Blazin' Buffalo Balls

Don’t worry, I’m not talking about Rocky Mountain Oysters, or anything quite that frightening.  Think Buffalo chicken wings in the form of little meatballs on toothpicks, dipped in spicy ranch dressing…  I know!  And yes, they really are as fabulous as they sound.  

Here’s what you’ll need:

For the ranch:

• ⅓ cup mayo
• ⅓ cup greek yogurt (or light sour cream)
• ⅓ cup buffalo wing sauce
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• ½ teaspoon dried parsley
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon dried chives
• 1 teaspoon sugar

For the meatballs:

• 1.5 lbs. ground chicken breast
• 1 egg
• ¼ teaspoon onion powder
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• 1 stalk celery (about ⅓ cup diced)
• ⅓ cup minced onion
• 2 Tablespoons buffalo wing sauce

You will also need:

• 17 snack crackers (about ⅔ cup crumbs)
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• ¼ cup buffalo wing sauce
• Canola oil spray

Start with the dressing.  It needs plenty of time to sit and let all the flavors mingle.  You can even make it a day ahead if you want.  Put the mayo, yogurt, and wing sauce into a bowl. (I’m using store bought wing sauce this time because, like the rest of the country, I’m sick.  If you’re feeling up to it, homemade is always best.  You can use the recipe I used for my chicken wings.) 

Stir them together.  I like to use a small whisk to make sure it’s nice and smooth. 

Add all the herbs and spices.  I’m using dried herbs this time because… see excuse above.  If you have access to fresh parsley and chives, use them. 

Whisk again until everything is combined.  Then cover it and put it in the fridge for at least a couple hours. 

Now for the meatball mixture.  Dice the celery very finely. 

The easiest way to get small pieces of onion is to cut the peeled onion in half leaving the root end intact.  Then just cut thin slices around the onion and remove thin slices from the end. 

Next up are the crackers.  Drop them into your blender.

And a few seconds later you have crumbs. 

Now drop everything into the bowl of your mixer. 

Of course you can do this without a stand mixer.  It’ll just take a bit more work to go to this.

Ok, so it doesn’t look very pretty, but that’s ok.  It will.  For now, scoop out little roundish blobs.  Shoot for about 1 tablespoon.  Place them onto a parchment lined sheet pan.  Place them in the freezer for a couple hours or overnight.  You want them to be completely solid. 

When your balls are solid and you’re ready cook them, preheat your oven to 400°.  Then mix together ¼ cup wing sauce and ¼ cup vegetable oil.  They’ll want to be completely separate at first.

But just whisk for a bit and they’ll come together. 

Line a sheet pan with foil and lube it liberally with canola oil spray. 

Take your balls out of the freezer and drop them into ziploc bag.

Pour over the oil and wing sauce mixture. 

Inflate the bag and seal it up tight.  Then shake your balls around until everything is evenly coated.  When it is, go ahead and add the flour. 

Repeat with the inflating and shaking.  Move your coated balls to the prepared pan, shaking off any excess flour. 

Now, grab the can of lube again and spray it all over your balls.  Then pop them into the oven for 20 minutes. 

Flip them all over and put them back into the oven for an additional 15 minutes.  Then just pile your balls on a plate and serve them with toothpicks and lots of sauce for dipping.

Yet another perfect game day snack.  Or anytime really.  I mean, how often do you get to serve something to your guests and ask, “Would you like to taste one of my balls?”

What do you like to eat with toothpicks?

French but not Fried

And you thought I was nuts making a whole crock pot full of caramelized onions.

 

One of the best ways to use up those deliciously dark alliums is in soup. Particularly one that also uses up stale bread.

French onion soup seems like a treat a lot of the time. It's usually in the realm of restaurant fare only, which is strange given how easy it is to make. Particularly if you make the components in the crock pot and then freeze them until you want soup.

A few weeks ago I dumped a frozen pound of stewing beef into the crock pot, covered it with water, and let it cook while I was at work all day. I had no idea what I was going to do with it when I got home, but I figured the meat would be ready, at least.

Turns out, I also ended up with a crock pot full of beef broth. Well, into the freezer with that!

Really, if you don't know what to do with something, toss it in the freezer. You'll find it one day and be totally inspired. And if you tend to forget what's in there, you can always keep a list on the door.

So, I had a few things in the freezer, and I wanted something fancy looking for dinner.

French Onion Soup

• 3-4 cups beef broth
• 1/2 c white wine (if you want)
• a sprig of thyme
• a bay leaf
• black pepper
• about a cup of caramelized onions
• a few slices of stale-ish bread
• ementhaller or swiss cheese

You can use some kind of already prepared broth for this if you'd like, but please simmer it with the herbs for at least a few minutes. I mean, you have to bring it to a boil anyway, you might as well toss more flavour in at the same time.

Get your oven broiler going and slice the bread if it isn't already.

But before you do, move one of the racks up. I prefer to use the second highest spot.

Combine the broth, booze, and herbs in a pot, and bring to a boil.

Exactly half a cup. I don't need to measure.

Let them simmer for asshort or as long as you'd like. I suggest about a half hour. The onions will need that long to thaw anyway.

Once the onions are thawed and the broth is hot and simmered, divide them up between your bowls.

Dinner for two in Corningware. I do have some oven proof bowls that were leftovers from the restaurant my parents owned, but they were smaller than the ramekins, and I wanted lots of soup. Any oven proof dish will work. And the look of the bowl won't change the flavour of the soup. I dare you to make it in a loaf pan.

Trim the bread slices to fit the bowl as best you can and lay them out on a baking sheet. Toast each side under the broiler for a few minutes. Just golden. You can do this in a toaster, but I wasn't sure about the size and shape and didn't want to have to go digging in there with a fork.

Have your cheese ready to go. Grate it if it's a block, or tear it if it's slices. We had slices because we'd just made another epic sammich.

Set the toasty bread on top of the soup, cover it with cheese, and put it under the hot broiler right away.

In no time at all the cheese will be a gooey golden lovely coat on top of the bread that's already half soaked with delicious beefy oniony broth.

And dinner is served. And since that bottle of wine is already opened... may as well pour yourself a glass.

Have you ever served soup in a loaf pan? What kind of serving dish have you had to improvise?