I have already compared my glamorous suburban life to meatballs before. So what else is left to say?

Do you like chicken?

Do you like meatballs?

Do you like cheese in your chicken meatballs?

Oh, oh, I know, do you like a crusty bottom on your meatballs?

‘Cause these little guys have nice crusty bottoms, and they’re well-tanned ones too!

They get it from their mother, ahem, eh, from the pan

What other virtues do they have?

They’re easy-peasy to make, fun to eat, cheesy (I’ve already said so), and bite size (love that). I think they’ll make good appetizers when dressed up in something fancy and their bottoms covered.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a pile of laundry to take care of.

But before I go, to entertain you a bit more, this is the photo I took on December 2008 (with a point and shoot) when I made the meatballs and their soup:

I’m pretty sure that the exact same photo with a DSLR + minus the artificial yellow light would have looked much fancier…

Italian Wedding Soup’s chicken meatballs

The complete recipe plus the soup can be found in Barefoot Contessa “Back to Basics” cookbook or online, click here. This is my adaptation for the meatballs.

*One of my favorite shortcuts is to prepare herb flavored fresh breadcrumbs ahead of time and keep them in the freezer for exactly this sort of recipes. Click here to see.

Makes 6-8 servings, about 40 meatballs

1-1/2 pound ground chicken thighs
2/3 cup fresh bread crumbs*
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley*
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano/Parmesan, or any cheese you have and like
3 tablespoons milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Put the chicken, bread crumbs, parsley, garlic, cheese, milk, egg, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a bowl and combine gently with your hands.

With a teaspoon, or cookie scoop (my favorite kitchen tool, it makes less mess (see a photo of one in this cookie post)), drop 1 to 1 1/4-inch meatballs onto a lightly greased sheet pan.

Bake for 30 minutes, until cooked through and lightly browned.

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Tags : Chicken, dinner, Italian, meatballs, recipe, soup
Categories : Appetizers, Chicken, Main dishes/entrées, Recipes, Soups