Oh, Meatballs

For my vegetarian friends, please turn away now.

Tonight, after hours spent tidying and separating the laundry pile threatening to consume our apartment, I set to the task of making dinner. I looked in the fridge: goat cheese, aged white cheddar cheese, Parmesan cheese, Gruyère cheese, asparagus, and ground chicken. I thought for a while - first about my husband's obsession with cheese, then about what an amazing deal we got on that ground chicken, and finally, about what in the heck I would do with these items. I considered the Greek yogurt and almond milk and thought of creamy options, but ultimately felt too weighted by their richness. I thought about how much I've been wanting meatloaf lately, but became weary over the idea of chicken meatloaf and a side, but I couldn't get past the craving, so I thought - meatballs! I know writing about what we eat is nothing new for this page, but what is a little different is that those meatballs turned out to be so amazing, and I mean so, so good, that I immediately took a shot of my bowl because I knew I'd have to publish what I clumsily tossed in the bowl so I wouldn't forget how I got there, and also so you might, if you wish, try to do the same. Trust me about these meatballs, though.

Ingredients:

1lb ground white meat chicken

1/2 onion (grated)

1/4 c Parmesan cheese (grated)

1 egg

1/4 c breadcrumbs

3 green onions thinly sliced

1 tsp oregano

salt and pepper (I'm heavy on the pepper)

Mix all the ingredients and shape into tiny (I like them to be about 3/4-1 in.) meatballs, placing them on a plate or sheet pan as you go. Once all the meatballs are formed, cover the plate or pan and place it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes (I often cheat and stick it in the freezer for half that). To cook the meatballs, heat olive oil and a smidge of butter, just a smidge, in a sauté pan, adding the meatballs, but making sure not to over-crowd. Turning a few times during cooking, I lost track of exactly how long these took, but it took less than one episode of Pushing Daisies (which I watch on the ipod in the under-cabinet dock while I cook) for me to complete the mixing, shaping, chilling, and cooking, so it's safe to say that it wasn't too long.

I served ours with steamed asparagus and toasted pine nuts over a bed of angel hair pasta with shavings of this cheese on top (I'd like to thank Haggen for selling their tiny "cheese bites"- sample sizes that make it possible for us to try amazing cheeses like this one).