[1] Spaghetti-stuffed meatballs. Here’s the recipe from Thrillist (photo © Drew Swantak).

[2] Lamb and feta meatballs; here’s the recipe from Smitten Kitchen (photo © Smitten Kitchen).

[3] Vietnamese who with meatballs. Here’s the recipe from Cooking And Beer (photo © Cooking And Beer).

[4] Shanghai Lion’s Head; here’s the recipe from Serious Eats.

[5] Floating meatballs made from turkey, in carrot soup with spinach. Here’s the recipe from Parade (photo © Parade).

MEATBALL TRENDS

What’s trending as of March 9th, National Meatball Day?

Flavor & The Menu, a magazine and website for chefs, took a look at what’s happening with meatballs.

Meatballs have been popping up on menus nationwide—beyond Italian restaurants, sub shops and the emerging meatball restaurants.

The ideas below may be new to some of us, but most of the recipes go back for centuries, if not longer.

Meatballs are being made with almost any ground or chopped meat, seafood, poultry, and vegetarian/vegan versions made with beans, grains and veggies.

Not only are meatballs a comfort food; they’re a canvas for endless versatility in formats, sauces, seasonings, sizes and garnishes.

Ten flavor trends were spotted by by Joan Lang, who wrote the article.
 
 
HOW ABOUT A MEATBALL PARTY?

The tempting variety of meatballs inspired us to plan a DIY Meatball Party, with a buffet of fixings from breads (pita, Italian rolls) to bases (pasta, cellophane noodles, rice or other grains), to condiments (grated or crumbled cheese) and raw vegetables (cucumber, lettuce, onion, tomato) and fresh herbs.

For a variety of choices, you can make meatball recipes as time permits, and freeze them until you have what you want for the party. If your guests typically ask what they can bring (and are good cooks), give them recipes to prepare.
 
 
TRENDS ONE THROUGH TREND FIVE

Today we present the first five meatball trends. The others arrive tomorrow.

Whatever types of meatballs appeal to you, you’ll find score of recipes online.
 
 
1. STUFFED MEATBALLS

Stuffed meatballs require only the simple addition of a tasty filling inside a handful of ground meat. Don’t tell anyone, and let them be surprised when they dig in.

Different types of cheeses are the traditional stuffings—everything from mild mozzarella and ricotta to tangy blue and feta.

But we’ve also found meatballs stuffed with spaghetti (photo #1) and with mac and cheese. More examples:

 
 
2. LAMB MEATBALLS

Inspired by Greek recipes, lamb meatballs—keftedes—will make lamb lovers happy. We purchase ground lamb and mix it with crumbled feta and herbs (photo #2). Or, you could stuff them with feta, for the surprise.

Mixed with mix with bulgur wheat, it becomes Lebanese-style kibbeh. Add a yogurt sauce.

Use plenty of Mediterranean spices—basil, cilantro, dill, rosemary, oregano, sage, thyme. Check out the spices: cinnamon, coriander, cumin, nutmeg and za’atar. You can:

 
 
3. ASIAN MEATBALLS

The meatballs of Asia are typically made from pork or seafood, and to a smaller extent chicken. Consider:

 
We like this Asian Meatballs recipe from Life Makes Simple Bakes. Its served with a hoisin-based sauce, and traditional Asian flavors (photo #3).
 
Chefs are making:

These are meatballs in soups and stews that incorporate meatballs as the protein, either braised or cooked right in the liquid. Consider:

 
 
5. VEGETARIAN & VEGAN MEATBALLS

Talk about Meatless Mondays! Of course, they should be called meat-alternative or meat-like balls; but convention calls them meatballs.

There are many recipes on line, but we like the ones that use vegetables and grains rather than meat alternatives. Try:

 
 
Stay tuned for Meatballs Part 2.
 
 
MORE MEATBALL RECIPES

Served in a six-inch cast iron skillet, the meatball rests in a sausage ragu, topped with whipped ricotta and garnished with a basil chiffonade (ribbons).

Want to make your own giant meatballs? Here are two recipes:

 
Serve it with:

 
For dessert?

Better fugetaboutit!

[2] Some people like lots of the sour cream gravy.Here’s the recipe (photo © The Recipe Critic).

[3] Frozen meatballs from Ikea are available in beef/pork, chicken or vegan (photos #3, #4, and #7 © Ikea).

[4] Frozen mashed potatoes, also from Ikea.

[5] The more sour cream, the merrier (photo © Wisconsin Dairy).

[6] Dill is the herb of choice with Swedish meatballs (photo © Good Eggs).

[7] Lingonberry preserves from Ikea are the perfect accent.

Cocktail parties in 1960s America had a set of de rigueur cocktail food that included cheese balls, deviled eggs, Lipton onion soup dip with potato chips, pigs in blankets, rumaki*, stuffed celery (often stuffed with olive cream cheese) and bite-size Swedish meatballs.

In Sweden, these small meatballs are made with a blend of pork and beef seasoned with allspice, ginger and nutmeg. They are served in a tangy sour cream sauce with a side of mashed potatoes and cream sauce.

In the U.S., many people serve Swedish meatballs over noodles. Well O.K., but that’s not authentic.

For the true Swedish meatball experience, a serving of lingonberry preserves is as essential as cranberry sauce is to turkey in the U.S.

What’s a lingonberry? It’s the Scandinavian version of America’s cranberry, also tart but half the size (see photo #7, below). They are different species of the same genus†.

Swedish meatballs are Sweden’s number-one dish, the unofficial national dish (although BBC Good Food gives that honor to kanelbulle, a cinnamon bun).

In the U.S. they have their own food holiday: March 9th.
 
FOR A QUICK DISH, HEAD TO IKEA

The Swedish-based retailer makes it easy, by selling the components for Swedish meatballs in their food markets. Ikea also sells a white gravy mix, but you can’t beat fresh sour cream—or homemade mashed potatoes, for that matter.

The gravy is easy to make, just sour cream, butter and flour. Here’s a classic from-scratch recipe from The Kitchn. For the potatoes, just boil and mash with butter and/or milk or cream, plus seasonings. Fresh dill is a nice touch.

At Ikea, you’ll find everything you need (except the fresh the sour cream sauce) to assemble the dish:

 
SWEDISH MEATBALLS FROM SCRATCH

Make your own with one of these recipes:

 
MEATBALLS AROUND EUROPE

While we live in a city with a small chain of meatball shops (five types of meatballs, six sauces, a total of 30 combinations), our American experience has largely been the Italian-American meatball in tomato sauce.

So we took a look at the traditional meatballs of other European countries. For the world list, including meatballs from the Americas and Asia, head here.

 
If you’re looking for ways to vary your meatballs, look no further!
________________

*Rumaki, created at Trader Vic’s, are skewers of broiled, bacon-wrapped chicken livers and water chestnuts.

†Here it is, food geeks: Lingonberry Order Ericales, Family Ericaceae, Genus Vaccinium, Subgenus Oxycoccus, Species Vitus-idaea. For the lingonberry, everything is the same except the species. The cranberry has four genuses (varieties): V. erythrocarpum, V. macrocarpum, V. microcarpum and V. oxycoccos.

Blueberry, bilberry/whortleberry and huckleberry are members of the same genus. Lingonberry is also known as cowberry.
 
 

[1] and [2] Cereal-topped donuts and milk from Show Me The Yummy. [3] and [4] Lactaid for everyone! (photo courtesy Lactaid).

According to a survey by Wakefield Research*, 74% of Americans frequently drink the leftover milk in the bowl after finishing their cereal; 79%* feel that dairy milk tastes best as leftover cereal milk

We’re one of them. We even pour extra milk into the bowl, just so we’ll have enough left over.

People love cereal milk so much, that pastry chef Christina Tosi of Momofuku Milk Bar in New York City whipped up cereal milk as a standalone drink.

Quirky? Yes. Tasty? Yes. Here’s a recipe to make you own.

As a lactose-intolerant American, we just can’t enjoy nondairy milks—almond, coconut and soy milk, for example, on our cereal.

Thank goodness for Lactaid. We live on their milk, chocolate milk, ice cream and cottage cheese. All are real milk products, neutralized with the addition of lactase (like Lactaid pills), which provides the enzyme our system no longer produces.

We can drink and eat all we want, no Lactaid pill required.

Lactaid sent us this special Milk + Cereal Donut recipe from Show Me The Yummy.

Those of you who have no lactose issues can use regular milk.

Prep time is 45 minutes, cook time is 10 minutes. We ate three of them today, and they are delish!

LACTOSE-FREE MILK + CEREAL DONUTS MADE WITH LACTAID

Ingredients

For The Donut Base

 
For The Vanilla Glaze

 
Topping

1. MAKE the donut base. Combine the milk and 1/2 cup cereal of choice in a small bowl. Let sit for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350°F and spray a donut pan or mini muffin tin with cooking spray.

2. WHISK together in a large bowl the cake mix, egg, oil, and milk-cereal mixture until well combined. Stir in the crushed cereal.

3. ADD the batter to the pan. For a mini-muffin pan, use a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop to fill the prepared mini muffin pan. Bake for 10-12 minutes. For a standard muffin pan, make a small cut in the corner of a gallon sized Ziplock bag and fill with the batter. Pipe the batter into the prepared donut pan. Fill only halfway up or they’ll spill over. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

4. REMOVE from the pan and let cool.

5. MAKE the vanilla glaze and/or chocolate glaze. Whisk together glaze ingredients in a medium sized bowl until smooth.

6. ASSEMBLE: Dunk the cooled donut into the glaze and roll into cereal of choice. Enjoy immediately!

________________

*The Lactaid Survey was conducted by Wakefield Research among 1,009 nationally representative U.S. adults ages 18+, between February 6th and 10th, 2017, using an email invitation and an online survey. Quotas have been set to ensure reliable and accurate representation of the U.S. adult population 18 and older.
 
  

While we love shortbread, we take the easier way out. Here are two recipes that will make you extremely popular with friends, family and co-workers on St. Patrick’s Day.

They give a St. Patrick’s Day dress-up to two of America’s favorite cookies. (According to a poll published in Huffington Post, chocolate chip is #1, Oreo is #4 on the Top 10 list.)

> March 6th is National Oreo Day.

> August 4th is National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day.

> The history of Oreos.

> The history of chocolate chip cookies.

> The different types of cookies: a photo glossary.

> Jump to recipe #2, Green-Dipped Oreos.
 
 
RECIPE #1: MINT GREEN CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

This recipe is from Karen of The Food Charlatan, who says, “It’s like eating Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream in the form of a warm, buttery, gooey cookie.”

Note that if you don’t like mint, you can make green chocolate chip cookies simply by substituting the peppermint extract for vanilla extract.

If you’re using another chocolate chip cookie recipe, make sure it is one with white sugar only. The classic Toll House Cookie recipe, for example, uses equal parts white and brown sugar, and brown sugar makes the cookie dough darker.

We prefer this type of St. Pat’s chocolate chip cookie to another popular recipe, a dark chocolate cookie with green baking chips.

Although tasty, the baking chips aren’t real chocolate, i.e., they aren’t white chocolate tinted green and flavored with mint.

Instead of cocoa butter, even the best quality chips (e.g. Guittard) use palm kernel and palm oils instead of the cocoa butter. (Call us super-picky, but that matters to us.)

Ingredients For About 28 Large Cookies

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 350°F. Line one or more baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

[2] Green food coloring can turn food into St.Pat’s fare, from morning yogurt to garnishes like sour cream and whipped cream (photos #2 and #3 © McCormick).

[3] Peppermint extract gives you a minty chocolate chip cookie. If you don’t want mint, substitute vanilla extract.

3. COMBINE the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt in a separate bowl. Add to the wet ingredients and combine until the flour is not quite incorporated.

4. ADD half of the chocolate chips to the dough.* Chop the other half coarsely, with a knife or in a food processor. Add the chopped chocolate to the dough, and mix until just combined. This creates more of a distribution of chocolate throughout the dough; but you can keep all the chips whole.

5. COVER the dough and refrigerate for about an hour. Note that chilling is not mandatory, but Karen tried the recipe both ways, and prefers the texture and flavor that chilling creates.

6. USE a 2-inch cookie scoop to form balls of dough and drop them on the cookie sheet. These are very large cookies, and fit 8 cookies per pan. Alternatively, use a teaspoon or smaller scoop to drop smaller cookies.

7. BAKE for 8-10 minutes, or until the cookies barely start to brown on the edges (you want the cookies to be green, not browned). Let them cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then remove to a cooling rack.

When cool, serve or store in an airtight container.

NIBBLE TIP: For a yummylicious dessert, prepare the cookie dough in advance and refrigerate. Half an hour before dessert, scoop it onto the cookie sheets and bake. The result: warm, gooey chocolate chip cookies to serve alone or with vanilla or chocolate ice cream.
 

[5] Double Stuf Oreos (photo © Nabisco).

[6] Green white chocolate, the real deal, from Merckens.

RECIPE #2: GREEN-DIPPED OREOS

This recipe comes from Michelle of Crafty Morning.

The original recipe uses Double Stuf Oreos (that’s how they spell it).

If you want mint flavor, you can use Mint Oreos (with a green center) and/or add peppermint extract to the candy melts (here’s how).

Michelle’s original recipe uses half green, half white, candy melts, so that half of the cookies are dipped in green and half are dipped in white.

We went all-green for St. Pat’s.

As a substitute for the green chocolate melts, you can melt regular white chocolate and tint it green with food coloring.

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. MELT the chocolate/melts in a microwave safe bowl for 30 seconds at a time until it is melted.

2. DIP each cookie halfway into the chocolate and lay it on a sheet of wax or parchment paper. Shake the sprinkles onto the cookies while the chocolate is still warm. Let them harden for 20 minutes.

3. REMOVE the cookies from the paper and serve or store.

________________

*Spooned means exactly what is sounds like: You spoon the flour into the measuring cup and then level it off. If you scoop it by dipping a measuring cup into the canister, the pressure compacts more flour into the measuring cup.

†Karen reserved 1/3 cup of the whole chips and pushed them into the tops of the baked cookies immediately after taking them out of the oven. This creates more “chip appeal” on the surface.

‡Merckens, a top-quality supplier to chocolatiers, actually sells real white chocolate tinted green! Candy Melts are made without cocoa butter, substituting vegetable oil. This makes them confectioner’s coating or imitation chocolate, not real chocolate.

Note that for many years, a product called confectioner’s coating—imitation white chocolate made with vegetable oil instead of cocoa butter—was widely believed to be white chocolate. It is not, and doesn’t taste anywhere as good. White chocolate has cocoa butter, and is defined as white chocolate by the FDA.

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.