Crossroads + Swedish Meatballs

I can’t believe we are already halfway through January! Avrey and I have finally consumed all of our holiday leftovers and come out of our post-holiday stupor. I’m finally ready to get back to my favorite winter pastime: cooking comfort food. And what better way to start than with these Swedish meatballs, inspired by the new Jonathan Franzen novel Crossroads.

A Midwestern Family Saga

Crossroads is the first in a planned trilogy focusing on the Hildebrandt family. The Hildebrandts, who live in the suburbs of Chicago in the early 1970s, are more than a little dysfunctional. The patriarch, Russ, is the associate pastor of the local church. No longer feeling any excitement in his marriage, Russ has his eyes set on one of his parishioners, a young window named Frances. Russ’s wife, Marion, has a secret of her own. She takes up smoking and begins losing weight in anticipation of a reunion with a fling from her past.

The four Hildebrandt children all struggle with issues of their own, including love, sex, college, drug use, mental illness, and the Vietnam War. The middle son, Perry, is particularly troubled. During a Christmas party at the house of Reverend Haefle and his wife, Perry manages to sneak a fair amount of booze and drunkenly causes a scene. At this same party, Reverend Haefle’s wife serves Swedish meatballs.

“Reverend Haefle led the Hildebrandts into the dining room, which was acridly scented with the combustion of Sterno cans beneath a copper-clad pan of Swedish meatballs, a tray of potatoes in a sauce of cream and onions, and a cauldron of something fumingly alcoholic, with blanched almonds and bloated raisins floating in it.”

Crossroads

Crossroads Swedish Meatballs

Like, I assume, many Americans, I have a hard time disassociating Swedish meatballs from thoughts of assembling furniture. However, these little gravy-coated balls of goodness make a mean appetizer, or, served with pasta or potatoes, a delicious main course. They are also fairly easy to make.

Some Notes on the Recipe

• Finely Dice the Onions. You don’t want to come across huge chunks of onion when you bite into your meatballs. You can even chop them in a food processor if you would like.
• White vs. Black Pepper. White ground pepper has a much more mild and earthy flavor than black pepper. I would not recommend substituting one for the other.
• Size Matters. The size of your meatballs is really up to you. Whether you want large, entree-sized meatballs, or mini appetizers, go for whatever you prefer. The size you go with will alter the number of meatballs you get and the cooking time. I made mine pretty small and ended up with about 75 meatballs. I cooked each batch for about 10 minutes over medium low heat (if the heat is too high the meatballs will start to get overcooked on the outside before the inside is thoroughly cooked).
• Clean Your Pan. I wiped out my pan and added fresh butter in between each batch of meatballs. While this is not necessary, it will help prevent your meatballs from getting too dark. Whether or not you take this step, you at least want to use a slotted spoon to scoop out any onions that have come loose in between each batch. Otherwise these onions will burn and can affect the taste of your meatballs.

Enjoy the meatballs and Happy Reading!

Crossroads Swedish Meatballs

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Rating: 5.0/5

( 1 voted )

Serves: 6-10 Prep Time: 30 Minutes Cooking Time: 20 Minutes 20 Minutes Nutrition facts: 400 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 7 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 3 slices white bread, crusts removed
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1/2 lb ground pork
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 tsp ground white pepper
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp plus 1/2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 5 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp sour cream

Instructions

Melt 2 Tablespoons butter in a pan over medium heat. Add diced onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Remove onion from pan and set aside to cool.

Tear bread into 1/4 inch pieces and put in a bowl. Pour milk over bread and let soak 5-10 minutes.

In a large bowl combine the onion, bread, beef, pork, egg, white pepper, allspice, salt, and 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce. Mix until well combined.

Shape meat mixture into meatballs of desired size.

Melt 2 Tablespoons butter in a large pan over medium low heat. Working in batches to avoid overcrowding, cook the meatballs, flipping often to ensure browning on all sides. Set aside cooked meatballs.

Once all meatballs are cooked, wipe out the pan. Melt 3 Tablespoons butter over medium heat. Whisk in 3 Tablespoons flour and cook until a light brown color is achieved.

Slowly add beef broth, whisking until combined. Add heavy cream, soy sauce, and 1/2 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce. Whisk to combine.

In a small bowl, whisk the remaining two tablespoons of flour with a small amount of cold water to form a paste. Add the paste, a little a time, to the gravy mixture in the pan, whisking thoroughly in between. Add until desired thickness is achieved (you might not need all of the paste).

Return meatballs to pan and stir to coat in gravy. 

Remove from heat and stir in sour cream.

Did You Make This Recipe?

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