Daphne's Dinner Review Feb 23

[pjcooks]

Here it is..

I just made this for the boys, a full week ahead of time, for a change. My middle guy really liked it. It was a deconstructed version of the stuffed peppers he made a few weeks ago. The only change I made-I used dried cilantro instead of coriander, and fat free sour cream. I probably let the peppers simmer too long, but I was distracted making the Kahlua fudge bites and sort of forgot the sauce simmering on the stove.

Oh, and I used orzo instead of couscous. It was what I had on hand. I only had to buy a yellow and a red pepper, so this worked out well. The flavors were very good.

Will I do it again? Probably, if one of the boys asks for it. It’s something a little different, gave ‘em some new flavors for a change!



PJ

[cjs]

"Kahlua fudge bites"????? what kahlua fudge bites????

This was a good choice, Daphne! Loved the flavor of the meatballs and they seemed to really make the dish. A little fragile to handle tho.


We liked the whole thing very much. I'd give it a strong 8!

[labradors]

A step-by-step [almost] look (a couple of these turned out too dark, but I was able to adjust them passably):

Browning the meatballs:


Cooking the peppers and onions (before adding the paprika):


The skewered meatballs awaiting simmering:


Simmering the meatballs - just before covering:


Couscous is not available here, so I used the somewhat larger marmahon, instead.


Here's the serving platter. The marmahon with peas is on the bottom, then the
peppers and onions from the sauce, then the skewers. It is shown open, but
there were actually two more skewers to go in the front. After they were on
there, I poured the sauce over the whole thing. The bottle, off to the side, is the
wine I used: Undurraga Sauvignon Blanc (from Chile).


I forgot to add the garnish onto the platter before plating a serving, so I
garnished the plate, instead. The garnish is supposed to be freshly chopped
parsley, halved Kalamata olives, and lemon wedges, but I could only get black
olives (unless I had spent a lot more and also gotten too great a quantity for me
to use), and I forgot about the lemons when I was in the store.


Although this was tasty, it was not the home run it had seemed it would be. One big thing, as I had mentioned in the recipe thread, is that the ingredients for the meatballs really do cry out for ground lamb, instead of ground chuck. Also, I would suggest adding a little more cumin and also a little bit of ground cinnamon.

Would I make it again? Not without the lamb. The marmahon was nice with the peas, though, and I'll probably do that part again.

BTW, in case any of you are able to get marmahon, and want to try it for this recipe, understand that cooking marmahon is more like cooking rice than couscous. Instead of just adding boiling water or broth and letting it steam the couscous, you boil the marmahon in water or broth (ratio 2:1 of water to marmahon) until the marmahon is tender, and the liquid is all (or almost all) absorbed. Thus, for this recipe, instead of using 1 1/2 cups of couscous, use only ONE cup of marmahon. If you decide to experiment with marmahon more, here is a link to the website (with terrible translation into English) of the brand of marmahon I use. Here, in Honduras, one perennial favourite is Marmahon con Pollo, which is essentially the same as the typical Arroz con Pollo, but with marmahon instead of rice.

[Mare749]

"Although this was tasty, it was not the home run it had seemed it would be."

That's a good description, Rob. Maybe I was expecting too much, but we just were not that impressed and I did follow the recipe exactly. Ron didn't like the couscous at all. Said it tasted like sand. Not sure what went wrong there. Also said he wasn't wild about the flavors in the meatballs, but since he was hungry, did go back for seconds. This time, he put the meatballs on Italian bread with the sauce on top and said that was much better. I thought the dish was tasty, although the flavors are different from what we are used to. Probably won't be making this one again, but I'm glad we tried it.

[esgunn]

Ok, I happened to join this time too! I usually want to, but have found lately that life just seems to run away without me...or is that dragging me along behind?!

I had printed out the recipe when Daphne posted it. But yesterday as I was cleaning house, ran across it. I had nothing planned yet for dinner and just happened to have all the ingredients.

We liked the sauce and the meatballs very much. Great flavor in the meetballs. While I liked the couscous, we thought it was just wrong with this dish. Hubby thought Orzo, and I wanted wide egg noodles. Not sure if I will make again or not. Meetballs and sauce got an 8 Couscous a 4.

I might put this in my meetball recipe list - what other sauces do you think would go with the flavors in the meetballs?

Oh, and I baked the meetballs instead of browning and finish cooking - made the sauce independently on the stove top at the same time. Poured any juices from the meetballs in the sauce at the end, Would be easy to freeze and make the sauce fresh.

[Harborwitch]

Of course we had this very early - and there is half in the freezer for another night.

Easy prep - and not a terribly time consuming dinner. We both absolutely loved it! Bob like the sauce, the meatballs and the couscous. I thought the couscous a bit on the bland side - but we'll have this one again I'm sure.

[Trixxee]

I made this on Saturday. We liked it (and Tony took leftovers for lunch today). I did not have any coriander so had to leave that out. I also had to grind up some extra bread crumbs because my meatball mixture was just too wet and the first batch of meatballs were almost falling apart. But they sure were tender and moist!

I've decided I don't like couscous. I would have made egg noodles if I had had them on hand (with peas - good combo).

I would also rate this an 8 and would make them again. Oh, and I didn't bother with the skewers.

[chef_Tab]

I just loved this dinner! I ended up making it for my birthday on Valentines Day. Since I am such a paprika lover, it was the perfect meal for me. I will be making this often. It made plenty of sauce, I am typically one to double the sauce in a recipe, but I don’t think it is necessary. In fact, the only change I might make is to increase the ground beef to 2 pounds, just to make more for leftovers. The meatballs were so tender, moist, and flavorful. The sauce on the couscous was amazing. I ate until my stomach hurt, and then woke up the next morning craving more. When I made the meatballs, they were very wet. It wasn’t a problem, but I had to handle them gingerly. Not sure if this was just me, but I did follow the recipe exactly. I give this meal a 9.5-10. Oh, and I agree, I would do wide egg noodles over the couscous next time.

[Gourmet_Mom]

First, I'll have to say, excessive amounts of wine and cooking can be hazardous! That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

My first mistake, after the 3+ glasses of wine before putting this together, was leaving the spices out of the meatballs. Okay, so I'll add it to the pepper/onion mix. The meatballs were very fragile, so I only seared them and stuck them in a slow oven for a few while I cooked up the sauce. (Side note: My mother loves to pick up "different" cooking items for me. For Christmas she gave me this itty bitty spatula. I thought...hmmmmm? Last night I discovered a use for the thing. It's perfect for turning small meatballs!!!!) Even after that, I didn't think they would hold together on a skewer, so I skipped that step. I could easily spoon them out, plus, I didn't have short skewers anyway.

The review...I loved it. The boys weren't that crazy about it. I'd give it a solid 8, but the boys gave it a 7. William said it was not one he'd be crazy for me to make again, but I've got news for him, I liked it well enough that I'll make it again for a change of pace!

Here's my pics with my new camera. Hopefully, you will see a difference in my picture taking ability.



For dessert, I made Jean's Double the Yum Cake, but with changes. I put the cake in my bowl pan. That was a flop. If somebody has luck making a cake in the thing, let me know. So I ended up breaking it up and making a parfait. I layered it with homemade semi-sweet chocolate sauce, chantilly creme, toasted walnuts, Kahlua, and ice cream...



Well, heck! I'll fix it later! Just turn your head!

Okay, I have no idea why, but I can't fix it...ARRRRGG!

Tilt your head...dang it was good! And I'm having another tonight...LOL!

[luvnit]

I have had other things on my 'plate' lately so I didn't get to make this on time for the review. I am glad to hear your reviews though and I will make this soon.

Really nice plating job Jean!

Lovely, lovely picture Daphne. Really nice camera.