February 29, 2012
I’ve never had such an amazing group of friends in all my life. I don’t know why it took so long to find them, but they’re certainly worth the wait. We all love to eat and drink together, which I believe is the true link that binds us (come on, you really thought it was motherhood?). Ironically, with a few exceptions, most aren’t enthusiastic cooks.
This month I hosted my inaugural “Lunch Club” for my crew. I thought it would be a fun way to help them gain more confidence in the kitchen, and help me work though some new recipes for the blog. Before we met, I asked the group what was their biggest kitchen challenge. Unanimously, they all came back saying they wanted easy, healthy family meals.
My cooking shoes...
This was the menu for our first Lunch Club
Turkey Meatballs
Sauvignon Blanc (Did you think we wouldn’t drink? You so crazy!)
The turkey meatballs are an original recipe I created for my own family dinners. Did I lose you at turkey? Trust me, these meatballs are packed with flavor and really delicious. At serving time, break the baked prosciutto into pieces and scatter over the top of the meatballs as a crunchy and oh, so tasty garnish. My family loves them and now my friends do, too.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
1 carrot
1 celery stalk
1/2 of a medium yellow onion
3 cloves garlic
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 bread roll
½ cup panko crumbs
2 eggs
2 tsp. salt
Fresh ground pepper
1 pound ground turkey
2 oz. sliced prosciutto (optional)
Place the carrot, celery, onion and garlic in your food processor and pulse until finely chopped. In a medium saucepan, heat olive oil and cook vegetable mixture for about 15 minutes over medium heat. Set aside to cool.
While the vegetables are cooking, tear the bread roll into small pieces. Place pieces in a bowl, cover with water and let soak for a few minutes.
In a large mixing bowl gently beat two eggs. Next squeeze the excess water from the bread roll pieces and add to the bowl followed by the panko crumbs, slightly cooled vegetables and salt. Add the ground turkey and gently mix with your hands to combine. Using an ice cream scooper, scoop out meatballs and place in a glass baking dish.
Once all your meatballs are in the dish, sprinkle with fresh ground black pepper and lay slices of prosciutto over the meatballs.
Bake for 30 minutes.
Meatballs heading into the oven.
