Time out here cannot decide whether to move slower or faster. Days drag on with mid-western monotony. Weeks at a time seem to disappear without any recollection. In order to “go out,” we have to drive at least an hour. So pretty much all of our evenings are spent sitting in the kitchen. Consequently, most nights kind of blur together for me. It’s been February 10th for a week in my head. Because of the Missouri time warp, whenever I get an idea to do something incredibly stupid, I jump.
Doing incredibly stupid things has become something of a passion for me, as reflected in my cooking and in my personal life. That’s why, on Friday night, I came home bubbling with excitement to announce my new stupid plan. I really can’t explain the concept behind this dish. All I know is that all day at work I was progressively laughing harder and harder at the prospect of making a dish comprised entirely of ball shaped foods. It was so hard to name this dish. We floated ideas such as “Balls, balls, balls,” “My Balls,” “The Ballpit,” and “BoBallowitz.”
Ultimately, though, I think Apple Cilantro Chicken Meatballs is probably a more responsible choice. It’s a shame that no one will ever get to enjoy this dish as much as I did. I served the chicken meatballs with baby golden tomatoes, cast iron seared baby potatoes, and sauteed pearl onions. I have a trick for making potatoes at home that I tell anyone and everyone about. I cover the potatoes with a paper towel and then microwave them until they are about 75% cooked through. After they are microwaved I cook them in a pan. This yields the crispiest potatoes. It also cuts cooking time down significantly. For the pearl onions, I peeled them then did a quick stove-top “braise” in some home-made beef broth I had on hand and hoisin. I finished the plate with a spicy hoisin drizzle. Anyways, enjoy:
Chicken Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 1 egg beaten
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- 1 lime zest/juice
- ⅛ tsp cayenne
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ cup minced onion
- ½ cup apple brunoise
- 4 ½ tbsp bread crumb
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Mix all ingredients thoroughly in a mixing bowl. Allow to rest for about ten minutes.
- Spray baking tray with canola oil pan spray.
- Form mixture into 1 oz meatballs and line on baking tray. Bake for about 12-15 minutes, until cooked through.
Spicy Hoisin Drizzle
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp sriracha
- 2 tsp fish sauce
- 2 tsp lime juice
- 2 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- ¼ cup beef broth
- 2 tsp jabanero hot sauce
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients thoroughly.