I wish that meant that I was somehow now Swedish too.
Anyway, since Forrest has a deep affection for all things Swedish, I thought I would make a little treat for dinner - Swedish meatballs!
I got the recipe from his Farmor, which is Swedish for paternal grandmother, and I'll admit that I was a little nervous. In fact, if you are at all squeamish with raw meat just turn away right now. I mean it. This is a recipe that requires getting your hands dirty.
Despite the raw meat handling, the process was easy and the result was delicious.
Unfortunately, the nice camera pooped out and I had to take the following pictures with my iPod, which does not have the best resolution. Also, why is food SO HARD TO PHOTOGRAPH? It ends up looking really unappealing. Just trust me when I say that it was really good, okay? How do I know? Because when Forrest took his first bite he gave me his this-is-so-good smile.
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by: Forrest's Farmor
I halved the recipe and it made 21 meatballs. Also, I might lessen the amount of salt next time, but Forrest said they are supposed to be salty. :) Oh, and in case you're curious, I paired the meatballs with mashed cauliflower and green beans.
2 lb ground beef (you could also use some ground pork or a mixture of the two)
1 grated onion
2 eggs
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp allspice
2 slices bread (I used whole wheat) soaked in 3/4 c milk
2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
Mix all ingredients together. Then, this is a special trick, wet your hands first and then roll the meat mixture into balls. (This prevents the meat from sticking to your hands. I had to keep wetting my hands, but it worked really well.) Brown under broiler, turning once, or you can brown in a frying pan on the stove (I went with the latter because I get nervous making the oven that hot with a little, grasping toddler around my feet at all times). Transfer to a casserole dish and bake at 350 for 45 minutes.
These would have tasted even better with a sweet jelly like Lingonberry. In fact, if I still lived near an Ikea I would have picked some up... along with a lamp, a bookshelf and all other kinds of things I don't need.
Enjoy!
