Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Another favorite Christmas gift from the hubby was The Meatball Shop Cookbook - perhaps one could see this as a gift to me, for him! But I'm very excited to start trying all the fun recipes straight from The Meatball Shop in NYC. Hopefully my reward for making him all these yummy dinners will be a trip into the city to try the real thing!

Surprisingly this cookbook also includes recipes for wonderful sauces, side dishes, vegetables and desserts. They are really turning meatballs into a meal! I think my first foray into meatballing is going to be the Buffalo Chicken Meatballs with Blue Cheese Dressing. I'm thinking about finding a way to make these into a sandwich smothered in dressing. Yum! Below is the recipe to make these as a delicious appetizer. Perfect for football this weekend!

Buffalo Chicken Meatballs courtesy of Martha Stewart


Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup Frank's RedHot hot sauce, plus more for serving
• 2 pounds ground chicken, preferably thigh meat
• 2 large eggs
• 2 ribs celery, minced (about 1 cup)
• 1 2/3 cups dried breadcrumbs
• 2 teaspoons coarse salt
• Blue Cheese Dressing
• Celery sticks, for serving

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Evenly coat a large rimmed baking sheet with olive oil and set aside.
2. Place butter and hot sauce in a small saucepan over low heat. Cook, whisking, until butter is melted and hot sauce is well incorporated. Remove from heat and transfer to a large bowl; let cool to room temperature, about 10 minutes.
3. Add chicken, eggs, celery, breadcrumbs, and salt to bowl with butter mixture; using your hands, mix until well combined. Roll chicken mixture into firm, 1-inch round balls and place on prepared baking sheet; arrange the meatballs in rows so that they are touching on all sides. Transfer to oven and bake until cooked through, about 15 minutes.
4. Take out of oven and let stand 5 minutes before removing from baking sheet. Place on a serving platter and drizzle with hot sauce; serve with dressing and celery sticks.

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