Ultimate Sloppy Joes

Here's my first Tyler Florence recipe that made it to the blog!

Last night I made Ultimate Sloppy Joes. Mmmmm...



Ingredients:
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, diced (I cut out the onion...big surprise. But I added two cloves of garlic instead.)
1 1/2 pounds lean ground turkey (Don't have the turkey on hand, so I used ground beef.)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups ketchup
1/4 cup yellow mustard
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
12 parker house rolls


Directions
Set a heavy-based pot over medium-high heat and add a 3-count of olive oil. Add onions and saute for 2 to 3 minutes until translucent. Add ground turkey, season well with salt and pepper and brown well all over, breaking it up with a wooden spoon - about 7 to 10 minutes. Add ketchup, mustard, cayenne, brown sugar and tomato paste. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes. Finish with a splash of red wine vinegar and season it once more before serving on parker rolls.

I did fewer adjustments on this recipe than I think I ever have on anything else! It came out WONDERFULL and it's a good thing I made a double batch because there was barely enough left over for my lunch today! I was a bit curious about the red wine vinegar at the end, but it really worked!!
Oh, also - with the change of using beef instead of turkey, there was a lot of oil rendered that I should have drained, but I didn't do so until the end. Well, I waited to add the vinegar unil after it was drained, but that was it.
So if you use a meat more fatty than turkey, just remember to drain and you won't be as grossed out by the pools of oil toward the end!

Also, I was totally pleased and surprised that it took me only 40 minutes to make this, from defrosting the meat and assembling all the ingredients to plating and serving! (I'm a bit slow, it'll probably not take you as long!)

Gorgonzola Stuffed Meatballs

Mmmmm. I just watched Rachael Ray's 30 minute meals and I wish I hadn't already started dinner! I think I'm going to dream about her Gorgonzola Stuffed Meatballs tonight!

10/15/08:
Okay, I made these last night and I am officially the s-loooooow-est cook in the east!
But I'm okay with that.
And my hubby's more than okay with the results of my slow-and-steady cooking!
I can't stress enough that it is imperative to coat the meatballs with olive oil prior to cooking. I didn't do it. I really should have. I was watching Alton Brown's Good Eats later last night and found out why! (Go figure!)
The Olive Oil creates a moisture barrier making sure the meatballs don't loose their moisture... AND it cooks faster. Mine didn't cook so fast. I think it took a half hour for them to cook to proper doneness.
Also, I made the tomato gravy which is also listed in the recipe, but it never thickened up. Not sure why, but it was still quite tasty!
It makes 8 gigantic meatballs. I ate one, my hubby ate two, and we have 5 frozen for future meals.