Bad Apple Saloon chef Jerrett Overmeyer has made a name for himself in area culinary circles with his outstanding bar food.
A self-taught cook, Overmeyer began his career as cook and co-owner of Twisted Cooks, inside Bourbonz bar on Ryan St.
“I grew up cooking in my grandmother’s kitchen, and I’ve always loved food. At Twisted Cooks, I found out I was good at (cooking),” he says. “I figured out what tastes good, and what people want.”
That background served Overmeyer well when, after he and co-owner Priest Magby closed Twisted Cooks, he took over the kitchen at Bad Apple, offering the same simple, high-quality bar food patrons of Twisted Cooks had grown to love and on which Overmeyer had built a reputation.
What does the area’s guru of pub grub decide to make at home? Something completely different than what he serves at Bad Apple. Since purchasing a new Kitchenaid mixer for their home five months ago, he and his girlfriend, Laura, have become avid bread bakers, and their favorite thing to bake is bread bowls.
“I found a recipe for bread bowls with chives and garlic,
he says, “and we loved it.”
While the first bread bowls he made were filled with chili, Overmeyer says marinara is something he and Laura love to cook on a regular basis. So his current favorite bread bowl filling is meatballs with marinara.
“It seemed a perfect combination,” he says.
And it is.
Overmeyer begins by baking the bowls from scratch, with chopped green onions added to the mix.
The marinara is made with tomato sauce, onion, pepper and seasonings.
The meatballs are formed with ground beef (or you can use a blend), and can be any size you want. You can, says Overmeyer, add cheese or onion to the meatballs before they’re formed. When the meatballs are almost cooked, Overmeyer simply adds the sauce and lets it all cook down.
Overmeyer then cuts the tops of the bread bowls off, hollows them out, adds the number of meatballs he wants to the bowl, then adds plenty of the marinara. It’s all topped with sliced mozzarella and baked in a 350-degree oven until the cheese is melted.
The marinara was perfectly seasoned, with peppers and parsley adding a brightness and freshness to the mix. The meat was moist and perfectly cooked. It’s a tasty, carb-heavy comfort-food dish that’s sure to kill the late-winter blues.
Bread Bowls
Ingredients
2 tbsp. active dry yeast 3 cups warm water (110° to 115°)
2 tbsp. sugar 2 tsp. salt 6-1/2 to 7-1/2 cups bread flour
1/2 cup of dried or fresh chopped green onions
In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. In a large bowl, combine sugar, salt, yeast mixture and 3 cups flour; beat on medium speed 3 minutes. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (dough will be sticky). Add in green onions a little at a time as you go.
Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Punch dough down. Divide and shape into six balls. Place 3 inches apart on two greased baking sheets. Cover with a kitchen towel; let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 15 minutes. Using a sharp knife, score surface with shallow cuts in an X pattern. Bake 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from pans and place on wire racks to cool.
Cut a thin slice off the top of bread. Hollow out bottom half, leaving a 1/4-in. shell (discard removed bread or save for another use). Yield: 6 servings.
Homemade Marinara Sauce
Ingredients
1/2 onion 1/2 chopped green onion 3 halves colored peppers
2 cloves of garlic 2 cans of tomato sauce Parsley and cilantro
Cook veggies in a medium saucepan until soft. Add seasonings and sauce.
Season to taste with salt and pepper, perhaps Italian seasoning. Simmer.
Meatballs
Ingredients
1 lb. ground beef 1/2 onion, chopped
Seasoning (salt, pepper, perhaps garlic powder)
Season meat with salt, pepper, and perhaps some garlic powder. Add onion and mix into the meat. Roll meat into balls of whatever size you choose. Make as many meatballs as you want; a little extra never hurts!
Cook on medium, rotating every few minutes until meat is cooked on all sides. Let simmer for a few minutes once cooked.
Once the meatballs are ready, add your sauce into the pan with them. Let the mixture cook down for a few minutes. Add your meat to your bowls. Pour any remaining sauce into your bowls if you feel you want more.
Add slices of mozzarella cheese to the tops of the bowls. Bake in oven for 5 minutes at 350°.
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