You read that right - mozzarella-stuffed meatballs. Meatballs with mozzarella inside of them. You cut into a juicy meatball and melted cheese oozes out.

In the words of Hilary Duff-as-Lizzie McGuire: hey now, this is what dreams are made of.

I've made these suckers twice now. The first time I used ground chicken as suggested in the recipe and they ended up on the dry side. The second time I used ground turkey and they were much better. Of course, you can make these with any ground meat you want and they will still be scrumptious. I'm even thinking of trying feta-filled lamb meatballs, maybe blue cheese inside beef... ok I'm getting off track. Back to the task at hand!

Start off making your meatball. Mix your chosen protein with an egg, breadcrumbs, cheese if you like, and whatever seasonings you choose (I added dried oregano, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, and thyme). Some people measure this exactly, but I'm more of a "add until it's ready" kinda girl. What is "ready"? When the meatballs stick together and don't fall apart. You'll get there, I promise.

After it's seasoned to your liking, shape each meatball with your hands, about the size of a golf ball. Then, poke a little indent with your finger and add in the bocconcini. Carefully re-seal the meatball and make sure that you can't see any of the cheese. If you can see it, it can seep out during cooking, and it ruins the melty surprise.

Mentally make a note to put that vase away and to paint your nails after dinner.

You'll come to learn that I make my own tomato sauce. No jarred sauce here! It's one of the first things J taught me when we first started dating - fresh onions, garlic, spices/herbs, and a can of crushed tomatoes. It's easy, it's far more flavorful, and I like it. Sometimes I'll doctor mine up with some wine or balsamic, but even a simple version is tasty. I highly recommend you try this at home.

I made my sauce and brought it to a low simmer. In a separate pan, I seared the outside of the meatballs. Then, I nestled them all into the sauce and topped with some chiffonaded basil. Chiffonade is long ribbon-y strips, for those of you who are curious.

Into the oven! I baked at 350 degrees until the meatballs were cooked through. Yes, sadly, I did have to sacrifice the cheesy center of one to test the doneness, but it still tasted delicious in the end.

Meatballs go with pasta, right? Sometimes. My second time making these, they sat on top of spaghetti. The first time, I served these alongside some sauteed zucchini seasoned with fresh thyme. Shave a little Parmesan over the sauced-up balls and you're good to go!

Once again with this vision of cheesy excellence for good measure:

Please make these, I beseech you. They're easy, they're delicious, and most importantly, they're meatballs filled with cheese. Enjoy!

Jerusalem's Stuffed Eggplant with Carrot Slaw

I received Jerusalem as a birthday present back in January and I love love love this cookbook. I've tried a few recipes and have been inspired to tweak a few others and every single morsel is to die for. On a more day-to-day level, it's introduced me to tahini paste and za'atar. I now use both on the regular and love that they're in my bag of kitchen tricks.

Preheat your oven to 425. The book calls for 4 medium eggplants halved. Only cooking for two with leftovers in mind, I got two medium-to-large eggplants and halved those. Drizzle the interior side of the eggplant halves with oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast them cut side up for about 20 minutes. You'll turn down the oven to 375 once this pre-roasting is done.

While those roast away, start in on your filling. The filling entails:
2 medium onions, chopped
1 pound ground lamb
7 tablespoons pine nuts (I dumped the rest of the bag that I had in our pantry)
Spice mix (see below)
2 teaspoons tomato paste

The spice mix includes cinnamon. I love cinnamon and I do enjoy it in savory dishes. That said... I made moussaka once and went heavy on the cinnamon per the recipe and it just ended up far too sweet for me. I simply cut the cinnamon and added za'atar instead.

Spice mix:
1 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon (again, I swapped with za'atar)

Add half of the spice mix and the onions to a pan with hot oil.

Cook until onions have softened a bit and then add your lamb, the pine nuts, and tomato paste. The recipe also calls for parsley and a teaspoon of sugar and I skipped both. I wanted this veering savory instead of sweet and I simply forgot to get parsley at the store. Cook until all of the lamb is cooked (up to 10 minutes, depending on the heat of your pan).

Once the filling is complete, I delicately split it on top of the pre-roasted eggplants. The recipe calls for a roasting liquid - 2/3 c water, the other half of the spice blend, lemon juice, more sugar, cinnamon sticks, and tamarind - for the bottom of the pan. I again axed the sweet spices and I essentially doubled the water. I didn't want to come back after a long roasting time (90 minutes) and find that anything had burned up.

After 90 minutes at 375... a quick peek as they came out of the oven. If only I could add Smell-O-Vision to the blog. I want to bottle the scent of this dish and spray it on my pulse points.

I served the eggplant over white rice with a carrot/radish slaw. I wanted something bright and crunchy to pair with the rich sumptuous main course. Using my food processor, I shredded some carrots and radishes (and threw in some celery I had floating around the fridge). I dressed them with a lemon juice/tahini/red wine vinegar concoction. I wish I'd written down measurements for you but I was so tantalized by the aroma of spiced lamb wafting through the apartment that I forgot.

I remarked to J after we devoured these that the recipes from Jerusalem are meals you craft and labor over and put love into - these are not "quick and easy". They're not for weeknights (at least based on when we get home from work). They require time and care and are an absolute joy to eat at the end. The leftovers heated up were also fantastic. Food cooked with a lot of love is the most delicious, if you ask me.

Slow Cooker Artichoke Chicken

I remember my mom and sister sitting around when I was a teenager snacking on marinated artichokes. At the time, everything about them made me want to scream and run the other way. The smell, the texture, the flavor - they icked me out. Then came college and one of my main food groups was spinach artichoke dip. Bless you, bar food, for changing my mind. Slowly but surely, artichokes became not only a frequent visitor in my pantry but a go-to ingredient.

In a sea of taco chicken slow cooker recipes out there, I was on the hunt for something different. Tracie at Cleverly Inspired put together a delicious blend of Italian dressing, artichoke hearts, onions, and mushrooms. All of these things are delicious to me and I went for it.

I sliced one onion into half moons, roughly quartered an 8 oz olive bar container of artichoke hearts, and added them to the bottom of the slow cooker with a box of sliced baby bellas. Next, I kept to her suggestion of boneless chicken thighs which I generally prefer flavor-wise and added those in on top of the vegetables.

Finally, you add a tablespoon of Italian seasoning and a 1/2 c of Italian dressing. I upped the ante a bit by making m own Italian dressing and dry Italian seasoning. For my seasoning, I used 1 - 2 teaspoons each dried thyme and oregano, 1/2 teaspoon Herbes de Provence. My dressing is 1/4 c red wine vinegar, 1/4 c canola oil, four garlic cloves, juice of one lemon, a few shakes of paprika. I poured all of this into the artichoke hearts container so there was a bit more of the marinade that made its way into the mix.

Cook on low for 6 – 7 hours and you’ve got dinner waiting for you when you walk back in the door! I whipped up some farroto - farro risotto - and it was the perfect accompaniment to the zesty chicken and brought a nice chewy bite to the dish.

Pure honesty? I give this meal a B. I have notes. I have edits. Namely, this was VERY acidic. It was refreshing and tasted great, but it veered on the too zingy side after while and left me with that post-Sour Patch Kid puckery feeling in my mouth. Going forward, I’d cut out the lemon juice or cut down on the vinegar. Or, I could throw in ¼ or 1/3 c chicken stock to dilute the zing and give a more earthy note to the dish. All in all, a solid first try and I will definitely make it again with edits!

Welcome To The Chardonnay Kitchen!

Hi there and welcome to The Chardonnay Kitchen!

I'm MHM and I love chardonnay.

I also love to cook! Most of my kitchen creations are pure experiments and I'll aim to recount them here to you in as entertaining a fashion as possible. I'd love for you to join the party as I snap a bunch of food photos with my iPhone and try not to slosh too much wine onto my stove.

Cheers!

Two On Tuesday: Chicken & Grapes Recipes

Right before the new year, I binged on Smitten Kitchen and found her recipe for Harvest Chicken. The flavors are simultaneously traditional and unique. The prep is exceptionally simple. The leftovers are.... well, there are rarely any leftovers, to be honest.

I like making this in my cast iron Dutch oven, but you can certainly use a skillet if you choose. Season the chicken and brown it in batches on both sides in some hot oil. Once all the chicken is browned, add it all back into the pan. The original recipes then calls for a cup of olives and a cup of grapes, but in this iteration I doubled that. I also threw in the rosemary sprigs whole and diced up the shallots. Bake at 450° for about 20 minutes or until juices run clear and a thermometer registers around 165°.

Once done, scoop out all of the solids onto a platter. Add a splash of white wine and chicken stock, bring to a boil, and reduce by half, scraping the bottom of the pan to incorporate all of the drippings from the chicken - a quick and delicious gravy to pour over the plated chicken.

It is incredible. Rosemary on chicken is such a perfect combination, but then you add the sweet grapes and salty olives and it just takes it to another level of delicious. I served this iteration with some roasted asparagus and couscous.

What to do with a bag of red grapes in the fridge? Ina Garten's Roasted Sausages and Grapes recipe answers that question in beautiful ways. Typically I make this with pork sausages but went with chicken ones - two sweet, two spicy - this time around. My friend April does an even quicker version with sliced pre-cooked sausages. Whatever approach you take, it's another great blend of spicy meat and sweet roasted grapes, with a bright burst of balsamic vinegar to boot.

You start by effectively butter-coating the grapes. I threw in some more rosemary because why not? It's delicious. Then, in a break with Ina's recipe, I add a few glugs of balsamic vinegar. I like it cooking into all of the flavors while it's in the oven. Nestle your sausages into the grapes and bake in a hot oven - Ina says 500, but I think my oven was closer to 450. I turned the sausages over after about 10 minutes of a total cook time of 20 minutes. Quel surprise - more asparagus. I'm telling you, I go HEAVY on the 'spara every spring. This is a great weeknight dinner that tastes fancy but is very simply executed.