Meatballs, Apple-Cranberry Pie

DEAR SOS: I am in search of the recipe for the wonderful appetizer meatballs served at Lawry’s Prime Rib in Beverly Hills. I would like to uncover the secret to making these mouthwatering treats.

--SHIRLEY

DEAR SHIRLEY: Lawry’s produced this recipe for the delicious appetizer meatballs. They can be assembled without cooking and frozen to cook as needed.

LAWRY’S PRIME RIB MEATBALLS

3 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

2 medium potatoes, cooked and mashed

3 tablespoons dry bread crumbs

1 pound finely ground lean beef

1/2 cup whipping cream

2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley

1 egg

1 teaspoon salt

Pepper

2 tablespoons oil

Melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat. Saute onion until translucent. Blend onion, potatoes, bread crumbs, beef, whipping cream, parsley, egg, salt and pepper to taste in bowl. Blend thoroughly. Roll into balls 1 1/4 inches in diameter. Place on tray and cover. Let stand in refrigerator at least 1 hour.

When ready to cook, melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter and oil in skillet over high heat. Add as many meatballs as can freely move in pan. Cook, turning over until evenly browned, 7 to 8 minutes. Remove and drain. Makes 12 appetizer servings.

Each serving contains about:

180 calories; 267 mg sodium; 61 mg cholesterol; 15 grams fat; 4 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams protein; 0.1 gram fiber.

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DEAR SOS: I have misplaced my recipe for apple-cranberry pie.

--RUTH

DEAR RUTH: Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger of the former City Restaurant in Los Angeles (they operate Border Grill in Santa Monica) provided us with this recipe created for the restaurant by Milliken’s mother.

CITY RESTAURANT APPLE-CRANBERRY PIE

5 extra-large Granny Smith apples or equivalent

1 (12-ounce) package cranberries

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/4 cup instant tapioca

Partially Baked Pie Shell

Streusel

Peel, core and chop apples into pieces the size of cranberries. Place cranberries in food processor. Chop briefly, about 10 seconds.

Combine apples and cranberries in large bowl. Add sugar. Stir until fruit is coated with sugar. Cover bowl. Set aside until juices from fruit flow freely and sugar is almost completely dissolved, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Stir tapioca into fruit and juice. Let soak additional 10 to 15 minutes. Fill Partially Baked Pie Shell with apple-cranberry filling. Sprinkle top generously with Streusel. Reserve any remaining Streusel for other use.

Bake at 325 degrees until filling bubbles in center, about 45 minutes. If edges of pie shell begin to brown too quickly, cover with strips of foil. Makes 1 (9-inch) pie, or 8 servings.

Each serving contains about:

787 calories; 453 mg sodium; 68 mg cholesterol; 35 grams fat; 117 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams protein; 1.1 grams fiber.

Partially Baked Pie Shell

2 cups flour

1/2 cup lard

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1 teaspoon salt

Ice water

Combine flour, lard, butter and salt in large bowl. Lightly work dough using fingertips until pieces of butter and lard are no larger than small peas. Add 1/3 cup ice water teaspoon by teaspoon, tossing flour mixture lightly with fork. If mixture seems too dry to press into ball, add up to another 1 tablespoon ice water.

Press mixture into ball. Wrap in plastic wrap. Let stand about 30 minutes in refrigerator. Roll to 1/8-inch thickness. Fit into 10-inch pie plate. Flute edge. Let stand again in refrigerator 30 minutes. Line shell with sheet of foil filled with pastry weights or use uncooked navy beans. Bake at 425 degrees until edges are light brown. Remove foil and weights. Return to oven until bottom crust is set and no longer is raw.

Streusel

2/3 cup unsalted butter

3/4 cup light-brown sugar, packed

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 1/2 cups flour

Combine butter, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon and flour. Lightly work mixture using fingertips until butter is completely incorporated and mixture is crumbly.

You can also reach Rose Dosti on the Wining & Dining bulletin board on TimesLink, or by TimesLink e-mail at wesd47e. For information on TimesLink, call (800) 792-LINK, ext. 274.