Cider Braised Meatballs Over Celery Root and Potato Puree

~A Fall Favorite in My Home~

Friends of ours own a barn in the beautiful country setting of New York's Hudson Valley. Benevolent friends of ours, that allowed us to hold our wedding reception in this beautiful restored 1800's barn.

They also hold farm to table dinner parties there with a menu chosen that day depending on what's fresh for the picking, local wines a plenty, and demonstrations from the chef on preparing the dishes at home. My favorite dining experiences take place in this barn, sometimes under heat lamps when it gets too chilly. As did this recipe, invented by Chef Sean Hubbel. Savory meatballs drizzled in a slightly sweet reduced braising cider atop a velvety pile of puree perfection. I will be making this several times this fall.

Celery Root Puree and Potato Puree

(Recipe courtesy of Martha Stewart)

-2 large celery root (celeriac) washed, peeled, and cut into cubes

-4 large russet potatoes washed, peeled, and cut into cubes

-1/2 stick or 4TBSP butter

-1 cup of milk (or more for a thinner consistency if needed)

1. STEP 1

   Set a steamer basket in a large pot. Fill with enough water to come just below basket; bring to a boil. Add celery root and potatoes; reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook until tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

2. STEP 2

   Working in batches, transfer celery root, potatoes, half-and-half, and butter to a food processor; puree until smooth. Season with salt.

Meatballs

(Recipe from my Nanny Jane)

1 1/2 lb ground beef

1 1/2 lb ground pork

about a half a loaf of stale italian bread soaked in water 

3-4 eggs

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

2 TBSP fresh or dried parsley

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

3-4 cloves garlic minced

Squeeze excess water from bread in small clumps and add to a large mixing bowl.

Add all of the remaining ingredients and mix with your hands, then roll into golf ball sized meatballs. Set on a nonstick sprayed or olive oiled (depends on what I have on hand or if I'm in a rush) cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes until set, but not cooked through.

Using a dutch oven or small stockpot, heat cider then add meatballs. Braise until cooked through and liquid has evaporated some. 

This is enough to feed my family of 4 with some deliciousness left over.

Let me know if you try it!

First Round of Canning

Our first harvest of Early girls (red) and Lemon boys (yellow).Sanitizing the jars and lids.Blanching then icing tomatoes to remove their skins. 

A secret sauce preparation, then the resulting marinara sauces are ladled into the mason jars and boiled to create a seal.

Seven Jars of mouthwatering spaghetti sauce for my family to enjoy the tastes of summer into the fall and hopefully the winter, too.
For canning tips and recipes see the USDA guidlines -- canning is not difficult, but must be followed precisely to avoid foodbourne illness.

Mary, How Does Your Garden Grow...

Every morning, and several times a day, I check my garden to see what's ready for harvesting. This is our first official garden since we now have the space in our new home. I loved being in my grandfather's garden as a child. He grew tomatoes, green beans, wax beans, asparagus, and I think some squash...It's been a long time. He also had a few apple trees that I played hide-and-seek underneath and snacked while hiding. I attribute my love of fruit and vegetables to the time spent at my grandparents' house. I knew whenever I was there, there was always something fresh to picked and transformed into the family meals. I remember being hungry late one night (after the Merv Griffin show) and asking my grandmother for something to eat, expecting some cheese and crackers or some other convenient snack. Instead she went to the stove and prepared warm homemade applesauce from the apples in the backyard she had picked earlier that day. I had to be no more than 4, definitely before grade school, but I remember how special it was and that memory sticks with me today. I think it's important to teach our children the process from seed, to fruit, to table and the self reliance of being able to grow it yourself.

My scaredy cat, Mabel, carefully watches me garden and makes sure the plants don't get more attention than her.

Mulberries

I fall more and more in love with my new house each day. The folks that lived here before me took a lot of pride in this place and landscaped so that there is something new and interesting blooming from early spring all the way into fall. Nick and I have been adding perennial fruits to that landscape (we planted blueberry and raspberry bushes along the east side of the house) , so that we can harvest our own fruit each summer and "live off the land" so to speak.
We moved in right after the last big winter storm this past winter. When we got here this tree looked like it had seen better days and Nick wanted to take it down for safety purposes. I'm glad we decided to give it a chance because it is covered with mulberries.
We spent a good portion of the morning picking the berries. Its hard to collect a large amount while we're all stuffing them into our faces, but that's part of the fun.

If you've never tried a mulberry before, they resemble a blackberry in looks but are much juicier with a melon-like flavor. They contain all the antioxidants your average berry contains, just a little less common.







I've been throwing a handful in my morning smoothie.
I make one serving in the large magic bullet for my breakfast.
1/2 cup Stonyfield organic vanilla yogurt
1 banana
1 handfull mulberries
1 Tablespoon ground flaxseed
1 Tablespoon probiotic powder
1-3 ice cubes (quantity is your preference)
Fill the rest of large magic bullet container to the top with milk (approx. 2/3 cup) and pulse until blended.