Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Thanks for the Balls!

Thursday is Thanksgiving, so Happy Thanksgiving Day, all! Well, at least to those of you in the United States. You Canadian readers can bookmark this page and read it next week.  You folks in other countries? Well, I'm sure you must have some comparable Holiday. If you don't, come to the United States! Thanksgiving is awesome, and blue jeans are really affordable!

Thanksgiving, of course, is supposed to be all about giving thanks for all the blessings you are blessed with. This is a great idea. A lot of us waste a bunch of time bitching about the things we don't have, when we should be grateful for all the things we do.

Unfortunately, more attention this time of year is focused on the feast we devour, rather than the spirit of the day. Actually, there is nothing wrong with that. After all, "Good Eats" are something we should all be grateful for!

Most Thanksgiving Day feasts center around the turkey, of course. Indeed, here at Casa del Blanco, we will be enjoying a delicious bird expertly prepared by  yours truly. We hope. 

But there has to be more than turkey for a gut-busting meal to remember! You need side dishes and a dessert, of course, but what about some tasty appetizers? Here at our house, our go-to Holiday app has always been Pigs in Blankets. Tiny wieners wrapped in puff pastry just say,  "Holiday", to me. I always have to be careful to limit my intake of these tasty tidbits, however,  lest I have no room left for the meal proper.

Lately though, another pre-meal temptress has stolen my heart: The classic Cocktail Meatballs served on toothpicks. They are such a tasty treat, I almost have discarded Pigs in Blankets as a Holiday tradition. I have always favored the "classic" recipe, which you can see here. This tantalizing mixture of savory and sweet is difficult to resist. I have, though, found an even BETTER recipe for this cocktail party staple! To create it yourself, just follow the recipe I linked to above, but instead of Cranberry Sauce, substitute a jar of Grape Jelly. Sounds gross, I know. I was skeptical too, but THIS is now my go-to recipe for cocktail meatballs. Try it and see. It is just... Wow. If you REALLY wanna go crazy, throw some smoked sausages into the mix. Oh, oh, so good!

Enough talk of Cocktail Meatballs! As I said, today is supposed to be about giving thanks. Although I am most grateful for this delicious recipe, I am more thankful for many other things. In particular, those of you who read this blog and post your comments. You make it all worthwhile.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING, ALL!

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5 Comments:

Blogger Lisa P said...

I have to say, I am skeptical...leaving the pigs in the blanket behind for mystery meatballs? A delicacy from Italy, that dare I say doesn't scream "Pilgrim tradition" for me? Although then, neither do the pigs in blankets either. I'll sit back and watch your new tradition unfold...and wait to hear how serious your case of indigestion becomes. And lastly, "thankful"? I'm thankful we're not having mystery meatballs at my feast.

November 22, 2011 at 10:44 PM  
Blogger Mykal Banta said...

That actually sounds great! I'm not a turkey fan at all (but God knows I'll eat my share while my family and I watch the Lions).

That's a really cool drawing. What do you use to ink?

November 22, 2011 at 10:49 PM  
Anonymous Newt said...

My GF makes these, however I was first given th Grape Jelly ones. They're pretty good, but once I learned that there was grape jelly in them, I could always taste it.

So we switched to the Cranberry sauce one and I prefer that.

However, either way, they are fantastic.

November 23, 2011 at 3:17 AM  
Blogger P.L. Frederick said...

Meat and fruit go together like fruit and meat: delicious! (Or so I've heard. I know fishes go great with apples and pears and the like, and they're a type of meat.) (Actually, to Pilgrims, 'meat" meant apples and pears, too, anything with "flesh.")

Your home has weird traditions, Mr. White, of which I heartedly applaud. Not everyone can think like the masses, eh?

P.L. Frederick (Small & Big)

November 23, 2011 at 8:12 AM  
Blogger Bill White said...

Lisa- the White clan has an iron-clad digestive tract, so we can handle our balls. (I know, that sounds wrong...)

Mykal- Believe it or not, this doodle was inked with a Crayola™ Broad Tip Marker. A most unprofessional tool, to be sure, but it is a joy to play with! (Again, sounds wrong...)

Newt- The thing I was amazed at about this recipe was that I could NOT taste the grape jelly in the finished product. Mayhap you have a more educated palate than I. Or mayhap it was all the adult beverages I washed them down with.

Paula- Meat and fruit IS a fine thing. Try making Chicken Salad with green apples instead of celery sometime. KA-YUM!

November 23, 2011 at 11:27 AM  

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