Chicken and Gorgonzola Meatballs

I do meatballs the way some people do burgers—different protein, different veggies, different cheeses. I've done everything from tuna meatballs to this recipe for chicken and gorgonzola meatballs with caramelized onions...pretty ridiculous, right? I came up with this one day when all I had was some ground chicken and gorgonzola cheese, which I normally crumble on my salad. I also had leftover tomato basil sauce and an onion. I love mixing things together to create something new. Some people would love a cream sauce with these meatballs, but I'm not a fan so I chose to stick with a traditional tomato sauce, but it's great either way. These meatballs also can be made mini and dipped in ranch or your favorite dressing. Have fun with this and enjoy this delicious creation invented simply because I hadn't gone food shopping in a while. And if you want to eat these babies straight out of the pot, knock yourself out. I've done that, too, standing at the stove while sipping a glass of wine. —Jill

Here's what you'll need: (Serves four)
1 lb ground chicken
Gorgonzola cheese (or blue cheese if you prefer), crumbled
1small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
Olive oil
Parmesan cheese, shredded
2 tbsps oregano
Basil (optional, but I am lucky enough to have a neighbor who grows tons of it so I throw it in everything!)
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup breadcrumbs

Caramelize onion in some olive oil on medium/med-low heat until golden brown and soft. (You don't want to fry the onion, just carmelize it.)

Put the caramelized onion in a bowl and mix with the ground chicken, egg, breadcrumbs, oregano, (some basil if you choose), two big palm fulls of the gorgonzola cheese, a palm full of the parmesan cheese and the garlic. (You can sauté the garlic first if you don't want a strong garlic flavor.)

Mix everything together with your hands and form into meatballs. You can cook the meatballs a few ways:
Bake on a cookie sheet at 375 degrees for 25 minutes or sauté in a pan with olive oil, searing on all sides and then drop into the tomato sauce to cook the rest of the way through. Or you can sauté on all sides, lower the heat, cover the pan and let the meatballs cook thoroughly.

By the way, I can't even talk about what a crazy meatball sandwich this makes—add some lettuce, a slice of tomato, some spicy mayo...OK, I can't go there, it's so great! However you like your meatballs, I hope this will become one of your favorites.

Escarole and Beans

If you asked me when I was young how to spell ‘escarole’ I would spell it the way we say it, “shcarole.”  I didn’t know that it started with an ‘E’ until I started making it and had the produce man at the Stop & Shop on a mad hunt for  “shcarole,” only to find I was looking for something that didn’t exist. Escarole, however, definitely does exist and it can be found right next the heaping mound of Romaine lettuce. Whenever I make or eat this dish I think of my Uncle Jim. He’s the one who helped me perfect the recipe. He loved how I made it so much that one Christmas he bought me a serving platter especially for my "shcarole" and beans (see picture below).  Now that he has passed, this recipe takes on even more meaning.  It reminds me of the times we had laughing, talking about food and life in general. This one’s for you Big Jim! I'm sure you can smell the garlic from Heaven! —Jennifer

What you’ll need:
2  32 oz boxes of chicken broth (you can use reduced sodium if you like)
4 cloves of garlic
1 package of hot Italian sausage (some people use sweet or both)
4 15 oz can cannellini beans
2 large bushels of escarole
1 tablespoon of EVOO

How to prepare:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cut off the bottom of the escarole and place the leaves in boiling water (this will remove the dirt). I like to add 2 cloves of chopped garlic to the boiling water; this gives the escarole more of a garlic taste in the soup.

Grill the sausage and cut into chunks.

Strain the escarole after 8-10 minutes in the boiling water.

Place escarole back into pot with the two boxes of chicken broth. Add 4 cups of water and the sausage. Chop 2 cloves of garlic and place in the soup. Once around the pot with EVOO.

Let simmer on low for two hours. Stir occasionally.

Thirty minutes before serving, drain and add the 4 cans of beans. I love cannellini beans, so I use a lot of them, but you can use less.  Don’t put the beans in too early or they will become mush. 

Serve piping hot with crusty bread and a little parmigano cheese on top! Delish!!!