One of my childhood favorites: Mildly Spicy Swedish Meatballs

At least twice a month my mother; Kim;  made Italian meatballs, Sweet & Sour meatballs or Swedish meatballs. Her Swedish meatballs were always a treat for me. I've modified her recipe a tiny bit to give it alittle more spice. If you haven't noticed by now, I love SPICY dishes. I'm sure this isn't a "traditional" Swedish Meatball recipe and the Norwegians reading this may be a bit dismayed by this kicked up rendition, but I'm okay with that. If you're looking for the Ikea type of Swedish meatballs. . .you may not want to try this. I abhorred their bland version. This recipe when used with penne pasta is enough to serve 8 people. I freeze half of it (pasta and all) and it reheats beautifully. 

Ingredients (makes about 30 meatballs):

2 slices wheat or white bread, torn into tiny pieces

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup finely chopped onion or 1/4 cup dried onions

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 pounds ground beef chuck

1 1/2 pound ground pork

2 large egg yolks

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon black pepper, freshly cracked

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon dried parsley (optional)

4 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cup heavy cream

1 cup beef broth

2 tablespoons butter

1 cup white mushrooms, sliced 

Directions:

1. In a medium size mixing bowl, add the torn bread pieces, milk, onion, salt, egg yolks, cumin, pepper, allspice, nutmeg, paprika, parsley, garlic and mix. Add the ground beef chuck and ground pork, using your hands mix thoroughly. Roll into golf ball size balls. 
2. Heat a large non-stick skillet to medium high and add 1 tablespoon of oil. Add the meatballs and brown on all sides being careful not to tear the meatballs apart, about 10 minutes.  Depending on how large your skillet is, you may need to cook these in 2 batches. 
3. Once cooked, transfer the meatballs into a deep pot. On medium high heat add the butter, beef broth, flour and heavy cream to the meatballs. Stir and bring to a gentle boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium and add the mushrooms and a dash of salt and black pepper. Stir and cover. Cook for about 30 minutes. 
4. Last time I served mine with Penne Pasta, I simply prepared pasta to package directions, drained and mixed the pasta into the pot before serving, see figure 1. I also enjoy this served ontop of mashed potatoes or rice. These can be used as appetizers, simply insert a toothpick into each meatball.