Mini Buffalo Chicken Balls...

I saw this recipe in Bon Appetit and on the Martha Stewart show...Meatballs are big news these days it seems. These come from the Meatball Shop in New York City and they are pretty darned good. They have all the flavor of Buffalo Wings...but none of the mess. Now I am not saying that I do not love a good messy  mess of wings every now and again, but these are nice for a change. An added bonus is the Blue Cheese dressing recipe that comes along with it...pretty darned good as well. I had a nice piece of Maytag blue in the fridge and it was perfect for the dressing. The only change I made to the recipe was using 1 % milk in the dressing because that was what I had on hand. If you can not find ground chicken in your market you can ask your butcher to grind some boneless skinless chicken thighs for you. Or you can grind them yourself in the processor or a meat grinder. I used organic boneless skinless chicken thighs.

We enjoyed these little chicken meatballs very much. I have been having a good time reading through the cookbook these came from...The Meatball Shop Cookbook. I will be trying another recipe very soon.This is the first digital cookbook I have owned. It is residing on my IPad. I am not too sure that I like cookbooks this way, I think I prefer to have the real book in my hands, but maybe I just need to get used to it. I can not wait for my wing loving boys to come home and give these a try and see what they think.

Mini Buffalo Chicken Balls
Epicurious/ December 2011
adapted from :Meatball Shop Cookbook 
Daniel Holzman and Michael Chernow

 

ingredients
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/3 cup Frank’s Red Hot Sauce or any other favorite hot sauce
1 pound ground chicken, preferably thigh meat
1 large egg
1/2 celery stalk, minced
3/4 cup bread crumbs
1 teaspoon salt
preparation
Preheat the oven to 450°F. Drizzle the vegetable oil into a 9×13-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.( or Microwave together and mix) 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, 3/4 -inch balls, making sure to 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 to 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.
Serve with blue cheese dressing*
 
Blue Cheese Dressing
Dressing keeps 5 days in the fridge and can also be used for salad....
ingredients

3/4 cup sour cream
1/3 cup crumbled Blue Cheese
1/3 cup whole milk
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon salt or more to taste
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
preparation
Place the sour cream, blue cheese, milk, mayonnaise, salt, and vinegar in a medium bowl and whisk thoroughly until completely combined. Taste and adjust the seasoning, if desired.