Porcupine meatballs are an North American casserole dish of ground beef and rice meatballs cooked in tomato sauce. This recipe, that appealed to cooks in the 1930s, appears to have been developed during World War I when rice was affordable and readily available, but meat was pricey. The recipe appeared as ‘rice meat balls’ in the 1918 cookbook ‘Conservation Recipes’, a clear forerunner of the recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook (1939). The name comes from the appearance of the meatballs, which appear prickly when the rice pokes out of them as they cook, resembling a porcupine.
Meat, even something as mundane as ground beef, was expensive and home cooks used innovation and imaginative ways to make a small amount of protein stretch to feed a large and hungry family. Porcupine meatballs were one of the answers to the problem. It’s great that generations later we are still enjoying them!
Of course, this simple recipe is very customizable. Other ingredients could be added to the meatballs like green pepper, mustard, celery, horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, or other seasonings. The simple tomato sauce made with canned soup could be enriched with molasses and seasoned with chili powder and cumin. A later recipe from 1969 for ‘porcupine meatballs paprika’ replaces tomato soup with cream of mushroom, and adds other ingredients like mustard, or sour cream and paprika. ‘Porcupine meatballs Chinois’ was a variation influenced by Chinese cooking techniques and ingredients. Served with peach sauce, the Chinois meatballs are made with ground pork, shrimp, rice and green onion, seasoned with soy sauce and sherry, and steamed instead of being cooked in sauce.
Ground turkey can also be substituted for the ground beef, just add 1/4 cup oatmeal to the mix to compensate for the extra moisture in the turkey.
I recall my mother making these meatballs numerous times when I was growing up. They tasted great then and still do today. I decided to make some with the tomato sauce and some with mushroom sauce since Brion was not familiar with this meal. I think he will enjoy them.
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Retro Porcupine Meatballs
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Ingredients
Alternative Brown Mushroom Sauce
Ingredients
Alternative Brown Mushroom Sauce
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Instructions
Meatballs/Sauce
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In a medium bowl, lightly mix together all meatball ingredients. Form mixture into 12 meatballs & place in an 11 x 7-inch baking dish.
In a small bowl, whisk together sauce ingredients; pour over meatballs. Cover & bake 1 1/4 hours or until rice is tender.
These meatballs are nice served over rice, egg noodles, mashed or baked potatoes. Simple but tasty!
Alternative Tomato Sauce
In a saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Sauté onion until tender crisp. Add crushed tomatoes & simmer for about 5 minutes. Add seasoning to taste & sour cream; combine then whisk in chicken broth. Pour over meatballs & bake.
Alternative Brown Mushroom Sauce
In a skillet, heat oil & sauté onion & mushrooms. Add beef base, pepper, garlic powder & 2 cups of the water. Bring to a boil. Combine cornstarch with remaining 1/2 cup water. Gradually add cornstarch mixture to pan & stir as you are pouring. Cook, stirring often, until thoroughly mixed. Pour over meatballs & bake.
Recipe Notes
- The advertisement picture on the blog was from life magazine in 1948.
I’ve probably posted at least twenty different kinds of scones on the blog over the years, but I had yet to make scones using chai ‘liqueur’.
There are many recipes using chai spices such as cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, cloves, nutmeg and anise. I wanted to incorporate the actual liqueur in these scones as well to pop up the flavor a bit more.
And while most fruits pair well with chai, some may have a delicate flavor that won’t taste great with the various spices in chai. When selecting these fruits, always go for dried options such as raisins, prunes, dates, apricots, figs, and peaches.
These scones make an excellent choice for breakfast or as an afternoon snack this time of year.
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Apricot Chai Liqueur Scones
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Instructions
Scones
Preheat oven to 375 F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a food processor, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Place in a large bowl.
In a small bowl combine egg, chai liqueur & sour cream. Add wet mixture to flour mixture along with the apricots. Stir ONLY until combined. Do NOT overmix.
Divide dough in half. Using a spatula scrape each piece of dough onto the parchment paper on the baking sheet. Dip the spatula in flour, then flatten each piece of dough to about 1-inch in height as well as forming it in a circle shape. Cut each round into 8 wedges.
Bake scones for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from baking sheet. Recut the scones. Cool slightly on wire rack.
Icing
Using a mixer, combine cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, chai liqueur & milk. Beat on low speed, gradually increasing to high until light & fluffy. Pipe over scones.
Recipe Notes
The amount of sugar used in these scones is what you prefer personally. I only used the 1/3 cup which makes them nice to serve with coffee.
Of course, you can eat casseroles all year long, but they hold a special spot in our hearts when the crisp days of fall roll around. A longtime staple in North America’s cuisine, these baked concoctions appear at family reunions, holiday gatherings, potlucks, and more.
In terms of comfort food, casseroles are high on the list of our favorite autumn dishes. Double points if they have a good amount of cheese, and triple points if they also contain veggies. There are plenty more reasons to love them. They’re hearty, super-easy to prepare, the perfect dish for freezing and keeping in stock as well as being adjustable to whatever size you need.
This chicken zucchini bake is a great combination of cheesy chicken and vegetables that can be baked individually or as one casserole.
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Chicken Zucchini Casserole
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Instructions
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Slice chicken into thin strips.
Slice green onions & mushrooms. Mince garlic & julienne zucchini. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.
Add the chicken, mushrooms, zucchini, garlic, half of the green onions & salt & pepper to the saucepan. Cook & stir often, until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain in a colander.
In a bowl, mix together the cheese, sour cream, remaining green onions, beaten eggs, Italian seasoning & red pepper flakes until well combined.
Stir in the chicken/ veg mixture until well coated.
Spray two individual baking dishes (or an 8 x 8-inch baking pan) with non-stick spray.
Pour the chicken/cheese mixture into the two dishes, divided evenly.
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Allow to cool 5 minutes. Top with sliced green onions for garnish if you wish & serve.
Chicken parmesan stuffed garlic bread, a perfect fusion of cheesy goodness and garlicky delight. It’s a scrumptious twist on the classic Italian favorite.
Chicken parmesan, also known as ‘chicken parm’, is a dish that originated in the United States from Italian immigrants. The most widely accepted theory is that chicken parm was created in the 1950s, when Italian immigrants began to adapt their traditional dishes to American ingredients and cooking methods. The dish became a popular staple in restaurants serving Italian American cuisine by the 1950s. The first recorded instance of the dish is in a 1953 recipe book called ‘The Italian Cook Book’ by Ada Boni.
Chicken parmigiana as we know it always contains the same basic ingredients: chicken breast, often butterflied, breadcrumbs, Italian seasonings, tomato sauce, and mozzarella cheese. But it wasn’t always that way. In the Old World, that’s Italy prior to the Italian diaspora, the large-scale emigration of Italians from Italy to America, proteins like chicken were not widely available. As such, the original chicken parmigiana was actually made with breaded, fried slices of eggplant in place of chicken for a dish called melanzane alla Parmigiana. This form of the dish originated in Southern Italy, where the poor soil made it difficult to raise animals for food but where enterprising — and thrifty — peasants could scratch out a living growing hardier crops like eggplant. It also thrived in the hot climate of the South.
In North America, most of the time eggplant parmesan is thought of as just the vegetarian version of an Italian American classic. However, it is actually the other way around — eggplant is the original version of this dish.
You would expect a recipe for something with the word ‘parmesan’ in its name to contain just that, but you would be wrong. The cheese most associated with this dish is mozzarella.
This recipe certainly takes chicken parm & garlic bread up a notch. Yum!
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Chicken 'Parm' Stuffed Garlic Bread
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Instructions
Chicken
Slice chicken lengthwise. In a large resealable plastic bag, combine salt, spices & oil; add chicken breast slices. Seal bag & turn to coat.
Preheat oven to 375 F. Line a baking tray with foil paper.
Spread chicken out evenly & bake about 45 minutes or until no longer pink inside. Don't overcook. Remove from oven, cool & chop. Set aside.
Other
Cook bacon & process in food processor for a few seconds, just until a LARGE crumbly texture is reached.
Grate the two different cheeses & combine. Set aside.
Garlic Bread
Cook potato, mash & cool. In a small bowl, combine yeast with lukewarm water; whisk until yeast is dissolved. Let stand about 3 minutes until foamy. Add butter, minced garlic, salt, sour cream & potato; mix well.
Stir in flour, one cup at a time. When dough is completely blended, turn onto a lightly floured surface. Knead dough about 10 minutes, until smooth & elastic. Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap & let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Remove risen dough from bowl, turn onto lightly floured surface; roll dough to about a 9" x 20" rectangle. Place a large piece of parchment on a sheet pan. Roll dough onto your rolling pin then unroll onto parchment paper. Place 1/2 of the cheese down the center of dough, top it with crumbled bacon, chicken & remaining cheese.
Starting from the long side , bring the two sides up to meet in the center & pick dough together firmly. Fold the short ends in about 1-inch & pinch together. Using the parchment paper, roll 'baguette' over so the pinched seam side is on the bottom.
Cover with plastic wrap; allow to rise for 15 minutes while preheating oven to 375 F. Brush with egg wash if preferred. Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden.
Serving
Remove from oven & serve hot with 'pizza sauce' for dipping.
Is it a crostata or a galette? There’re actually two different names for the same thing. A galette and a crostata are essentially the same type of dessert (one comes from France and one comes from Italy). Crostatas and galettes are typically free-form and rustic, with the dough edges folded up around the filling.
When it comes to pastries and cakes, the French have given the world more techniques, recipes and methods than anyone else. No other country has taken the simple combination of flour, dairy and heat to create such a varied range of delicious dishes, both sweet and savory.
Blackberries are sometimes forgotten, unlike their more popular cousins’ strawberries and blueberries. Even if you don’t love them raw, baked blackberries are something special.
Blackberries are cherished for their enticing flavor, nutritional value, and versatility in recipes. Whether enjoyed as a fresh snack or incorporated into mouthwatering dishes, blackberries remain a beloved fruit that connects us to a rich tapestry of history and nature.
Today I’m making a blackberry cheesecake galette. The combination of buttery pastry and juicy, plump blackberries with cream cheese is simply heavenly.
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Blackberry Cheesecake Galette
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Instructions
Pastry
In a small bowl, combine sour cream & ice water; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, sugar & salt. Using a pastry blender or finger tips, cut in the butter until mixture resembles BOTH coarse crumbs & small peas. Sprinkle the cold sour cream mixture over dough, 1 Tbsp at a time, tossing with a fork to evenly distribute it. After you have added all the sour cream mixture, dough should be moist enough to stick together when pressed; if not, add additional cold water, 1 tsp at a time. Do not overwork dough.
Press dough into a disk shape & wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. The dough can be kept in the refrigerator for a day or two or it can be wrapped airtight & frozen for a month. Thaw, still wrapped in refrigerator.
Filling
In a small bowl, combine 1 Tbsp sugar with 1 Tbsp cornstarch. Sprinkle over blackberries with a squeeze of lime juice. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, beat softened cream cheese with whole egg & egg white until light & fluffy. Beat in 7 Tbsp sugar, zest, vanilla & a pinch of salt.
Assembly
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Remove pastry from refrigerator. On a large sheet of parchment paper, roll out pastry dough into a 12-inch circle. Spread cream cheese mixture evenly over dough, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border. Spoon the blackberry mixture over cream cheese, leaving any excess juice in bowl. Gently fold outside edges of pastry over, pleating to hold filling in. Brush with egg wash & sprinkle with coarse sugar.
Bake 45 minutes or until filling bubbles up & crust is golden. test with knife to see that the cream cheese is set. Cool for at least 20 minutes on a wire rack before serving.
CELEBRATING THE LONG WEEK-END!
For many Canadians, Victoria Day marks the unofficial beginning of summer. It is Canada’s oldest non-religious holiday and although we still hang on to the British Queen’s name (for old times’ sake), this truly Canadian holiday has everything to do with the end of the cold weather and short days and a lot to do with some great food.
Canadians jokingly refer to this holiday as May ‘two-four’ day. This is an inside joke which refers to a case of beer, containing 24 cans. For many, this is the first (warm-ish) long weekend since Easter, so they head to campsites armed with a 24 (can) case of beer to celebrate the beginning of Summer.
Wherever you live across Canada, this May long weekend – typically marks the start of grilling season. It’s time to get outside in the sunshine, fire up the BBQ, and enjoy savory grilled food with family and friends.
Brion & I are enjoying some interesting burgers which are served on ‘swirly burger buns’.
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Burgers in Loaded Potato/Bacon Buns
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Instructions
Buns
In a large bowl, combine yeast with lukewarm water; whisk until yeast is dissolved. Let stand for about 3 minutes until foamy.
Add butter, salt, sour cream & potato; mix well. Add bacon, chives & sun-dried tomatoes; mix until just combined. Stir in flour, one cup at a time. When dough is completely blended, turn onto a lightly floured work surface.
Knead dough for about 10 minutes, until smooth & elastic. Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap & let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about an hour.
Assembly/Bake
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside.
Remove risen dough from bowl, turn onto lightly floured surface; roll dough to about a 12 x 15-inch rectangle. From the long side, roll the dough like you would for a cinnamon roll & seal the edges. Using a piece of floss, cut roll into 10 pieces.
Place buns on lined baking sheet & lightly brush with egg wash. Sprinkle with everything bagel seasoning. Allow to rise while oven is heating.
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Bake for about 25-30 minutes until light golden brown.
Burgers
In a large bowl, place all burger ingredients. Mix ONLY until combined. Divide mixture into 10 equal portions & form into patties.
Prepare all burger toppings. When buns are baked, grill burger patties, adding cheese slices toward the end so they can melt. Slice buns (grill for a few minutes if you wish) then 'load' burgers & serve.
CELEBRATING CINCO de MAYO!
Cinco de Mayo commemorates a regional Mexican military battle, but it has evolved to become an important celebration of Mexican culture. Cinco de Mayo is not a major holiday in Mexico. In fact, it’s even considered a minor holiday in the region where it is observed, Puebla. It commemorates the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, when a small band of Mexican fighters defeated French invaders. It has nothing to do with Mexican independence, contrary to what a lot of North Americans may think.
Today Cinco de Mayo is celebrated extensively in the United States and to a lesser degree around the world, including here in Canada. Decorations use the red, white and green colors of the Mexican flag. There are the sounds of traditional folk music from Mexico. Schools use the celebration to teach about Mexican culture and the Spanish language.
Like any celebration of an important date, food typically plays a significant role in traditions. For the occasion I decided to go with some tender flakey empanadas loaded with ground beef, pork, potatoes, and spices. To keep it even more ‘authentic’, the filling is encased in a cornmeal pastry.
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Meat & Potato Empanadas
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Instructions
Pastry
In a small bowl, combine sour cream & ice water: set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, ½ cup cornmeal, sugar & salt. Using a pastry blender or fingertips, cut in butter until mixture resembles both coarse crumbs & small peas. Sprinkle the cold sour cream mixture over dough, tossing with a fork to evenly distribute it. Do NOT overwork dough.
Cover bowl with plastic wrap & refrigerate for at least an hour.
Filling
Bring potatoes to a boil in salted water. Simmer 15 minutes or until tender. Drain well and mash.
While potatoes are cooking, brown ground beef, pork, onion, and garlic until no pink remains using a spoon to break it up. Add remaining ingredients (including mashed potatoes) except for breadcrumbs.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes or until thickened. Add 1 tablespoon of breadcrumbs to help the mixture hold together if needed. Cool for 20 minutes.
Assembly/Baking
Divide chilled pastry into 10 balls. Roll each one in cornmeal. Place a ball between 2 sheets of plastic wrap & roll into a 6-inch circle.
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Divide the filling into 10 portions. Place a portion on one side of the pastry circle, leaving about a ½-inch border (on filled side). Flip the opposite side over filling & press edges together to enclose it well. Use a fork to make the classic look.
Repeat with the remaining pastry & filling. Lay empanadas on a parchment lined baking sheet. Brush lightly with egg wash.
Bake for about 20 minutes or until pastry is baked & slightly browned.
Oranges, whether you use the whole orange or just the juice and zest, are so refreshing and flavorful in baking. I remember my mother making an orange bread loaf. I thought it was so unique because it used the fresh orange zest. The flavor was so distinct along with the bread being wonderfully moist. This recipe was one that has remained with me over the years. When I came across this recipe for orange rolls it naturally caught my attention. After I read through numerous reviews, I realized there was some history behind them as well. It seems that the original recipe was called ‘Orange Butter Coffee Cake’ and was the $5000. prize winner in Pillsbury’s 16th Grand National Bake Off by Mrs. Lawrence Hoerig of Mequon, Wisconsin. Originally it had toasted coconut in the sugar/orange zest filling and more sprinkled over the top after it was baked.
Before there was The British Baking Show, Cupcake Wars etc. etc., there was the Pillsbury Bake-Off® Contest. The legendary baking competition was introduced in 1949 in honor of Pillsbury’s 80th birthday and as an effort to promote Pillsbury™ Best® flour. At the heart of the Bake-Off was the desire to create an opportunity for American homemakers to not only share their beloved recipes, but to also share the stories that go along with them.
Originally called the Grand National Recipe and Baking Contest, 1949’s inaugural Bake-Off received thousands of entries from across the country. Pillsbury Best flour was a required ingredient in all recipe submissions and there were six categories that participants could enter: breads, cakes, pies, cookies, entrees and desserts. If participants submitted a seal from the Pillsbury Best flour they used in the recipe, their prize money could be doubled.
A panel of Pillsbury home economists eventually narrowed the entries down to 100 finalists. Each finalist was invited to the live competition at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York City to make their recipe in hopes of winning the $25,000 grand prize. Before contestants could prepare their recipes, electricians installed 100 oven stations in a Waldorf-Astoria ballroom. In order to power all those ovens, the hotel actually had to tap into the electrical supply for the New York City subway system! Interesting!
Since its inception in 1949, the Bake-Off has inspired thousands of people to submit their original recipes and Pillsbury has awarded millions of dollars in prizes. Over time, the contest’s rules and regulations adapted to reflect evolving food trends and American culture.
I included the original recipe & a picture from the 1949 Bake-Off at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City at the bottom of the blog/recipe.
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Orange Rolls w/ Sour Cream Butter Glaze
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Instructions
Dough
In a small dish, dissolve yeast in lukewarm water. Let stand for 5 minutes to allow yeast to activate.
In a large bowl, combine yeast mixture, 1/4 cup sugar, 6 Tbsp melted butter, eggs, sour cream & salt until smooth. Gradually add 2 cups of the flour, 1/2 cup at a time, & combine until mixture is smooth. Gradually add remaining 1 (1/4) cups flour until it creates a soft dough (you may NOT need all of the flour).
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface & knead until smooth & elastic (about 5 minutes). Place in a lightly buttered bowl, turning to butter the top. Cover & let rise in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours or until almost doubled in bulk.
Combine the orange zest & 3/4 cup dark brown sugar in a bowl & stir until well combined. Set aside. Line a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
When dough has risen, turn it onto a lightly floured surface & cut it evenly into 3 pieces. Roll each one into a rectangle with a thickness of 1/4-inch. Divide orange-zest/sugar mixture between the 3 pieces & lightly spread evenly.
Starting from the longest side, roll each piece jelly-roll style. Slice a 1 1/2-inch long piece off each ends of the rolls. Cut the middle part of each roll into 4 triangles.
In the middle of the springform pan, arrange cut ends of the rolls around each other to form a circle, placing the cut sides down. Arrange the cut triangles to completely surround the middle circle. Cover the pan with plastic wrap & a tea towel & allow to rise in a warm place for about 1 hour or until the rolls are almost doubled in size.
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Bake rolls about 30-40 minutes or until baked & golden in color. Remove the rolls from the oven & start the glaze.
Glaze
Stir sugar, sour cream, butter orange juice & a pinch of salt together in a medium pan over medium heat. Bring to a boil & stir constantly for 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
Pour the glaze evenly over warm rolls.
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Recipe Notes
- Orange Butter Coffee Cake
$5000 prize winner in Pillsbury’s 16th Grand National Bake Off
Makes one large coffee cake.
Soften in a mixing bowl 1 pkg. dry yeast in 1/4 cup warm water.
Stir in
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp. salt
- 6 Tbsp. melted butter
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup dairy sour cream
Gradually add 2 3/4 to 3 all purpose flour, beating well after each addition.
Cover and let rise in a warm place, 85 to 90 degrees, until doubled; about 2 hours.
Combine:
- 3/4 cup sugar,
- 3/4 cup coconut and
- 2 Tbsp. grated orange rind.
Knead dough on a well-floured board about 15 times. Roll out half of the dough in 12″ circle. Brush with 1 Tbsp. melted butter. Sprinkle with half of the coconut mixture. Cut into 12 pie-shaped wedges. Roll up, starting with the wide end and rolling to a point. Repeat with the remaining half of the dough. Place rolls point side down in a well greased 13×9″ pan. Cover and let rise until light and doubled; about one hour. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes until golden brown. Pour glaze over hot coffee cake and sprinkle with 1/4 cup coconut. Cool in pan.
Orange Glaze.
Combine in a saucepan 3/4 cup sugar, 1/2 cup dairy sour cream, 2 Tbsp. orange juice and 1/4 cup butter. Boil 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
