Indonesian Meatball Recipe

Indonesian Meatball recipe some of you have asked for. It is taken out of "More from the Gluten Free Gourmet" by Bette Hagman. I will first give you the recipe as written in the cookbook and then tell you how I modified it a little for what I like!! Here it goes:

Meatballs

* 2/3 pound lean ground beef
*1/3 pound lean ground pork
1/3 cup GF bread crumbs or GF cereal, crushed
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
1 tablespoon peanut butter
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon ginger (I use ginger powder for this part)
2 tablespoons GF soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1 egg
**1 tablespoon dry milk powder
1 teaspoon prepared mustard powder
1 tablespoon sesame or peanut oil, for frying

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients except for the oil. Form into 3/4 inch balls. (I use a meatball scooper and it tends to make about 15-18 meatballs.) Heat oil in a heavy skillet and brown the balls, leaving room to move them around to keep them round. Cook only until the balls are browned and crusty. Remove the meatballs into a baking dish and fry the next batch.

When all the balls are done browning, bake for 45 minutes, covered with the Pinapple Sauce, if desired. (I tend to brush the sauce on each meatball generously and save the rest for serving. When I bake the meatballs with all of the sauce it tastes too sweet to me...but try it!! You may like it that way!!)

* I use 1 pound of ground turkey just because that's what I like. I use a little bit less bread crumbs because there's not that much fat in the turkey meat.
** I keep the dry milk out just because I can't find a dairy free substitute. The meatballs still taste fabulous without the dry milk!!

Pineapple Sauce

1 cup pineapple juice
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons lime juice
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon grated fresh gingerroot
1/4 cup sake, dry white wine, or 7 UP (I use 7 UP)

Put the pineapple juice in a small saucepan. In a bowl, blend together the cornstarch, lime juice, brown sugar, and ginger. Add to the pinapple juice. Cook until clear and slightly thickened. (Mine never seems clear but you can tell a change in color). Remove from heat and add wine or 7 UP. Either pour over meatballs before baking or save to serve with the meatballs.

FRESH PINEAPPLE UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

FRESH PINEAPPLE UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

Preheat your oven to 350 and cut a parchment paper liner for the bottom of a 9" round cake pan. Spray the pan and parchment paper with a light coating of cooking spray. The parchment paper is not absolutely necessary, but it helps if you have a "sticking" issue with the sweet pineapple glaze (you can use waxed paper in a pinch).

5 tablespoons of melted butter
2/3 cup brown sugar (packed)
3 cups fresh pineapple cut into 1" cubes (see note)
maraschino cherries cut in half
1 & 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 & 1 /2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup butter (room temperature)
2/3 cup white sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup pineapple juice (or milk)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon butter extract
1/2 cup pecans chopped medium-small

Mix melted butter with brown sugar and spread evenly in prepared 9" round cake pan. Set aside.

Cut pineapple into 1" chunks and blot them dry between several thicknesses of paper towel (press on them a little to extract excess juice).

For the batter, cream the butter and sugar until it is really fluffy. Under-beating the butter at this stage will give you a poor quality cake. When it is nice and fluffy, add the eggs (one at a time) and extracts and beat until its fluffy again.

Sift the flour, baking powder and cinnamon into a bowl. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in three parts, alternately with the pineapple juice (or milk) starting and ending with the flour. Set aside.

Assembly: Nestle the pineapple, pecans and cherry pieces down into the brown sugar mixture in the cake pan (arrange in pretty fashion because this will show). Pour the cake batter over the top and very gently spread it out.

Bake in 350 oven for 45 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick tests clean (my oven took exactly 45 minutes). Remove from oven and sit pan on a cooling rack for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, run a thin bladed knife around the edge of the cake and invert onto a serving plate. Serve cake warm or at room temperature.

NOTE: I cut the pineapple into very small pieces (almost a dice) and arrange the cherries randomly over the cake. If you use this diced pineapple style, it only takes two cups of diced fruit instead of three.