Almost Famous Swedish Meatballs

I got this recipe from my boss, who got it from a food or parents magazine....I think. :p But this really is an amazing Swedish Meatball recipe (based on the one from Ikea I believe) - very rich and creamy without being too heavy, and pretty easy to make! The homemade meatballs are a nice touch, and definitely worth the trouble, but could probably be substituted for store-bought ones if necessary.


Ikea's Swedish Meatballs
Meatballs

• 1 cup breadcrumbs
  
• 2 Tablespoons butter
  
• 1/3 cup minced onion
  
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  
• ¼ tsp ground allspice
  
• Kosher salt and ground pepper
  
• ½ cup milk
  
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  
• ½ pound ground beef
  
• ½ pound ground pork
  
• 1 large egg, plus 1 egg white beaten
  

1. To make the meatballs: Put the breadcrumbs in a large bowl. Heat the butter in the skillet over medium-heat. Add the onion, garlic, allspice, 2 tsp salt and ¼ tsp white pepper and cook, stirring until soft, about 5 minutes. Add milk and Worcestershire sauce and bring to a simmer. Pour the milk mixture over the breadcrumbs and stir to make a thick paste. Add beef, pork, egg, and egg white to the bowl and mix until combined. Roll the meat into 1” balls onto baking sheet. (optional: refrigerate for 1 hour) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Bake meatballs until cooked through, about 20 minutes.
   

Gravy

• 4 Tblspn butter
  
• 6 Tblspn all-purpose flour
  
• 3 cups beef broth
  
• 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  
• ½ cup heavy cream
  
• Kosher salt and ground pepper to taste
  

1. To make the gravy: Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-heat. Add the flour and cook, whisking, until smooth. Whisk in the beef broth and Worcestershire sauce and bring to a simmer. Add the cream and meatballs. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer until gravy thickens, about 10-15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Serve over egg noodles.

I pretty make this recipe as written, though as I type this, I realize that I have typed up my already altered recipe. :p  For the gravy, use your judgement when adding the flour - the original recipe calls for equal amounts of butter and flour, but I like thick gravy, so I tend to add more. The original recipe also calls for 1/2 pound of pork, and 3/4 pound of beef. I think those are weird amounts, and after playing with it, we actually liked it better half pork/half beef. You can also substitute the heavy cream for half and half, with very little change to the taste. I have served these over egg noodles, and tonight we tried them over mashed potatoes, and that was equally excellent. I think I'm going to start doubling the meatball portion of the recipe and freezing them after they are cooked. The meatballs are still awesome after being frozen, and then you just have to make the gravy to have a really easy meal.


Gosh darn it, I WANT TO PAINT MY LIVING ROOM! And why don't I, you might ask. Well, currently it is cream. As is the rest of the main living areas of my house. After living in an apartment with strictly white walls for 6 years, I want some COLOR in my life! I have my color theme all decided - olivey green walls (but bright ones, not dark - it's hard to describe, but it will be awesome, trust me!) with dark brown furniture, which is already in place (minus a coffee table). So now my dilemma...the carpet is teal. This is a problem. No matter how I cock my head, or squint, or look at it with sunglasses on, I'm just not seeing how teal and olive green are going to mesh until we can replace the carpet. (and since the carpet is good quality carpet, I don't foresee that happening anytime soon) The current teal/brown/cream theme is working pretty well. But I want more green!!! Sigh....I suppose I will just wait for now. Plus, I think Brean still might be on strike from painting. Not that that is a truly contributing factor.... ;) So now I will go back to listening to Ingrid Michelson and squinting at my walls, wishing them into a green existence...