Bridget Moynahan enjoying her family’s beloved Swedish meatballs.
Anyone who watches CBS’s hit show Blue Bloods knows that every episode features a family dinner. While producer Leonard Goldberg originally developed the dinners as an easy way to resolve each episode’s plot, these recurring scenes quickly became fan favorites. Even now after six seasons, audiences continue to look forward to when the Reagan family gathers around the table each week. It’s an opportunity for the family to take a pause from their busy lives and to enjoy a meal, but more importantly, it’s a chance for them to catch up, share stories, laugh, and just be together.
Recognizing the enduring popularity of the Blue Bloods family dinner scenes — they’re a recurring theme of viewer letters and online comments — actress Bridget Moynahan, who plays Erin Reagan, and Leonard Goldberg’s wife, Wendy, teamed up to write The Blue Bloods Cookbook: 120 Recipes That Will Bring Your Family to the Table.
Moynahan says the best part of working on the book was going through her recipes and finding her favorites. “It’s fun to remember family dinners and think about the food that stood out,” she says, admitting that all her calls home probably drove her family crazy.
But it was all worth it. In addition to recipes for vegetarian couscous salad, glazed ham, classic New York-style cheesecake, and her dad’s apple pie, the actress shared her family’s recipe for Swedish meatballs, which are a Moynahan Christmas Eve tradition.
“It’s something we all love and look forward to every year,” she says. It’s so popular with the Moynahan clan that they often double or triple the recipe, so everyone can take leftovers home. And the next generation is hooked on the Swedish meatballs, too. Moynahan reports they’re her son’s favorite.
Family dinners are “an important part of the day” and “a great way to connect with each other,” says Moynahan, and it turns out that filming family dinners is also a time for making connections. “It’s the only time we’re all together,” says Moynahan. Shooting takes a while, because there are so many people to include, but it’s still a fun day. Plus, “the food is always real and almost always good.” It sounds a lot like a real family dinner, except for one major difference: “There’s no one jumping in to fix my brother’s hair and makeup in real life,” says Moynahan.
Swedish Meatballs
Serves 4 to 6; makes 20 to 24 meatballs
This is a Moynahan family favorite, and the traditional Christmas Eve recipe in Bridget’s house. The Moynahans make a double (and sometimes, even a triple) batch to ensure that there are seconds and plenty of leftovers, because everyone wants to take some home (it also freezes well). It’s such a perfect crowd-pleaser that it would have no doubt been a favorite in the Reagan house, with its large gang of hungry eaters. You can use it for any special occasion, or even for a cocktail party—it’s sure to become a family favorite no matter when you serve it.
MEATBALLS
1 pound ground beef
1⁄4 pound ground pork
3 slices white bread, crusts removed, pulsed in a food processor into bread crumbs
1⁄2 cup sour cream
1 large egg, beaten
2 tablespoons minced yellow onion
1⁄8 teaspoon ground allspice
1⁄4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1⁄4 teaspoons kosher salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
GRAVY
2 cups beef stock
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Dash of ground allspice
1⁄2 teaspoon onion powder
1⁄2 cup sour cream
Make the meatballs: In a large bowl, combine all the meatball ingredients except for the butter. Working with clean hands, mix the ingredients just until incorporated. Do not overwork the mixture.
Using a melon baller or rounded spoon, scoop out individual meatballs. Form into spheres the size of Ping-Pong balls.
In a very large saucepan (or divided between two medium saucepans), melt the butter over medium heat. Brown the meatballs, turning regularly to prevent burning and to ensure even cooking. Transfer the browned meatballs to a plate and set aside.
Make the gravy: Add the beef stock to the saucepan in which you cooked the meatballs and stir with a wooden spoon, loosening any browned bits stuck to the pan.
Add the flour, allspice, and onion powder and whisk constantly until smooth.
Add the sour cream, 1 teaspoon at a time, and whisk to incorporate before adding more. Continue whisking until there are no clumps.
Return the meatballs to the pan and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the gravy thickens. Serve hot by themselves, or with rice, noodles, or sliced baguette, as you prefer.
Reprinted with permission from Blue Bloods Cookbook: 120 Recipes That Will Bring Your Family Together by Bridget Moynahan and Wendy Howard Goldberg (St. Martin’s Press).
