11.22.2017

Let Us Give Thanks 🦃

It's been a while since one of these blog posts addressed a favorite American pastime, cooking. As a way of saying "Thank You" to everyone who shares their cooking tips online, and as a way of getting ready for Thanksgiving, please read on for information on a technique that has the potential to make chicken or meatballs fluffier.

Half dollar sized chicken meatballs can work well as an appetizer. Lamb meatballs as well as pork and red meat meatballs also can work well in this size. Yum. Paired with a dipping sauce that is complementary to the entree, sharing these tiny savory treats is a great way to get guests relaxed and mingling around the dining room.

To prepare, assemble the meatball ingredients, including breadcrumbs, to your liking. The more breadcrumbs, the less dense the meatballs will be when they are cooked, and less dense is good for an appetizer. (Notwithstanding edamame, which makes a great appetizer; there are probably lots of other great dense appetizers...)  Now take some olive oil and warm it in a sauce pan. Once the oil is warm, add the warmed oil to the reserved breadcrumbs. The bread crumbs will immediately absorb the warm oil. Then add the bread crumbs to the meat mixture, or if you are reading this aghast at the use of ground meat, please feel free to try this with ground chick peas and share your results. You can preheat the oven around the time you start apportioning the meat mixture.

Chicken Meatballs Appetizer:

Ground chicken meat, 1 lb.
salt, thyme and rosemary to taste
1/4 cup milk
2 eggs beaten
1/2 cup olive oil
3/4 cup bread crumbs

Mix all ingredients, except for the breadcrumbs and the olive oil, together. The breadcrumbs should be in a separate ceramic or other heat-safe bowl somewhere. Warm the olive oil over low to medium heat in a saucepan. When the viscosity of the oil begins to change, the oil is warm enough. Take it off the heat and pour the oil over the breadcrumbs; use a fork to combine well. Let breadcrumbs sit for about a minute and then add to the ground meat mixture; combine well. Use an ice cream scoop or other spoon to apportion the meat mixture and roll into spheres that are about the diameter of a half-dollar.
Place in an oven-safe tray that is large enough to fit all of the meatballs without them touching and bake for about seventeen minutes at 450 degrees.

The dipping sauce: Remember earlier in the blog post where it states this recipe is best used for appetizers? Well think about what your main entree is going to be. If it involves roasting or sautéeing anything, make a simple roux and add some of the pan drippings from the roast, or from the sautée to the roux to create a complimentary dipping sauce for the appetizer. If you're fresh out of ideas, or if you are attending a pot luck and have no idea what the main course will be, try one of these ideas for a dipping sauce. 

Thank you for reading and Happy Thanksgiving🦃