Swedish Meatballs

You know the only thing that sucks about this dish? That I didn't have it for the first time until I was 26 years old. A friend of ours who lived in the same building as us was having a birthday. Her family all lived in Atlanta so she was kind of flying solo on a work night. So we asked her what she would like for birthday dinner and she said she wanted Swedish Meatballs. I immediately said done, see you at 7. I then realized that I have never made or even eaten these before.

So I did what I always do and that is start doing research. Usually the first thing I do is go to FoodNetwork.com and look at Alton Brown's recipes. This dude dedicates whole shows to one dish and this being a hugely popular dish I figured that he might have done one for these balls of joy. Guess what I was right.

So my dish is a slight variation from the from Alton Brown's recipe found here. If you have never had these they are super good and easy to make. The flavor is awesome with just a slight spice that makes them unique. Trust me you want to eat these.

Kitchen Notes
* You can use bread crumbs if you'd like instead of milk soaked bread.
* You can serve these over potatoes or rice.
* Makes 4 servings.

Ingredients
- 2 slices white bread torn into pieces
- 1/4 cup milk
- 3 tablespoons clarified butter, divided
- 1/2 onion dices small
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 & 1/2 pounds ground beef
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/4 cup flour
- 4 cups beef broth
- 6 tablespoons heavy cream

The Process
1. In a bowl combine the bread and the 1/4 cup of milk and stir until the milk is absorbed. Set aside.
2. In a medium saute pan add the 1 tablespoon of the butter and the onions over medium heat and cook the onions until translucent about 8 minutes. Remove from heat and set in a thin layer on a plate to cool.
3. In a large bowl combine the soaked bread, salt, beef, egg yolks, pepper, allspice, nutmeg and the cooled onions then mix well. Form into balls a little bit smaller than the size of a golf ball.
4. In a large cast iron skillet heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Add the meat balls in batches and brown all sides. Remove the meatballs as they are done and add the remaining ones until they are all done. Place on a sheet pan in the oven on low to keep warm.
5. Reduce the pan's heat to medium low and add the flour. Whisk to make sure it doesn't stick to the pan. Stir in the beef stock slowly and bring to a simmer.
6. Add the cream and cook until you get your desired consistency. Serve over noodles.
7. Enjoy!