Swedish Meatballs

This recipe is loosely adapted from the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook® circa 1981. That recipe is fabulous, but I wanted to change some things up for my own version.

Ingredients (makes 30 to 35 meatballs):

3 slices of soft white bread, torn into pieces

¾ cup half and half

½ pound ground beef

½ pound ground pork

½ pound ground veal (you can use 1 ½ pounds of ground meat for meatloaf instead of these meats,     or even just 1 ½ pounds of ground beef)

½ cup white onion, minced fine

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper

¼ teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg

Pinch of allspice

1 Tablespoon canola oil

2 Tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon powdered beef bouillon

1 teaspoon instant espresso powder

1 ½ cups water

Directions: In a large mixing bowl, combine the bread with the half and half. Let soak together for about 5 minutes. Add the meats, onion, egg, and spices. Mush it all up well with very clean hands. You want a homogeneous mixture here—almost like a pate. Form into small meatballs, about 1 inch in diameter. Heat a skillet with the canola oil over medium heat and brown the meatballs in batches, which should take about 7-10 minutes per batch. I like to use two spoons to turn the meatballs over when browning so I get all sides browned. Remove each batch of meatballs with a slotted spoon to a plate, leaving the drippings in the skillet.

Whisk the flour, beef bouillon and espresso powder to the skillet drippings and continue whisking over medium heat. Add in the water and bring to a boil. Whisk until the sauce becomes thick and then add the meatballs back in. Cover (I just use a piece of foil) and let cook about 20 minutes more.