The Best Spaghetti and Meatballs

Bobby Flay is a bit of a food dork, but I love his Throwdowns on the Food Network.  And he, along with his trusted helpers Stephanie Banyas (Bobby's business assistant and a graduate of the French Culinary Institute) and Miriam Garron (a graduate of Peter Kump's Institute of Culinary Education) really crank out some AWESOME food.


His recipe for spaghetti and meatballs from the Meatballs Throwdown is absolutely the best I have ever eaten anywhere!  Throw in an Italian sausage or three with the meatballs, and it gets even better.


The Throwdown judges thought this was a bit spicy and loved it.  If you are a spice wimp, just cut back some on the crushed red pepper.


Bobby Flay lost this throwdown.  His opponent, Mike Maroni and his Grandma Maronis Meatballs 100 Year Old Recipe and his sauce must be pretty passable too. 




Link to a printable recipe for your file: Bobby Flay's Spaghetti and Meatballs
And a little clip from the show:  Meatball Throwdown

Cod with Mustard Sauce

Here is a recipe that is simple, takes only a few minutes to make, and is worthy of serving to your favorite company.  Cod with Mustard Sauce would be best with fish that just came out of the ocean, but mine was made with frozen Cod that just came out of the Costco, and it was still wonderful. You don't need anything fancy with it.  I had some green beans, leftover coleslaw, some fresh mango, and a little glass of Jacob's Creek Riesling (also from Costco).  This was so simple that I did not imagine how good it was going to be, and I ate it all before blog pictures could happen.  

Speaking of Costco, I think I have said it before, but I will repeat that I highly recommend it for the quality of its meats, cheeses, and seafood.  In particular, they carry frozen fish that contains nothing but fish.  Flash frozen in individually wrapped pieces, and no preservatives or other chemicals.  Good wines cheap, too - I rarely buy wine anywhere else.

The recipe comes from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, one of the very best general cookbooks - great for everyone from beginning cooks to the most advanced. Great present for newlyweds, but if you don't have it on your bookshelf you should buy it for yourself.

Jambalaya

Pretty good day today - got a few errands done, set up the new rain gauge (ok - I know that's wierd), and, most importantly, got to talk to my wife, my daughter, my son-in-law, and my grandbaby twins.  Skype is a wonderful thing.  Kathy is in Champaign helping Leslie take care of the babies who are getting fat and sassy, but that is no reason that I can't fix a nice meal. Wish they were all here to enjoy it with me, but I'll get to see them all soon.

Tonight's meal was a nice Jambalaya, which was based on a recipe from Emeril Lagasse - his Clean Out the Ice Box and Freezer Jambalaya recipe.  I love it, because it is just an idea - do only what you  want!  Preceded by a Sazerac cocktail, which I have previously posted, and served with a tangy coleslaw (cabbage, lime, cider vinegar, parsley, minced jalapeno, onion, and mayonnaise) and an Abita Amber beer, which I found in the beer fridge.

This really is a recipe that you don't have to follow.  Just make sure that you use liquid in proportion to the amount of rice you use.  Everything else is whatever you want to make it.  Tonight - no shrimp, and added some tomato paste with the rice after the chicken was browned.  Substitute freely - I ran across some Johnsonville Andouille at the store today, which was the inspiration for this meal, but use some nice Kielbasa or some other spicy pork sausage that serves as your inspiration.  I went heavy on the cayenne, which I happen to like but could be left out depending on who is eating with you. (Kathy likes lots of cayenne too, but if my dad was here, there would be none - I would add some Crystal hot sauce or Tobasco when it was served.)  Whatever is leftover in the fridge is fair game.  Beef, pork, any kind of shellfish -- it's all good.

I hope you will try this, and if you do, let me know what you added and how you liked it.