Boston Meatball Takedown - Swedish Meatballs

Two weeks ago, I got an email from a guy named Tim about this thing called a "Takedown".  He'd found my blog somewhere, and invited me to participate in a Meatball Takedown that would be doing on June 30th at the Armory in Somerville.  I though it sounded fabulous, and knew my friend Ann would be into it since she's Swedish (so she obviously loves meatballs), and thus team "Thor" was born.  Ann was SO excited about putting together something similar to her grandma's meatball recipe - we were going to do Sweden proud!  These meatballs are juicy, authentic (with a few twists), full of flavor...and worth the work!

There were really no rules...just make 225-250 meatballs and have them at the Armory 30 minutes before the 2pm start.  We decided baking everything Sunday morning would be too rushed, so Ann and I got together Saturday evening to put everything together.  Without giving away Ann's family recipe, I will tell you this...they included ground beef and pork, bacon, spiced pecans, and a ton of spices.  :)  Pretty cool, hunh?

Swedish meatballs are served with brown gravy and a dollop of lingonberry sauce (you can buy it here).  It really is a must and will make the meal!  YUM.

We got to the Armory, plugged in our electric skillet to reheat the meatballs we'd made the day before, and got our table set up.  We decided to "Swede-out" and had SO much fun making our table decorations.  There was a poster full of things Swedes love and jokes on IKEA, a tablecloth that looked like Sweden's flag, Swedish Fish garland, and blue and yellow sparkles!

In addition to being fantastic cooks, everyone participating was SO nice.  We lucked and ended up with some fantastic 'neighbors' that made the afternoon even more fun.  In addition to the Swedish meatballs we brought, there were several classic Italian meatballs, meatballs with mint, short-rib meatballs, Mexican meatballs that were served with a squirt of tequila, Bulgogi meatballs, chicken meatballs that were deep fried in waffle batter, Aibondigos meatballs, and a Thanksgiving-style meatball (turkey and stuffing ball in a cranberry sauce).  That's just a few...it was seriously crazy!  Everything was SO different, which made the event a ton of fun.  We served meatballs for 1 hour and 30 minutes straight, with the crowds slowing down around 3:30.

Here are some shots of other participants and their yummy food!

Matt Timms - the mastermind behind "The Takedowns"

Since Paula Deen has been fired from so many of her gigs, she had to resort to showing up at our meatball challenge.    These meatballs were "guaranteed to give you type 2 diabetes".  Ouch!

And of course, some of our sweet friends who came to taste our goods!

Unfortunately, we didn't win the takedown, but we still had a "Swede-tastic" time.  I hear there will be an Ice Cream Takedown in August, so if you're in the Boston area, you should definitely do it!  We'll be there with bells on!

Even if you don't live in Boston, you should still check out TheTakedowns.com - he does competitions in other cities too!

Day Trip to Newport, RI

Last weekend we made a trip to Newport, RI to see our friend Brooks.  Brooks has been stationed there for the last few years (he's in the Navy), but is moving to Hawaii in a few weeks.  We needed one last get together before he took off for the other side of the globe.  Newport is one of my favorite towns in New England!  It's got a little of everything (except mountains...but that's ok) - water, great food, a beautiful downtown area full of shops, walking paths, and beautiful homes.  I've been 4 times before, and there's something new to do each time we visit.  This time we did some of Brooks' favorite things - I love traveling with a local.  :)

We got there around noon and hopped in Brooks' jeep.  This jeep was seriously awesome.  I've never really understood the whole "jeep thing" until now, but it really made the day for me.  It was 72 degrees and sunny with a breeze - the perfect day to cruise around with the top down.

We started with lunch at Anthony's Seafood.  It was super yummy.  After lunch, he took us to an overlook, where we climbed out on some rocks to enjoy a beautiful view of the coast and "2nd beach".  Then we walked a little further up and saw Pergatory Chasm, a 2 foot slit in the rocks right on the water.  The waves crashing into the cavern made a fantastic noise - it was very cool.

After taking in some scenery, we headed over to the War College, where he'd been stationed.  They have a great museum there with lots of ship replicas, metals, uniforms, and weapons.  The view from the Navy base was beautiful - a perfect shot of the bridge and town.  We also drove around to see some of the ships docked there and I saw my first aircraft carrier, the Saratoga.  It was HUGE.

We had a little time to kill between the War College and a schooner trip I'd booked a few days before, so we stopped by a fantastic coffee shop in town and got out of the sun for a while.  In addition to fantastic drinks, they also had a giant light bright board, which I (obviously) had a good time with.  Then we walked around downtown and got ready for our schooner trip.

Our boat trip was on the Adirondack II, a beautiful sail boat that held as many as 55 people.  Travis and I love getting out on the water whenever we can (and Brooks obviously feels at home...being in the Navy), so this was pretty much a given for the day.  The trip was really nice except for two things.  1) As we were about to leave, a group of 25 Jersey shore-type 20-somethings boarded the boat.  They were loud and EVERYWHERE.  2)  We never left the harbor!  While it was great sailing around the harbor, it would have been nice to see some different scenery and not just sail around in circles for 1.5 hours.  I guess I shouldn't be picky...I mean...we were on a schooner in Newport.  ;)

Fort Adams

The Kennedy's home

The Eisenhower home

After the boat trip we finished the night with dinner.  We settled on the Speakeasy Bar & Grill, which was a fantastic choice.  The front of the restaurant was a bar-type scene, but the back half was set up for a nice dinner out.  Since we were starving, we decided to started the evening with their pulled pork nachos.  When they came to the table we were shocked.  They were HUGE (and delicious).  I'm embarrassed to say we devoured them.

For dinner I had the Pork Porterhouse Chops with a Wild Mushroom Demi-Glace, Brooks had the Mix Grill of Meats (Petite Filet, Chicken, and Andoulli Sausage), and Travis had the Lobster Gnocchi.  Travis' dish was the winner for the night - it was fantastic.  Brooks couldn't stop raving about the andoulli sausage that came with his dish.  My pork chops were ok, but pretty tough.  Thankfully I'd inhaled yummy nachos earlier, so I wasn't too sad.

Then, the most fun part of the day, I got to drive the Jeep home.  It was the wildest car I've ever driven.  I took my foot off the brake and we took off.  We were seriously driving down the street and my foot wasn't on the gas.  I guess that's what a V8 engine does.

It was a fantastic day with great friends.  Check out one of our other day trips to Newport for some other ideas of what to do.  We're sad Brooks is leaving, but look forward to visiting him in Hawaii!!