Grandma in a box.....

After perusing all my U.S. blogging friends delicious looking Thanksgiving recipes, I'm amazed at how many people have tried and true recipes that are passed down from family. And honestly, it makes me a teensy bit jealous!

My mom is a great cook/baker - but I was an obstinate teenager that refused to participate in anything domestic at our house. The few times Mom would try to teach me to make something would turn into an all out war......until Dad would clear his throat and fold his newspaper up. As I've gotten older I have gotten some great recipes from mom that I love...but they never taste the same as when she makes them (mom....I can't make a cinnamon jumbo cookie to save my life!).

And as for grandma's......dad's mom lived 1000's of km's away in Europe. I have a few recipes from her - olliebollen, rouladen - but not enough to actually be excited about. And for mom's mom....well, let's just say if you want to know how to make a jello salad, she was your woman!

So imagine my excitement when I came across a cookbook from heirloom cooking! These recipes have been passed down generation to generation...it's a Grandma in a box! Ok...Grandma in a book, but the book arrived in a box and seriously...that just sounds funnier (no casket jokes intended people!).

Now who doesn't love a good meatball? When I saw the 1920's recipe for Swedish Meatballs I started my Swedish Chef impression and got to work. Now, I admit there are some updates to these recipes....I don't think a food processor was the tool du jour in the 1920's......but holy crap does Grandma in box deliver!

Hands down these were the best meatballs I have ever tasted! The flavour of just the meatball was outstanding....the addition of nutmeg in my mind makes everything sing. And the use of two types of ground meat, half and half and cracker crumbs....ooooooooooooooooooh I was in heaven.

I am also not much of a sour cream fan, so was skeptical of how much sour cream was being used to make the sour cream sauce. Fear not...if you like stroganoff (I do), this tastes similar. I can't wait to try some more recipes from this book!

Arline Ryan's Swedish Meatballs with Sour Cream Sauce (1920s) - adapted from Heirloom Cooking with the Brass Sisters

1 1/2 pounds ground veal (I used lean ground beef)

3/4 pound ground pork

1 cup finely chopped onion
3/4 cup light cream or half and half (I used half and half)

2 tbsp flour

3/4 cup saltine cracker crumbs

3/4 tsp nutmeg

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

2 tbsp butter

1/2 cup white wine

1 x 14 oz can chicken stock

2 tbsp flour

2 1/3 cups sour cream

1. Place beef and pork in a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Process until smooth. Add onion, cream or half and half, cracker crumbs, flour, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Pulse until texture is almost as smooth as a paste. Remove mixture from food processor and shape into balls, using about 2 tbsp for each meatball.

2. Heat 1 tbsp of butter in each of 2 large frying pans over medium heat. Add meatballs and cook, turning with tongs, until evenly browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Add 1/4 cup of white wine and 1/2 can of chicken stock to each pan and simmer for 5 minutes.

3. Remove pans from heat. Remove meatballs to a platter and set aside. Consolidate all of the cooking juices in one pan. Whisk 1/4 cup of the warm pan juices with the flour in a small bowl, return to pan and whisk to blend. Set pan over low heat and bring to a bare simmer; do not allow sauce to boil. Whisk in sour cream a few tablespoons at a time. Return meatballs to pan and turn in sauce until completely heated through.