Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Meatballs, Three Ways, Ground Turkey variation, HTCE p 114

Here is my second attempt at following a recipe. For me, the hardest thing is to follow directions when cooking. I find that I always want to add my own touch, change something here, change something there..... a little more cheese, a little less onion. It's easy with Mark Bittman's books because he usually gives a basic recipe, and then gives many variations and ways to tailor it to your own tastes.

This is how my babies looked before baking. I wasn't sure how many the recipe would make but one pound of ground turkey filled one baking sheet. The recipe calls for 7-8 minutes in a 350 oven, but after 10 minutes I wasn't sure if they were done. I left them in for another 15 minutes and then figured it was time. I kept waiting for them to get a little brown but it never happened. Turkey doesn't brown the way meat does, and this recipe was originally for ground meat. I did put a little more Parmesan cheese in ( because I love it) and a little less onion, but I followed everything else to the letter.
They were perfect as an appetizer but we sat and ate the entire plate for dinner! Thank you.
Clare.

3 comments:

  1. This is an interesting cooking method. I've never baked meatballs before, only pan-fried them. They look tasty!

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  2. I usually bake my meatballs before simmering them in a sauce. That keeps the fat level in check and doesn't sacrifice flavor or juiciness. In this case, I would think the onions in the mixture kept them from becoming dried out. No?

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  3. The onions never really cooked and remained crunchy. I think the cheese helped to keep everything moist.

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