open peppers and remove seeds, ribs, and stems.
    i) Throw roasted bell peppers into your blender or food processor.

2) If needed, cook your sweet potato.
    a) Adjust oven heat to 400°F.
    b) Line a heavy pan with foil.
    c) Pierce a sweet potato a number of times with a fork.
    d) Place sweet potato on lined pan and bake for 45 minutes, or until soft.
    e) Cut sweet potato in half and scoop out flesh.
    f) Mash flesh with a masher or fork, and measure a cup.
    g) Add the cup of mashed sweet potato to the blender or food processor.

3) Cook your garlic.
    a) Heat olive oil over medium-low in a small pan.
    b) Crush cloves of garlic with the back of a heavy knife.
    c) Throw garlic into hot oil and let it sit for 1-2 minutes until starting to turn golden.
    d) Pour garlic and oil into the blender/food processor.

4) Blend into a sauce.
    a) Add sundried tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, basil, oregano, and one cup of water to blender with the sweet potato, garlic, and roasted peppers.
    b) Make sure the top of your blender is secured, and hold in place with a dish towel so that you don't burn yourself as steam escapes.
    c) Blend, starting on low and slowly moving to high power, until a silky consistency.
    d) Add more water if necessary until you reach the thickness you desire.
    e) Add salt and pepper to taste.

5) Heat.
    a) Pour sauce into a large soup pot or crock pot.
    b) Add meatballs.
    c) Cover and heat over medium-low, stirring occasionally until meatballs are covered in sauce and heated through.

6) Serve.
    a) For a party, put the meatballs and sauce in a chafing dish, sprinkle chopped parsley on top for color, and serve with toothpicks.
    b) For an easy dinner, serve meatballs and sauce over cooked spaghetti squash, zucchini noodles, or cooked pasta.

In case you are interested in tips appetizer tips for large parties where individuals have special dietary needs, this is what I served:

• Sweet and Savory Chicken Meatballs
• Aidell's chicken & apple sausages (also purchased at Costco) warmed in Paleo bbq sauce
• Assorted vegetarian appetizers from Costco or Trader Joe's such as spanakopita, black bean taquitos, and veggie pot stickers
• Beef skewers (using boneless short ribs purchased from Costco) marinated in pineapple juice and served with Paleo teriyaki dipping sauce
• Shrimp cocktail with Paleo cocktail sauce
• Guacamole (I used the Spicy one from Trader Joe's that comes in a square container), Pico de Gallo (bought at Costco), and Cassava chips
• Crudite and Paleo ranch dip
• a fruit platter
• I also catered some panini sandwiches and pasta salad from a nearby deli

Fiori di Zucca "Fritti" Pappardella

I have a love affair with Italy. I've already been to Italy 4 times in my life, and there's so much to love about it. I love the quiet mountains and unassuming castles of Sudtirol where Mediterranean cuisine meets German cuisine. Then there's the winding canals lined with colorful apartments that ultimately give way to massive baroque churches in Venice; I had one of the best meals of my life (a briny pasta dyed in cuttlefish ink and served with the freshest mussels imaginable) near St. Mark's Basilica. I love the sunflowers and terra cotta stands that stretch throughout Tuscany and the multiple dinner courses made of wild game. And how can you forget the gelato sundaes and amazing iron work by Pisano and Ghiberti in Florence?

My love does not extend to Rome.

I find Rome to be unnecessarily busy and crowded and loud. Not to mention dirty. And covered in bombastic buildings. But what I found most disappointing about Rome is that (while tasty) so much of the traditional Roman food feels uninspired. I found one notable exception-- Roman Jewish food.

Roman Jews were once confined to a walled-off ghetto near the river. Because they lived in such poverty, they created dishes out of cheap and easy-to-grow ingredients. These included lots of fish because they could be gathered from the river, and lots of artichokes and zucchini because they grew plentifully in the Roman soil and climate. The area is now known as possibly the most culinarily exciting in Rome.

Okay, okay. So SOMETIMES Rome is pretty.

One of the best-known summer delicacies of Roman Jewish cuisine is fiori di zucca fritti: zucchini blossoms stuffed with mozzarella cheese and anchovies and then battered and deep fried. The recipe below is adapted to capture the flavors of this dish without the unhealthy parts. I heavily borrowed from this Orangette blog post but changed the recipe to incorporate the savory-umami anchovies and crispy fried texture. This meal was so deeply satisfying that I have already made it twice. Plus it uses up an abundance of summer CSA zucchini.

Fiori di Zucca "Fritti" Pappardella

Ingredients
     1 1/2 lbs. zucchini or yellow summer squash
     1 tbsp. table salt
     1/2 red onion
     1 carrot
     1 stalk celery
     Leaves from 10 stems Italian parsley
     12 zucchini blossoms
     1 tbsp. + 1 tbsp. good quality olive oil
     1 tbsp. ground flax
     1 tbsp. almond meal (or 2 tbsp. almond meal if you don't have ground flax)
     Pinch red pepper flakes
     1 tsp. + 1 tsp. kosher salt or maldon salt flakes
     6 anchovy fillets or 1 1/2 tsp. anchovy paste
     Pinch (6-10 threads) saffron
     2 cups + 3 tbsp. good quality chicken stock
     1 large egg yolk
   

1) Make your zucchini papparadella.
     a) Slice squash in half lengthwise.
     b) Using a mandoline set to 1/16", slice cut side of squash lengthwise to make long, wide noodles.
     c) Cut noodles in half again lengthwise.
     d) Place noodles in a colander and toss with 1 tbsp. salt.
     e) Let noodles sit for 20-30 minutes to drain liquid.
     f) Rinse noodles thoroughly.
     g) Dry noodles between two paper towels.
     h) Put noodles back in the colander and place uncovered in the fridge until you're ready to use.


2) Prepare your veggies.
     a) Cut carrot and celery into quarters.
     b) Place red onion, carrot, celery, and parsley leaves into food processor.
     c) Pulse 20 times, scrape down sides, and pulse 10 more times until finely chopped. (Alternatively, you can finely chop all these ingredients by hand.)
     d) Roughly chop zucchini blossoms into quarters or eighths.

These are zucchini blossoms. They are usually only available late June-late July and can be found in specialty grocery stores or your local farmer's market.

3) Make your fried topping.
     a) In a small pan, heat 1 tbsp. olive oil over medium heat.
     b) When oil is hot, add ground flax, almond meal, a pinch red pepper flakes, and a pinch salt.
     c) Stirring constantly, toast your seed/nut meals until dark brown and, well, toasty.
     d) Put on a plate or in a small bowl and put to the side until later.




4) Make your sauce.
     a) In a larger pan, heat 1 tbsp. olive oil over medium-low heat.
     b) While oil is heating, in a small pan over low heat, warm the 3 tbsp. chicken stock.

I used anchovy paste

Here you can see the paste entirely
dissolved into the hot oil

     c) In a small bowl, beat the egg yolk with a fork.
     d) When oil is hot, add anchovies or paste. Cook until the fish is dissolved into the oil.
     e) Add chopped onion, carrot, celery, and parsley. Cook until tender, about 5 minutes.
     f) Add zucchini blossoms, a pinch salt, and the saffron. Lightly crush the saffron between your fingers while you add it.
     g) Stir, turn heat up just past medium, and then add 3/4 cup of chicken stock. Stir again.


5) While your sauce is cooking, make your pasta.
     a) Heat another frying pan with 1 tbsp. olive oil over medium heat-low heat.
     b) When oil is hot, add the zucchini pappardella.
     c) Cook zucchini pasta for 3-5 minutes until starting to lightly brown.
     d) Set aside until ready to use.


6) Finish sauce.
     a) Once the chicken stock has started to boil off of the sauce, add the rest of the chicken stock a splash or two at a time and stir in. This process should take about 8-10 minutes.
     b) The sauce is done when the chicken stock has reduced down to a thin layer on the bottom of the pan.
     c) Whisk the warm 3 tbsp. chicken stock into the beaten egg yolk. This will make a pale yellow liquid.

Add the chicken stock sloooooowwwly
so it doesn't cook the egg

     d) Remove the sauce pan from the heat and add in the egg yolk mixture. Stir well to coat vegetables and mix into liquid.
     e) Using tongs or a pasta spoon, lift the zucchini noodles and add them to the sauce mixture.
     f) Return to heat and cook 30 more seconds, stirring constantly. You want the sauce to cover the noodles.


7) Serve.
     a) Divide zucchini pasta and sauce onto 2 warm plates.
     b) Top with 1 tbsp. each of the fried seed/nut crumbs.

At its simplest, this is what the meal
looks like. Not the most appetizing thing, eh?

Suggestions to make this a meal:
     a) Fry some guanciale (cured pig jowl meat). Remove meat from pan, and instead of cooking your veggies in olive oil, cook them in the meat oil. Add the cooked meat back into the mix along with the zucchini noodles at the end to make it taste like a veggie-heavy pasta carbonara.
     b) Serve alongside a seared veal cutlet.
     c) If you are not lactose intolerant, make it more similar to Roman Jewish Fiori di Zucca Fritti by adding some torn up pieces of buffalo mozzarella like I did here. Yum!
 

Add some parsley, tomatoes, and buffalo mozzarella and it's suddenly beautiful! Delizioso! Translation: nom nom nom

Reef House Benedict

Although technically a part of Israel (depending on who you talk to it's sometimes called the West Bank), Palestine is separated from Israel with a guarded fence.  My friend Jamie, my thesis advisor Jaime, and I boarded a bus from Jerusalem and made the 2 hour trek to cover the 13.5 miles between Jerusalem, Israel and Ramallah, Palestine.  We went through checkpoints, showed our passports and visas, etc.  It was intense.

Jaime, me, and Jamie visiting Aida Refugee Camp.  The massive amount of trash you see behind us was a continuous theme in Palestine.  So sad.

We spent a pleasant evening smoking hookah and learning about the situation between Israel and Palestine from a friend-of-a-friend who happened to be working in Ramallah at the time (hi Tochi!) before turning in to a pension my advisor had found.  All the reviews of the Reef House Pension said that the owners (George and Iman) are the nicest people in the world.  This was not far from the truth (although people in Palestine were generally friendly and helpful).  The next morning Iman greeted us with an amazing breakfast spread, which she said was a typical Palestinian breakfast.  It included tomatoes, cucumbers, this bologna-like meat, a hardboiled egg, thick and tart yogurt, brine-y sheep cheese, hummus, tahini, olives, and flatbread with harissa, sweet olive oil, and za'atar for seasoning.  I can't begin to describe how delicious this was.  In fact, I think that the food in Palestine made up 3 of the best meals I ate while in the Middle East.

After breakfast we packed our bags, thanked George and Iman, and headed first to Taybeh to taste Palestine's only craft beer and then to Bethlehem to see the Church of the Nativity and to talk to people living in the Aida refugee camp.  Although I could go on and on and on about this part of my summer trip, I will suffice to say that I left with my eyes opened a little wider and my heart a little larger.  I think this trip was important, and I would recommend it to anyone.

Taybeh beer-- hooray beer!

A tribute at the entrance of Aida Camp to dead Palestinian prisoners of war.

Reef House Benedict Instructions

1) Prepare the tahini hollandaise.

     Ingredients
     2 egg yolks
     Juice of 2 lemons
     2 tbsp. tahini
     1/4- 1/2 tsp. harissa paste (this is a hot Arabic spice paste that you can get in Middle Eastern grocery stores, the Arabic section of Whole Foods, or on amazon.com)

     Directions
     a) In a very small pan, heat tahini over med-low until it is hot.  Be careful and stir often because it will burn if left unattended or heated over too high of heat.
     b) Put your egg yolks, harissa, and lemon juice in a food processor or blender and blend until fully combined and slightly foamy.
     c) While blending, very slowly drizzle the hot tahini through the hole in the top of the food processor or blender.  Take your time with this-- it should take between 1-2 minutes to get all the tahini in the bowl of the processor.  You want to do this slowly so that you don't scramble your egg yolks.

As you can see if you look closely, I added the tahini too fast and some of it stuck to the side of the blender.  You don't want to do this so make sure to drizzle it super slowly!

     d) Keep the hollandaise warm over a double-boiler set on low heat.  Make sure to whisk it every couple of minutes to keep it emulsified, and add water as needed to maintain a good hollandaise consistency.

2) Get your ingredients completely prepared to assemble the benedicts.  I can't stress enough how important this is because you don't want to be fiddling this stuff while poaching your eggs or else you can easily over-poach the eggs.

     Ingredients
     4 pieces Middle Eastern flatbread (I was lazy and bought mine at Trader Joe's.  If you're ambitious enough to make your own flatbread, there's a really good looking Palestinian flatbread recipe here.)
     High-quality feta cheese (I get mine at Trader Joe's; there's a brand called Pastures of Eden that I love)
     4 small tomatoes, preferable campari or similar varieties
     Extra Virgin Olive Oil for drizzling
     1/4- 1/2 cup hummus (I make my own following this recipe from Smitten Kitchen)
     za'atar (you can buy this at a Middle Eastern grocery store or on amazon.com)

     Directions
     a) Warm the flatbread by wrapping it in a damp towel and placing it in a 200 degree oven.
     b) Slice the feta so that you have 4 slices that are each 1/8-1/4 inch thick--slices should be big enough to cover a piece of flatbread.  If you need, cut more slices and place them side-by-side.
     c) Slice the tomatoes into about 6 slices per tomato.
     d) Get out hummus, EVOO, and za'atar so that they're all in easy reaching distance.

3) Get your poaching equipment ready.  You'll need a 10-12" high sided skillet filled with water to 1/2-1" from the top of the skillet, 2 tbsp. white or apple cider vinegar in that water, a plate that can withstand heat placed at the bottom of the skillet (so that your eggs will never touch the heat), 4 eggs, a small saucer, and a slotted spoon.  Heat your water to gently simmering.

4) When your water is just about to start simmering, prepare your benedicts.

     Directions
     a) Place each warm flatbread on a separate plate.
     b) Spread each flatbread with 1-2 tbsp. hummus.
     c) Lightly drizzle olive oil over hummus.

     d) Place cheese across hummus.
     e) Place tomatoes on top of cheese.

5) Poach those eggs!

     Directions
     a) Crack an egg onto a saucer, and then slide the saucer in your simmering water.
     b) Do this for one other egg.  If you can poach all 4 eggs at once, kudos to you, but I've only ever been able to do 2 at a time.
     c) Set your timer for 2 minutes.
     d) While you're waiting for the eggs to cook, keep the water moving by lightly moving your spoon around the perimeter of the skillet (you don't want the eggs to come in contact with heat from the pan or to rest on the bottom--the plate helps with this).
     e) Check your eggs for doneness at 2 minutes-- it may take up to 3 minutes to finish so pay really close attention for the 60 seconds in between.  Once your eggs look like the whites are of appropriate firmness, remove with slotted spoon and put one egg on top of each benedict.
     f) Top with tahini hollandaise and a sprinkle of za'atar and dig in!

My friend Jamie, who traveled to Palestine with me, said that this reminded her so much of the breakfast we had at the Reef House Pension.  Success!

Te'meitov Pai (Tomato Pie)

This summer (in addition to traveling to Egypt) I had the unique opportunity of getting to go to Israel to present research at the International Society of Political Psychology Conference. That's right-- somehow academics have convinced universities that preparing and giving a 30 minute research presentation is enough work to justify the university paying hundreds of dollars for a plane ticket, hotel room, etc. After my presentation I got to lay on the beach in Tel Aviv. Suckers.

Not to say that it was all play. I certainly sat in my fair share of talks, learned a lot about Middle Eastern politics, traveled to various parts of Israel and the West Bank to learn about the politics firsthand, and I did lots of research. For this blog. Food research.

One of the places I went was called Blackout Restaurant. It's in Old Jaffa in Tel Aviv, and it is a restaurant run entirely by blind people. It is also one of those restaurants where you eat in the dark. Pitch black. It's meant to help you pay more attention to your senses of taste, texture, and smell, but if you need to go to the restroom during the meal, you're screwed.

The view of Old Jaffa from Tel Aviv

As were many restaurants in Israel, this restaurant was kosher, so a meal could either have fish in it for 2 courses (and no dairy in the dessert) or cheese in it for 3 courses (and no meat products). I opted for 3 courses of cheese (because...cheese). One thing I loved about this restaurant is that although they provided a menu, one could also request "chef's choice" and was likely to get food that was not on the menu at all. In this case, the waiters and waitresses loved making guests guess their food after eating it.

My first course consisted of a delicious savory pastry; fresh, warm tomatoes; a handful of fresh herbs; and a soft, melted cheese. It turned out to be a potato and cheese latke with quick marinara sauce. I have to admit that I had no idea the pastry was potato, and I'm not sure how I feel about that. I love potatoes and would have been happy with the potato tasting like a potato. And when I cook I want potato to taste like potato. 

So here's a recipe where I tried to recreate the flavors and textures of that first course. Instead of trying to make the original latke, I channeled my memory of that meal into baking this traditional Southern tomato pie.  Southern Israeli tomato pie.

Te'meitov Pai Instructions

Time beginning to end: 2.5-3 hours

1) Prepare an olive oil pie crust. I used a recipe from the book Gluten-Free on a Shoestring by Nicole Hunn, but the recipe is also available here. To make this pie crust, I used King Arthur gluten-free all purpose flour, but I ran out of that halfway and used the Trader Joe's gluten-free all purpose flour in addition. The King Arthur flour is preferable. If you are not gluten-free, there's a pretty decent oil pie crust recipe from allrecipes that you could use instead (but make sure the oil is extra virgin olive oil). Make sure the pie crust is super thin when you roll it out (definitely divide the recipe into two pieces and only use one piece) because otherwise instead of being flaky the crust is just hard as a rock. 

     Ingredients

     2 cups gluten-free all purpose flour

     1 tsp. xantham gum

     1 tsp. kosher salt

     5 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil (Greek ones tend to be closer in flavor to the stuff from Israel)

     1 1/2 tsp. white wine vinegar

     1/2 to 3/4 cup cold water

Three years ago I dated a guy that was completely spoiled by his mother and grandmother. Because of their doting, he became a homemade pie fanatic and a pie crust snob. I hate using my rolling pin, but finding these pie crust rolling bags saved my life in the quest to make a pie crust he wouldn't complain about. We broke up before I did that, and I happily abandoned my quest. However, the bags are really helpful for making gluten-free crusts because they let you roll the perfect size, they let you roll a very thin circle, and they are non-stick.

One more word of caution: the pie crust will likely break. Don't be afraid to piece it back together in the pan. Squeeze the broken pieces in together and use a wet finger-tip to seal seams.

You can see here how it breaks. Use leftover bits to fill in any gaps.

2) Pre-bake the pie crust. Prick the crust all over with a fork to allow ventilation. Cut a piece of aluminum foil or parchment paper in a circle and put on the bottom with rice, beans, or pie weights to weigh down the crust. Bake in an oven preheated to 350 degrees F for 20 minutes. Set aside on a wire rack to cool.

3) Prepare your filling. I adapted one from the blog frommaggiesfarm.

  

     Ingredients

     2 lbs. of ripe tomatoes (cherry and campari work well) in multiple colors

     salt

     1/3 cup chopped red onion

     1/4 cup chopped fresh mint

     1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

     2-3 minced garlic cloves

     2 tbsp. lemon zest

     1 tsp. sumac (available at a Middle Eastern grocery store or on Amazon.com)

     1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

     Directions

     a) Slice tomatoes to about 1/2 inch thick. Layer them in a colander. Lightly salt each layer. Allow collander to sit in the sink for about 30 minutes.

     b) Chop other ingredients while you wait.

     b) Rinse the tomatoes and dry them thoroughly with paper towels. You want to squeeze the tomatoes as you dry to get the seeds and goopey insides out. Soggy tomatoes=soggy pie.

If you look closely, you can see tomato guts all over. For the yellow cherry tomato halves, I actually had to squeeze the innards out of each one as though you're popping a pimple (gross, I know, but now you can imagine EXACTLY what it should look like) and then blot with the paper towel.

     c) Toss the tomatoes, red onion, mint, parsley, garlic cloves, lemon zest, sumac, and pepper together in a large bowl until thoroughly mixed.

     d) Arrange the tomatoes in the pie crust. You can layer them to make them look pretty, or you can dump them in, making sure to leave a crater in the middle of the pie to accommodate your cheese topping.

This was meant to illustrate the crater in the tomatoes which you will fill with cheese mixture. Not sure it really did that, but it looks pretty!

4) Prepare your topping.

     Ingredients

     1/2 cup feta cheese (I like one available at Trader Joe's-- it is made in Israel and uses sheep's milk)

     3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt (nonfat works fine)

     1/4 olive oil mayonnaise (Here's a great recipe to make your own, but olive oil mayo is now widely available at normal grocery stores as well as health food stores)

     

     Directions

     a) Combine all ingredients.

     b) Spread on top of the pie, leaving a 1" circle of tomato visible around the edges

5) Bake the pie at 350 degrees F for 50-60 minutes until the cheese starts to brown and bubble. You may want to cover the crust halfway with a pie shield or aluminum foil.

6) If desired, pit some Souri olives (or substitute for more commonly found Calabresi olives) and put on top of the pie. Just don't ever feed canned olives to an Israeli because Israelis take their olives seriously. Plus all Israelis serve in the army, so you don't want to tick of an Israeli with crappy olives.  Serve pie warm if possible, but this pie is still quite tasty cold.

I took this to a BBQ where one of my friends in attendance has celiacs.  She really appreciated having food she could eat, but everyone else there raved about it, too. No one could tell it was gluten-free!

Taiym!  Translation: nom nom nom.