Buffalo Chicken Mini Meatballs

Happy New Year Friends! I hope everyone had a safe evening last night!  Thank you for spending 2011 reading my blog and trying new recipes with me.  I appreciate all the wonderful emails I get and am so happy when you share with me that you've tried a recipe and what you thought. Thank you!  Here's to another year together!

About a month ago I was watching Rachael Ray's talk show and saw these two guys talking about meatballs.  Of course, I perked up and started paying closer attention.  The first thing I noticed was that they were not Italian...but they are experts in meatballs and have a restaurant called The Meatballs shop.  How cool is that?!?! I watched them make Buffalo Chicken Mini Meatballs and I thought that it would such a great appetizer for New Year's Eve or Superbowl or anytime we are getting people together.  A few weeks went by and I forgot all about these guys until I was doing some Christmas Shopping and came across their cookbook.  I did a quick flip through and saw so many nontraditional meatball recipes that caught my eye.  The Spaniard - pork chorizo and manchego, Mediterranean Lamb balls - which have raisins, walnuts and mint and Gobble Gobble balls that are made with turkey, garlic croutons and dried cranberries are just a few that interested me.  Of course, I bought the book and so I tried the Buffalo Chicken Balls first.  They were a big hit and I loved them.  I brought them to a party already prepared but not cooked and didn't bring the cookbook with me.  I realize now that I should have had the oven at 450 instead of 400 which is why they didn't get as dark as the ones in the cookbook photo but that's okay.  They still tasted great!

Speaking of photos what do you think of my photo of the meatballs?  Hopefully it's better than what you're used to seeing here because I got a brand new camera for Christmas! I still need to learn how to use it properly but I can already see a difference.   

Buffalo Chicken Mini Meatballs

From The Meatball Shop Cookbook

by Daniel Holzman and Michael Chernow

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter

1/3 cup Franks’s Redhot sauce

1 pound ground chicken, preferably thigh meat

1 large egg

½ celery stalk, minced

¾ cup bread crumbs

1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 450° F.  Drizzle the vegetable oil into a 9x13 inch baking dish and use your hand to evenly coat the entire surface.  Set aside.

Combine the butter and hot sauce in a small saucepan, and cook over low heat, whisking until the butter is melted and fully incorporated.  Remove from the heat and allow the mixture to cool for 10 minutes.

Combine the hot sauce mixture, ground chicken, egg, celery, bread crumbs, and salt in a large mixing bowl and mix by hand until thoroughly incorporated.

Roll the mixture into round, ¾ inch balls, making sure the pack the meat firmly.  Place the balls in the prepared baking dish, being careful to line them up snugly and in even rows vertically and horizontally to form a grid.  The meatballs should be touching one another.  

Roast for 15-20 minutes, or until the meatballs are firm and cooked through.  A meat thermometer inserted into the center of a meatball should read 165°F.  

Allow the meatballs to cool for 5 minutes in the baking dish before serving. 

Click here for a printable version of this recipe.

Buffalo Chicken Mini Meatballs

Happy New Year Friends! I hope everyone had a safe evening last night!  Thank you for spending 2011 reading my blog and trying new recipes with me.  I appreciate all the wonderful emails I get and am so happy when you share with me that you've tried a recipe and what you thought. Thank you!  Here's to another year together!

About a month ago I was watching Rachael Ray's talk show and saw these two guys talking about meatballs.  Of course, I perked up and started paying closer attention.  The first thing I noticed was that they were not Italian...but they are experts in meatballs and have a restaurant called The Meatballs shop.  How cool is that?!?! I watched them make Buffalo Chicken Mini Meatballs and I thought that it would such a great appetizer for New Year's Eve or Superbowl or anytime we are getting people together.  A few weeks went by and I forgot all about these guys until I was doing some Christmas Shopping and came across their cookbook.  I did a quick flip through and saw so many nontraditional meatball recipes that caught my eye.  The Spaniard - pork chorizo and manchego, Mediterranean Lamb balls - which have raisins, walnuts and mint and Gobble Gobble balls that are made with turkey, garlic croutons and dried cranberries are just a few that interested me.  Of course, I bought the book and so I tried the Buffalo Chicken Balls first.  They were a big hit and I loved them.  I brought them to a party already prepared but not cooked and didn't bring the cookbook with me.  I realize now that I should have had the oven at 450 instead of 400 which is why they didn't get as dark as the ones in the cookbook photo but that's okay.  They still tasted great!

Speaking of photos what do you think of my photo of the meatballs?  Hopefully it's better than what you're used to seeing here because I got a brand new camera for Christmas! I still need to learn how to use it properly but I can already see a difference.   

Buffalo Chicken Mini Meatballs

From The Meatball Shop Cookbook

by Daniel Holzman and Michael Chernow

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter

1/3 cup Franks’s Redhot sauce

1 pound ground chicken, preferably thigh meat

1 large egg

½ celery stalk, minced

¾ cup bread crumbs

1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 450° F.  Drizzle the vegetable oil into a 9x13 inch baking dish and use your hand to evenly coat the entire surface.  Set aside.

Combine the butter and hot sauce in a small saucepan, and cook over low heat, whisking until the butter is melted and fully incorporated.  Remove from the heat and allow the mixture to cool for 10 minutes.

Combine the hot sauce mixture, ground chicken, egg, celery, bread crumbs, and salt in a large mixing bowl and mix by hand until thoroughly incorporated.

Roll the mixture into round, ¾ inch balls, making sure the pack the meat firmly.  Place the balls in the prepared baking dish, being careful to line them up snugly and in even rows vertically and horizontally to form a grid.  The meatballs should be touching one another.  

Roast for 15-20 minutes, or until the meatballs are firm and cooked through.  A meat thermometer inserted into the center of a meatball should read 165°F.  

Allow the meatballs to cool for 5 minutes in the baking dish before serving. 

Click here for a printable version of this recipe.

Appetizer Party Platter

I'm always looking for easy appetizers to bring to a party or to make ahead when I'm hosting a party in my own home. It's easy to fall into a rut and make the same boring appetizers over and over, I'm guilty of it myself. I created this appetizer plate with some of the usual items but tried to add something different to make them feel new again.  The stuffed mushrooms and peppers had the usual bread crumb filling but I added some crispy prosciutto to the mixture. On the mushrooms I added a little piece of Italian Fontina cheese to the top of each one. The potatoes (trader joe's teeny tiny potatoes) were sauteed with shallots sundried tomatoes and then tossed with a premade muffaletta salad.  Recipes to come soon!

Appetizer Party Platter

I'm always looking for easy appetizers to bring to a party or to make ahead when I'm hosting a party in my own home. It's easy to fall into a rut and make the same boring appetizers over and over, I'm guilty of it myself. I created this appetizer plate with some of the usual items but tried to add something different to make them feel new again.  The stuffed mushrooms and peppers had the usual bread crumb filling but I added some crispy prosciutto to the mixture. On the mushrooms I added a little piece of Italian Fontina cheese to the top of each one. The potatoes (trader joe's teeny tiny potatoes) were sauteed with shallots sundried tomatoes and then tossed with a premade muffaletta salad.  Recipes to come soon!

Aunt Maryann's Chicken and Rice

Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and enjoyed your time with your families!  I had a great Christmas and unfortunately have ended it with a cold.  I wanted some comfort food and this one has always been like a warm hug on a cold day. Aunt Maryann has been making her chicken and rice for as long as I can remember.  It's famous in our family! It's not the Spanish chicken and rice that probably comes to mind.  This is another one of those red sauce dishes that my family loves.  It's also one of those dishes that is great the next day (just don't heat it in the microwave, it makes chicken taste funny) and I even love it room temperature.  Add peas to it if you'd like to add some color or maybe some chopped parsley for a little pop.  Aunt Maryann doesn't do that but she said it would  be acceptable.   You can use the entire chicken for this recipe but I've been removing the back and the wings and freezing it for stock.  There isn't too much meat there and it will serve me better when I make soup. The only additions I made were adding about 1 tsp Italian seasoning and 2 frozen basil cubes because I like to see the specks of color throughout the dish and I use a whole onion.    Here is Aunt Maryann's recipe as she gave it to me. 

Aunt Maryann’s Chicken and Rice

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 – 16 oz. can Delmonte tomato sauce

1 can water

1 whole chicken cut up and cleaned

½ medium size onion

2 cloves of garlic chopped

2 cups white rice

4 cups warm water

2 tbsp. parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

In a Dutch Oven heat oil and brown chicken.  Remove chicken and set aside.

Lower flame and Saute onion and garlic until translucent.

Add s, and one can of water (from the delmonte sauce) and stir.  Add cheese salt and pepper, stir well. When sauce reaches a simmer return chicken to the pan and make sure it is covered with the sauce, cover with lid.  Let the sauce cook for ½ hour. 

Add 4 cups of water to sauce and let it come to a boil.  Add ½ tsp of salt or to taste.  Add white rice, stir frequently.  Let cook until all liquid is absorbed and rice is cooked approximately 30 minutes.

Click here for a printable version of this recipe.

Aunt Maryann's Chicken and Rice

Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and enjoyed your time with your families!  I had a great Christmas and unfortunately have ended it with a cold.  I wanted some comfort food and this one has always been like a warm hug on a cold day. Aunt Maryann has been making her chicken and rice for as long as I can remember.  It's famous in our family! It's not the Spanish chicken and rice that probably comes to mind.  This is another one of those red sauce dishes that my family loves.  It's also one of those dishes that is great the next day (just don't heat it in the microwave, it makes chicken taste funny) and I even love it room temperature.  Add peas to it if you'd like to add some color or maybe some chopped parsley for a little pop.  Aunt Maryann doesn't do that but she said it would  be acceptable.   You can use the entire chicken for this recipe but I've been removing the back and the wings and freezing it for stock.  There isn't too much meat there and it will serve me better when I make soup. The only additions I made were adding about 1 tsp Italian seasoning and 2 frozen basil cubes because I like to see the specks of color throughout the dish and I use a whole onion.    Here is Aunt Maryann's recipe as she gave it to me. 

Aunt Maryann’s Chicken and Rice

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 – 16 oz. can Delmonte tomato sauce

1 can water

1 whole chicken cut up and cleaned

½ medium size onion

2 cloves of garlic chopped

2 cups white rice

4 cups warm water

2 tbsp. parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

In a Dutch Oven heat oil and brown chicken.  Remove chicken and set aside.

Lower flame and Saute onion and garlic until translucent.

Add s, and one can of water (from the delmonte sauce) and stir.  Add cheese salt and pepper, stir well. When sauce reaches a simmer return chicken to the pan and make sure it is covered with the sauce, cover with lid.  Let the sauce cook for ½ hour. 

Add 4 cups of water to sauce and let it come to a boil.  Add ½ tsp of salt or to taste.  Add white rice, stir frequently.  Let cook until all liquid is absorbed and rice is cooked approximately 30 minutes.

Click here for a printable version of this recipe.

Shot Glass Apple Parfaits

Here's another item from my cookie exchange brunch.  This brilliant and adorable idea came from Jersey Girl Cooks.  It's a great addition to a brunch menu because you can make them ahead of time and it's a healthy option.  I don't know about you  but if I was at a party and full size yogurt parfaits were served next to lots of savory exciting food I would totally pass it up.  However, this is something that veryone can partake in because it's just a few bites!  I topped mine with pecan praline granola from trader joes and  left some plain with just a sprinkle of cinnamon on top for a guest who can't eat nuts.  I made mine with only 2 chopped apples because these dishes are so tiny.  My mom bought this little set for me for Christmas last year and I just got around to using them.  They came with these tiny little plates, forks and spoons!  They are resusable OR disposable.

Shot Glass Apple Parfaits

From Jersey Girl Cooks

The amount of ingredients you need will vary with the size of your shot glasses.

Ingredients:

4 medium apples, cored and chopped into 1 inch cubes
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla paste – if you do not have vanilla paste you can regular vanilla extract
1 tablespoon lemon juice
24oz. vanilla flavored Greek yogurt
granola

Directions:

Take chopped apples and put in large bowl. Add brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice and vanilla paste, stir and let sit for 30 minutes. The apples will be sitting in a bowl of sugary liquid. Take apples and juice and put into saucepan on the stove. Simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes or until the apples are soft but not falling apart. The sugar mixture should thicken up a bit. Remove from heat and let cool. Layer the yogurt and cooled apple mixture into 12 shot glasses (less or more depending on the size of your glasses). Continue until you reach the top of each glass, then sprinkle with the granola.

Shot Glass Apple Parfaits

Here's another item from my cookie exchange brunch.  This brilliant and adorable idea came from Jersey Girl Cooks.  It's a great addition to a brunch menu because you can make them ahead of time and it's a healthy option.  I don't know about you  but if I was at a party and full size yogurt parfaits were served next to lots of savory exciting food I would totally pass it up.  However, this is something that veryone can partake in because it's just a few bites!  I topped mine with pecan praline granola from trader joes and  left some plain with just a sprinkle of cinnamon on top for a guest who can't eat nuts.  I made mine with only 2 chopped apples because these dishes are so tiny.  My mom bought this little set for me for Christmas last year and I just got around to using them.  They came with these tiny little plates, forks and spoons!  They are resusable OR disposable.

Shot Glass Apple Parfaits

From Jersey Girl Cooks

The amount of ingredients you need will vary with the size of your shot glasses.

Ingredients:

4 medium apples, cored and chopped into 1 inch cubes
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla paste – if you do not have vanilla paste you can regular vanilla extract
1 tablespoon lemon juice
24oz. vanilla flavored Greek yogurt
granola

Directions:

Take chopped apples and put in large bowl. Add brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice and vanilla paste, stir and let sit for 30 minutes. The apples will be sitting in a bowl of sugary liquid. Take apples and juice and put into saucepan on the stove. Simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes or until the apples are soft but not falling apart. The sugar mixture should thicken up a bit. Remove from heat and let cool. Layer the yogurt and cooled apple mixture into 12 shot glasses (less or more depending on the size of your glasses). Continue until you reach the top of each glass, then sprinkle with the granola.

Pignoli Cookies

This is a recipe that my mom has been using for years. It was given to her by her sweet Italian coworker Josephine (along with her lemon drop cookies that we love too!) She has since passed and has no idea how her recipe has lived on in our household. Thank you Josephine for your fabulous recipe!

You may want to double this recipe because they disappear quickly!




Pignoli Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup pine nuts

1 can 8 oz. almond paste (cut in sm. pieces)

2/3 cups sugar

2 egg whites

1 tsp grated lemon zest

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Mix paste, sugar, egg whites, and lemon zest with a electric hand mixer .  Drop a teaspoonful onto a non-stick cookie sheet.   Gently press pine nuts onto top of cookie.  Bake 20-25 minutes.

                             

Yield – 24 cookies

Click here for a printable version of this recipe.

Pignoli Cookies

This is a recipe that my mom has been using for years. It was given to her by her sweet Italian coworker Josephine (along with her lemon drop cookies that we love too!) She has since passed and has no idea how her recipe has lived on in our household. Thank you Josephine for your fabulous recipe!

You may want to double this recipe because they disappear quickly!




Pignoli Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup pine nuts

1 can 8 oz. almond paste (cut in sm. pieces)

2/3 cups sugar

2 egg whites

1 tsp grated lemon zest

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Mix paste, sugar, egg whites, and lemon zest with a electric hand mixer .  Drop a teaspoonful onto a non-stick cookie sheet.   Gently press pine nuts onto top of cookie.  Bake 20-25 minutes.

                             

Yield – 24 cookies

Click here for a printable version of this recipe.