Swedish Meatballs & Gravy with Cranberry Jam (Paleo with AIP adaptation)

NOTE OF SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION: I have an Instagram picture in the November issue of Martha Stewart Living. It’s on page 4 & features one of the gluten-free pumpkin pies I made last Thanksgiving. If you’re interested in the recipe, the GF crust can be found here, and the recipe for my great-grandma Irene’s pumpkin pie filling can be found here. Just wanted to let you know while the issue is still on newsstands.

As someone who grew up in the Midwest & is of Scandinavian descent (well, technically I’ve got more than 10 different nationalities in my heritage), I did not grow up eating Swedish meatballs. Instead, my memories of Swedish meatballs (and gravy & mashed potatoes & lingonberry jam) all stem from the cafe at IKEA. 

These days, we end up eating quite a bit of grassfed ground beef. I can find it in our local grocery store (most of the rest of the meat I have to get several hours away or I have to order online). And grassfed ground beef is a much more budget-friendly protein, especially when compared with other pastured & grassfed options.

This summer we grilled a lot of burgers, but now, as we move into fall and winter, I’ve been trying to expand my ground beef recipe repertoire & cook some new things. Case in point, these meatballs, which are my Paleo (and AIP, if you omit the egg) version of the meatballs I remember from IKEA. Instead of serving them with the traditional mashed white potatoes & lingonberry jam, I serve them with either white sweet potatoes mashed with a little coconut oil, or with a cauliflower puree, AIP-friendly cranberry “jam” (which also might be a recipe to file away for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday), and, of course, gravy.

Swedish Meatballs 

1lb Grassfed Ground Beef (I used 85% lean)

65 g Shallot, finely chopped 

1 large Pastured Egg (omit if AIP)

10 g / 1 Tbl Organic Coconut Flour

3/4 tsp Italian Seasoning

1/2 tsp Mace

3/4 tsp Salt

1/4 tsp Pepper (omit if AIP) 

Solid Fat, for greasing the pan 

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F.  
2. In a medium bowl, use your hands to mix all the ingredients (minus the fat for greasing the pan) until well combined. 
3. Lightly grease a large cast iron skillet (or other large stainless skillet). Use a 1 Tbl scoop to portion the meat mixture into individual meatballs. Roll the mixture into balls & place into the greased pan. 
4. Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 20 minutes, or until golden & cooked through--they should reach an internal temp of 160 F. Start cooking the jam, if desired, while the meatballs are baking. Follow by making the gravy after the meatballs have baked.

Gravy

Meatball Pan with drippings from the baking process

1 Tbl solid fat of choice (I used bacon grease)

8 fl oz / 1 cup Stock, (homemade if possible) 

2 Tbl Arrowroot powder 

2 Tbl filtered water 

1. Once the meatballs are baked, remove the pan from the oven. Don't forget the pan is hot! I speak from experience… Use a pair of tongs or a spatula to transfer the meatballs to separate plate or bowl. 
2. Melt the additional fat in the skillet over medium heat. Add the stock & whisk well to incorporate the two & to loosen any browned bits from the pan. Heat until simmering then reduce the heat to low.  
3. Make a slurry with arrowroot powder and a little filtered water.  Whisk the slurry into the skillet. Continue to cook, on low heat, until thickened. 
4. Add the meatballs into the gravy & cook for a minute or two, making sure the gravy coats the meatballs. 
5. Serve with cranberry “jam” and mashed sweet potatoes.  

Cranberry “Jam” 

130 g (1 c) Frozen Cranberries (sub fresh, if available) 

2 Tbl Water

2 Tbl Pure Maple Syrup (organic Grade B, if possible) 

Pinch of Mace or Cinnamon, optional 

1. Simmer the cranberries, water & maple syrup in a small skillet over medium heat until the cranberries “pop” 8 to 10 minutes. Mash with a fork. Add optional mace or cinnamon. 
2. Transfer to a jar or small bowl & serve alongside the meatballs. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator. 

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International Waffle Day 2014

Happy International Waffle Day!  Not be confused with National Waffle Day in the US--that’s celebrated in August. Perplexed much? Me too. But I’ll take whatever excuse necessary to celebrate waffles!

I’ve been out of town and/or sick the past week, so in lieu of a new recipe, I thought I’d post a waffle round up. We really like waffles around these parts. I make them at least once a month. Just because you may have missed out on celebrating International Waffle Day for breakfast doesn’t mean you have to miss out entirely--you can always fire up the waffle iron for “brannier” (aka breakfast-for-dinner).

One final note before we get to the main event (copious amounts of waffles), not all these recipes were originally gluten free, but if you’ve made a batch of Jeanne’s GF AP flour mix, you can substitute that in equal amounts for the AP flour in any recipe to make  that recipe GF.  Pretty nifty.  And vice versa.... if you’re not GF but the recipe is, just substitute regular AP flour for the GF flour and you’ll be all set.

Confetti Waffles a la mode

Zucchini Bread Waffles with Maple Cream Cheese 

Coconut Waffles 

Almond Flour Waffles with Honey Butter Syrup and pears (GF) 

Cranberry Waffles with Orange Sauce (GF) 

Banana Waffles (GF) 

Cornmeal Waffles with Blueberry Nectarine Maple Compote (GF) 

Chocolate Waffles with Ice Cream and Chocolate Sauce (GF) 

And who could forget the waffle doughnuts

Vanilla Bean Waffle Doughnuts (GF) 

Pumpkin Spice Waffle Doughnuts (GF) 

Hopefully that gives you a few waffle recipe ideas? And hopefully I won’t be sick for too much longer & can get back to the kitchen soon.....

Cranberry Orange Jam & GF Baked Brie

Giving gifts is something I love to do, especially during the Christmas season. While I’m not opposed to buying gifts, there’s something extra special about handmaking things.

Jam (or other preserves) is always one of my go-to gift ideas because 1) it is easy to make multiple jars at a time, and 2) the jam has a shelf life of a year (or more) if processed correctly so that the lids seal, and thus the recipient can wait to open the jar, if they so desire.

This year, I’ve made a couple batches of Cranberry Orange Jam with Pecans that I’ll be giving to many of my family members and friends.  Sorry, family and friends, for the spoiler alert!  I made a version of this jam (minus the orange component) last year, but all the jars in my single batch sold out almost instantly! I didn’t even have enough left to give any as gifts.  So, this year’s remedy was to make more than one batch & not to sell any at all :)

A couple jars didn’t seal properly during the waterbath processing stage, so instead I had to refrigerate them & we’ve been enjoying them instead, not that that’s been too difficult a task!  I love eating jam on toast or english muffins or croissants, etc. but I sometimes forget that not everyone is as in to baked goods as I am.  Some people don’t know what exactly to do with a jar of jam because they have a hard time thinking outside the toast and/or pb&j box.  

One of the beauties of this particular jam is how versatile it is.  On the sweeter side, jam could be stirred into plain yogurt to create your own custom flavor, or even in to oatmeal. it could be sandwiched between two butter cookies. Warm jam could be spooned over ice cream... or pancakes... or waffles! .  Really, the possibilities are endless.

This jam is sweet, but it wonderfully compliments savory ingredients as well.  It could be served with turkey or pork. It would make a great condiment on a sandwich. And don't even get me started on paring it with cheese!

Case in point, baked brie.  Often baked brie is wrapped in puffed pastry before it is baked, but for this much more simple (and naturally gluten free) option, I simply topped a round of triple creme goat brie with a few spoonfuls of jam before baking it to oozy cheesy perfection.  The finished brie was served with some gluten free crackers, though honestly, it was difficult to not just eat the jammy cheese with a spoon!

So, if you’re still searching for gift options, consider making a batch of preserves of some sort.  And, tying a small Cinnamon Applesauce Ornament is a great way to dress up any jars for gift giving.

Cranberry Orange Jam with Pecans 
Adapted from Kraft Recipes
yields 6 half pint jars, plus a little extra for the fridge

1 12 oz bag of fresh cranberries
1 c (8 fl oz) Orange Juice, 
1/2 c (4 fl oz) Water
zest of half an orange
45.5 oz (6 1/2 c) Granulated Sugar 
1 c Chopped Pecans
1 pouch Certo liquid pectin 

1. Fill a large stock pot with water & bring to a simmer.  Add a splash of white vinegar to the water if the water is hard. Wash 6 half pint jars, along with rings and new lids. Let stand in hot water until ready to use. 
2. In a second large stock pot, bring the cranberries, orange juice and water to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. 
3. Infuse the sugar with the orange zest.  Add the infused sugar and nuts to the prepared heat. Increase the heat to high heat and bring to a rolling boil, stirring constantly. Remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the pectin, return to the stove & boil for exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly. 
4. Remove the pot from the heat and skim off any foam that may have developed.  Increase the heat under the first water-filled stock pot to high. 
5. Portion the jam into prepared jars, leaving 1/8” headroom. Run a knife around the edges of the jam to remove any potential air pockets. Add a little additional jam to the jar, if necessary. Wipe the rim & threads of the jars. Cover with the lids& screw on the rings until they are finger tight. 
6. Lower the jars into the boiling water & cover the pot. Process the jars for 10 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat, and let stand for 5 minutes before removing the jars.  Let the jars cool completely. If after cooling any jars have not sealed, store those in the refrigerator. The sealed jars will keep at room temperature for 1 year.

Note: If you’re completely new to canning, Food In Jars has some great resources!  

Gluten Free Baked Brie with Cranberry Orange Jam 

adapted from The Kitchn 

1 round of brie cheese--I used a triple creme goat brie that was 6.5 oz in size

Cranberry Orange Pecan Jam 

Additional Pecans (optional)

Fresh herbs to garnish--I used Rosemary 

Crackers for serving-- I used ones like these.

1.  Preheat the oven to 425 F. 
2. Cut off the top of the brie & scoop out a bit of the center. 
3. Place the cheese onto a piece of parchment paper and onto a baking dish. 
4. Top the cheese with several spoonfuls of jam & extra pecans, if desired. Place into the oven.
5. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the cheese is softened, but has not completely collapsed.  
6. Remove from the oven & use the parchment paper to lift the cheese onto a serving platter. Garnish with a sprig of herbs & serve with crackers.