A Kitchen Keeper Original - Small Plate Lamb Meatballs

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...It's been a deliberately busy weekend. We spent Saturday wandering with  good friends through  Brownsville, and today a slew of visitors mercifully kept us away from the television set. Fortunately, I had soup, chili and meatballs in the freezer, so, no one went hungry, and I was able to sit and actually enjoy the company of my unplanned guests. As I was warming the meatballs, I realized I had never shared this recipe with you. I normally serve the meatballs as an appetizer, but tonight I stuffed them into slider buns to stretch them further. The recipe I use is my attempt to create meatballs like those we had at a favorite tapas bar in Toledo, Spain. These are close, very close. I suspect they are a bit different from others you've tried because they are made with lamb, rather than pork or beef. If you enjoy lamb, you'll love these. They are quite easy to make. I like to prepare them a day before cooking so the flavors of the lamb and mint can meld. That 24 hour timeout is a nice but not necessary step. The cooked meatballs freeze beautifully and while I prefer to defrost them in the fridge, the microwave makes a great substitute if you are pinched for time. Do try these. They are great for unexpected guest or a quick weeknight family meal. And you know what? Emptying the freezer today has freed up space for Thanksgiving make-aheads. Life is good! Here is how the meatballs are made.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This was a doorbell kind of night here. We had invited some folks to watch the last night of the convention with us and suspected a few others would be joining us as the evening progressed. I wanted to watch all the evening's speakers, so I suspect I was a less than enthusiastic hostess. One of the benefits of living on the west coast is the early hour at which major events are televised. That, however, means that snacks or a meal must be provided as the evening progresses. I decided early this morning that I'd make a double batch of meatballs and offer pasta or Italian rolls for those who would be here at the dinner hour. Save for cooking pasta and reheating the meatballs, that freed me to watch along with the others. Early birds had pasta and latecomers got to fish their meatballs from the slow cooker and plunk them into some excellent Italian rolls. Everyone got fed. My meatball recipe is one that I learned to make as a child. Back in the day, the meatballs were made with 80% ground beef and day old bread that was grated to make smallish crumbs. I actually prefer to use day old crumbs rather than the prepackaged crumbs that are available in the grocery store. I find the dry crumbs make the meatballs too mealy for my taste, but lots of people prefer their convenience. I'll leave the choice up to you. As to the marinara sauce, you can make your own, or use a jarred sauce if that is your preference. This is a nice meatball recipe. I don't know if it is better than others that are available, but it has worked for me for years. I do hope you'll give this recipe a try. Here is how these meatballs are made.

An Encore Performance - Asian-Style Meatblalls with Peanut Sauce

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...The Silver Fox and I are attending a covered dish supper this weekend, so I spent some time today filtering ideas and thumbing through recipes to come up with something that might be unexpected at an affair of this type. I finally settled on a recipe I made years ago and had quite honestly forgotten about. It is for meatballs that have an Asian flair and it is also one that my older grandsons liked to help assemble when they were younger. The meatballs are easy to prepare, relatively inexpensive to make and the recipe can be doubled or tripled if you have a gang to feed. The recipe is self explanatory and you'll have no trouble following it. I know those of you who give the recipe a try will enjoy the meatballs. Here is how they are made.

Meatballs for a Crowd

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...The Silver Fox had to bring a dish to an all-male get together this afternoon. I thought some all-male meatballs woulds be perfect for them and for me. As it happens, these meatballs, which are baked rather than fried, are easy to make and when napped with a flavorful gravy they are absolutely delicious. I sent them with sandwich rolls, but they are also great when paired with buttered noodles or creamy mashed potatoes. This is a straight foreward recipe that is quick to put together. The thing that sets this dish apart from others like it, is the wonderful onion gravy in which the meatballs are warmed. The recipe can be doubled to double or triple if you need to serve more than 12 people. I do hope you'll try this recipe. Here's how the meatballs and their gravy are made.

Cloudy with a Chance of Slow-Cooked Porcini Meatballs

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Those of you who can't imagine life without a slow cooker will love this recipe. Those of you who love meatballs, no matter how they're cooked, will join the slow cooker crowd up there on cloud nine. Despite the length of the ingredient list, which, by the way, is mostly spices, the meatballs are simple to make, and the addition of sweet vermouth and fennel give them a distinctive flavor that I think you'll really enjoy. While the recipe was designed for the slow cooker, the sauce and meatballs can be simmered in a conventional manner if you prefer to control cooking on your stove top. However you chose to cook them, I want to share a couple of suggestions with those of you who plan to give the meatballs a try. If you want to serve them with pasta, double the sauce ingredients listed in the recipe below. What follows next is, I know anathema, but that's never stopped me before, so, based on personal experience and preference, I'd like you to give some serious thought to cooking the meatballs for less time than the recipe suggests. When I make these meatballs in a convention manner, I simmer them, stove top, for an hour. When I use the slow cooker I cook them on LOW for six hours. I like softer meatballs, and, my experience has been, the longer these cook the firmer they become. That may, however, be fine with you. Strangely enough, I've also found their taste does not improve with age. The flavor of the sweet vermouth seems to dissipate when the meatballs are re-heated and, on day two I think they they are remarkably ordinary. All that being said, if you share my love for meatballs and are looking for new ways to prepare them, do give this recipe a try. You will not be disappointed. Here is how they are made.

Tapas - Albondigas

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I hope you appreciate whimsy. The origin of a Spanish tapa, a small snack that is served with drinks, is not really known. Legend has it that illness forced 13th century Castilian king Alfonso X - also known as Alfonso the Wise - to eat small snacks with the wine that had doctors had ordered to maintain his strength. After he recovered from the illness causing his weakness, he decreed that taverns serve food with beer or wine to keep the spirits from going too quickly to patrons heads. A more practical explanation is the use of a saucer or lid to keep dust or insects out of drink glasses. "Tapa" literally means lid and the first lid was probably a slab of bread or cheese placed over the glass in which wine or beer was served. A tapa can be anything from a potato fritter to a small portion of skewered meat, the only requirement is that it must be a small dish of something edible that is served with a drink. Tapa (one snack) or tapas (two or more snacks) should not be thought of as an appetizer or meal starter. If you start eating tapas, you do not stop until you are full. While many tapas can be served as a main course, the tapas portion is about 1/4 the size of an entree and it usually requires several of them to assuage hunger. Tapas are served in bars, not restaurants, and tapas bars are extremely popular in Spain. As family size has decreased, so, too, has the size of most Spanish homes, and space limitations have made it easier to socialize and entertain outside the home. Despite problems with the economy, the tapas culture in Spain is still vibrant and thriving. Albondigas appear on many tapas menus. You'll find these meatballs are a bit softer than their Italian cousins, but they are really good and the cinnamon scented sauce in which they braise is downright delicious. They have the added advantage of being relatively inexpensive and easy to make and I know you and your crew will love them. Here is how they are made.