Swedish Meatballs

As the sun goes down and the temperature plummets in the Midwest, we indulge in this delicious, comforting dish which makes a great compliment to the stillness of the cold night at dinnertime.  We like to pair the dish with warm garlic bread right out of the oven.  If you're like little Sweetpea you'll have your meatballs "sans-sauce," as she'd rather eat her meatballs as is, by itself and it truly is scrumptious.  Otherwise, drizzle the silky cream sauce over it with steamed rice (like me who eats everything with rice), pasta (like papa), or boiled new potatoes; they all are the perfect accompaniments to this dish.  This is one of our go-to dishes that always bring comfort in our family, Swedish style!

Ingredients

2 slices white bread, torn into pieces
3/4 pound ground beef
3/4 pound ground pork
1/4 cup milk
1 small onion, minced
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 cups low sodium beef broth
1/4 cup heavy cream


Soak bread into the bowl with milk.  Set aside.  In a small saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat.  Add onions until soft.  Remove from heat and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix bread with onions, meat, egg, salt, pepper, all spice, nutmeg, onion powder and garlic powder.  Mix them thoroughly until smooth.  If you have an electric mixer, you may do so, if not, mix it thoroughly with hands.  Shape them into golf ball sizes.  Heat remaining butter in a skillet over medium heat.  Pan fry the meatballs (not overcrowding the pan) in batches, browning all sides.  Keep cooked meatballs in an over-proof dish and keep warn in the oven at 200 degrees.

When all meatballs are done, turn heat to med-low and add flour to the pan.  Whisk until lightly browned.  Slowly add the beef stock and whisking at the same time until sauce begins to thicken.  Add the cream, season with salt and pepper to taste, and continue to cook until gravy reaches the desired consistency.  Remove the meatballs from the oven, place few of them on top of your pasta or rice, drizzle sauce all over it.  Enjoy!


Yield: 6-8 servings