Anyone looking for a fun new appetizer (or even main course!) for the big game this week?

These saucy Asian meatballs are some of my favorites!!!

I first made them a few months ago when I was experimenting with multiple meatball recipes to serve for a fundraiser.  And when my friends graciously “helped me out” with some taste testing, these little guys were the clear winner!  My friend’s 1-yr-old son was even crazy about them as well.  ;)

Definitely easy, quick, and bursting with yummy flavor.  And everyone commented on how they’re a nice twist from traditional marinara meatballs.  Give them a try!

Saucy Asian Meatballs Recipe

Ingredients:

Meatball Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. ground pork or ground beef
• 2 tsp. sesame oil
• 1 cup Panko or breadcrumbs
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
• 2 eggs
• 3 tsp. minced garlic
• 1/2 cup thinly-sliced green onions
• optional garnish: toasted sesame seeds, sliced scallions

Asian Sauce Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup hoisin sauce
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 tsp. sesame oil
• 1 tsp. ground ginger

Method:

Preheat oven to 400.

In a large bowl, mix together meatball ingredients until well-combined.  Shape into balls (I made mine about 1.5 inches, which yielded about 35 meatballs, but 1 inch is probably standard), and place on a greased baking sheet or in a 9×13 baking dish.  Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until meatballs are golden on the outside and no longer pink on the inside.

While the meatballs are baking, whisk together all of the sauce ingredients until blended.  Once meatballs have finished cooking, you can either dip each meatball individually (using a toothpick) in the sauce mixture.  Or you can pour the sauce over the meatballs and gently stir them until covered.

Serve warm, and sprinkle with additional garnish if desired.

Ali’s Tip:

You can also keep these warm (after cooking) in the crockpot on a low setting!

It’s cabbage season again!  And to celebrate our long-awaited “cold” front here in Kansas City (well, a drop from the 100′s to the 90′s again), I decided to make some cabbage soup.  But to mix things up, thought it would be fun to include all of the yummy flavors in my favorite Chinese appetizer — egg rolls!

When I googled the concept, I realized I wasn’t the first to try this idea.  But I improvised my own recipe on the fly, and it turned out to be delicious!!  I’ve always loved a light soup filled with vegetables, but especially loved the hint of ginger, soy sauce, and (my favorite ingredient) sesame oil in this simple soup.  I also borrowed the idea from some other bloggers of frying up some egg roll (or wonton) wrappers to serve on top of the soup.  My friend, Christin, who helped me taste test said that was her favorite touch.  ;)

So if you love egg rolls, and you love simple, flavorful, and healthy soups, I’d definitely recommend giving this one a try!

Egg Roll Soup Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• half a yellow or white onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups chopped fresh cabbage
• 1/2 cup grated carrots
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups shredded cooked chicken or pork (*see note below*)
• 1 tsp. ground ginger
• 2 tsp. soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp. sesame oil
• salt and pepper, to taste
• optional garnish: sliced green onions

Method:

In a large pot, heat oil over medium-high heat.  Add onion, and saute for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add garlic and saute for 1 minute.  Add cabbage, carrots, chicken broth, chicken or pork, and ginger, and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low, and let simmer for 10-15 minutes.  Add soy sauce and sesame oil, then season with salt and pepper if needed.

Remove from heat and serve immediately, garnished with additional green onions if you would like.

Ali’s Tip:

You can use just about any kind of chicken for this (shredded or ground), or any kind of pork (shredded, sliced or ground).  Just be sure that it is cooked before adding it to the soup.

(Before I begin, would love to invite you to head over to the Holiday Recipe Exchange to vote for my vanilla chai cupcakes!  It only takes about 5 seconds to vote — just scroll down, and I’m #9.  Would love to win the vanilla gift basket and have more yummy vanilla recipes to share with you!  Thank you so much!!)

Allow me to introduce to you…the best stuffing recipe ever!!!  Well, at least it’s the best stuffing recipe I’ve had in all my 27 years of life.  :)

I was first introduced to this recipe two years ago when my sister and brother-in-law made it for Thanksgiving.  Being the Bon Appetit fans that they are, we all knew this wouldn’t be a year for the normal traditional stuffing.  But I don’t think any of us were prepared for how ridiculously delicious this dish would be!!!  I’m generally not even one to get too excited about stuffing, but I remember getting seconds along with everyone else that year!  (And then ironically, this year 3 of my different family members are all making the dish again — it’s that good!!!)

In addition to the amazing flavors of the roasted butternut squash, sausage and fennel (whose flavor becomes wonderfully fragrant but mild to the taste when cooked), this stuffing also features a number of wonderful herbs and (my addition) a yummy dash of white wine.  Finally, when made with freshly toasted ciabatta bread….mmmmm, you can’t go wrong.

I will mention that this recipe takes around 2 hours to prepare from start to finish.  But nearly all of the prep can be done a day or two beforehand, so that on the day you’re ready to enjoy this, all you need to do is toast the bread and pop the stuffing in the oven.  Perfect for a delicious and relaxing Thanksgiving.  Enjoy!!

(Come join the fun this week with more stuffing recipes at the My Baking Addiction and GoodLife Eats Holiday Recipe Swap sponsored by Swanson Broth!)

Roasted Butternut, Sausage & Fennel Stuffing Recipe
(Adapted from Bon Appetit)

Ingredients:

Method:

Ali’s Tip:

You can either make this in a 9″ x 13″ pan, as pictured below.  Or feel free to divide it up between 8-12 large ramekins.  The ramekins will just require less cooking time.

I know I’ve talked on here repeatedly about how much I love-love-love my Saturday morning trips to our City Market in downtown KC.  And how lucky we are here to have such great local farmers with their amazing array of fresh produce, herbs, meats, cheeses, plants, flowers, and on…and on…..

But I don’t think I’ve ever talked about the treasures that lie on the perimeter of the market.  Forming an enormous “L” around the farmers market are a host of local restaurants and stores, mostly specializing in specific ethnic cuisines.  One of my favorites is Carollo’s – the most amazing Italian market and deli ever (or so I think!).  I know we live in the heart of the Midwest, but for the brief moments I’m wandering around this grocery overflowing with pastas, tons of freshly-made cheeses, olives, olive oils, wines, and every kind of Italian meats you can imagine…I can almost pretend I’m in the heart of Italy.  :)

Anyway, Carollo’s also happens to be my favorite place to buy pancetta and prosciutto.  (Which, as a sidenote for all of you from KC, it’s actually more fresh and more inexpensive there than at our local grocery stores!)  So when I saw this recipe in this month’s Cooking Light, and already had some cantaloupe and arugula at home, it seemed like the perfect excuse to swing by my favorite place to pick up some prosciutto.  So I did.  :)

And I’m so glad — this salad was a complete delight!  Loved the sweet melon, salty/smoky prosciutto and peppery arugula combination.  And the lemony white wine vinaigrette and parmesan were the perfect, light touch on top.  I actually loved this as a pasta salad, but you could easily leave out the pasta and go low-carb!  Either way, definitely a delicious “light” summer salad.  Cheers to great meals fresh from the market!

Prosciutto & Melon Pasta Salad
(Adapted from Cooking Light)

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces farfalle pasta
• 1 1/2 Tbsp.  fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1/8  tsp. ground red pepper
• 1 garlic clove, coarsely chopped
• 2 1/2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 cup baby arugula
• 3/4 cup diced cantaloupe
• 1/4 cup thinly-sliced red onions (or shallots)
• 2 Tbsp. torn mint leaves (optional)
• 2 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, cut into 2-inch-long strips
• 1 ounce shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Method:

Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain; cool to room temperature.

To make the dressing, combine lemon juice and next 5 ingredients (through garlic) in a food processor; process to blend. With processor on, slowly pour olive oil through food chute; process for 15 seconds or until blended.  (You can also do this step in a bowl, just whisking the ingredients together while pouring in the olive oil.)

Combine cooled pasta, arugula, cantaloupe, red onions, mint, and prosciutto in a large bowl. Drizzle the dressing over salad just before serving, and toss gently to coat. Top salad with cheese.

Ali’s Tip:

If you like mustard, the original recipe called for adding in 1/4 tsp. into the dressing, as well as using shallots instead of red onion.  I happen to be anti-mustard, and had no shallots around, but I’m sure the original recipe would be wonderful with these ingredients too!

I remember as a kid growing up, my sister and I would always tease my parents about their love of freshly-cracked black pepper.  We had a huge pepper grinder that used to be placed on the table for every meal, and — while we rarely touched it — they took great delight in cracking fresh pepper onto just about every meal.

Now, decades later, it’s Yours Truly who has a slight obsession with the pepper mill.  :)  Absolutely love filling it with all sorts of beautiful peppercorns that I come across, and enjoying the satisfaction of grinding out some amazingly fresh, fragrant and oh-so-delicious black pepper.

So it will come as no surprise that I’m a huge fan of peppercorn sauce.  I usually just improvise and toss in whatever ingredients (wine, brandy, cream, herbs, you name it…) I have on hand.  But wrote down this delicious combination I tried last week on my day off to share on here.  I ended up serving it over a cooked pork tenderloin, but it would be great on steaks, chicken, seafood, grilled veggies…whatever you’d like to make!  Very simple, very versatile, and very flavorful.

So pull out your pepper grinder (or jar of coarsely-ground pepper), and give it a try!!

Pork Tenderloin with Burgundy Peppercorn Sauce
(Sauce adapted from Simply Recipes)

Ingredients:

• 1 (about 1 lb.) pork tenderlion
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil (separated)
• 1 cup finely chopped shallots or onion
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup freshly-cracked black peppercorns (preferably coarsely ground)
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup parsley

Method:

To prepare the tenderloin: Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Trim pork tenderloin of any excess fat, and remove silver skin.  (For a helpful video on how to remove silver skin, see here.)

Heat 1 Tbsp. olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Generously season the tenderloin with the freshly-cracked black pepper, and press to be sure it sticks.  Add to the skillet and cook, turning as needed, for 4 to 5 minutes (about 1 minute per side), until evenly browned. Transfer tenderloin to a greased baking dish, and place it in the oven to roast for 12 to 15 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the tenderloin reads 140 degrees. Remove dish from oven and transfer the tenderloin to a plate and cover loosely with aluminum foil to keep warm.

To make the sauce: Meanwhile, in a skillet or saucepan over medium-high heat, add the shallots and sauté for 2 minutes.  Then add the garlic and saute 1 more minute.  Add the red wine and as it boils, deglaze the pan by scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon (helps to have one with a straight edge) to dislodge all the browned bits. Once the wine is almost cooked away, add the beef stock and turn the heat to high. Boil the sauce down until there’s a noticeable trail when you drag a wooden spoon through the center of it (4-5 minutes).

Pour in the heavy cream and resume boiling. Again, boil down until you can make that telltale trail from the wooden spoon. Turn off the heat and add the parsley and any remaining black pepper (no more than 1 Tbsp, the rest should have already been used to pepper the tenderloin). Taste for salt and add if needed.

Cut the tenderloin on a slight diagonal (in 1/2″ or 1″ slices), and then spoon the sauce over to serve.

Ali’s Tip:

Feel free to substitute in any other favorite wines, brandy, or cognac in for the red wine on this.  Anything will work, and be delicious!

I don’t know about other grocery stores across the country, but I feel like ours in Kansas City are always running sales on pork!  While it’s not something I’d say I usually crave, I definitely enjoy “the other white meat” every now and then.  (I owe this to being the daughter of my dad, who gets ridiculously excited about pork chops!)  So since they were yet again on sale this week, day five of Cheap Eats Week here on the blog is an ode to the chop.  :)

I think this may also be my first recipe on the blog featuring my favorite chocolate+chili combination!  For those of you who’ve never tried it (and if this is the case, you must before you raise a skeptical eyebrow!), trust me that this doesn’t taste like pork with a Hershey’s bar on top.  Rather, the cocoa just adds a subtle, yet delicious depth of flavor beneath the zing of the chili powder.  I absolutely love the combination — in chilis, in truffles, cupcakes…you name it!

I ended up using ancho chili powder (subtle heat, but with a nice smokey flavor) for this recipe, but feel free to experiment with regular chili powder, chipotle chili powder, paprika, or whatever other favorites you have on hand.  Also, while I made these in a skillet on the stove, I’m sure they would be even better cooked on a grill!  Whatever your method, would encourage you to give these a try.  Too simple, and way too yummy to pass up.  :)

Cocoa-&-Chili-Rubbed Pork Chops
(Adapted from Food & Wine)

Ingredients: