My dinner plans were to make these meatballs from this recent Smitten Kitchen post, Scallion Meatballs with Soy Ginger Glaze.  But after reading through the recipe I decided to look for a baked meatball recipe (instead of pan fried) with more substance that would serve as a meal and not a glorified appetizer.  That search led me to this recipe from Skinny Taste, Asian Turkey Meatballs with Sesame Lime Dipping Sauce.  So I combined the two, and with a little tweaking here and there I wound up with these.

Serve these meatballs with some rice to soak up the delicious sauce.  We ate them with white rice, but brown would be a great choice, and a healthier one.  Simple steamed broccoli is a perfect side dish.  There is so much flavor in the meatballs that you don’t really need anything else.  I used a mixture of turkey and beef because I had an extra 1/2 pound of lean ground beef from another recipe I wanted to use, but use all turkey if you like.  Enjoy!

Baked Asian Turkey Meatballs with Soy Ginger Sauce

Meatballs

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup panko crumbs
• 1 lb 93% lean ground turkey
• 1/2 lb lean ground beef
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 tbsp peeled ginger, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 4 scallions, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
• 3 tsp sesame oil

Directions

1. Combine ground turkey, beef, panko, egg, salt, scallions, ginger, cilantro, and soy sauce.  Mix with your hands until combined well.
2. Shape 1/4 cup meat mixture into a ball and transfer to a baking dish. Repeat with remaining mixture.
3. Bake at 400°F until cooked through, about 20-25 minutes.

Sauce

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup soy sauce, reduced sodium
• 1/2 cup white wine (or mirin)
• 1/4 cup peeled ginger, chopped

Directions

1. Bring sugar and water to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar melts completely.
2. Reduce heat to a medium-low and add soy sauce, wine and ginger.
3. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until reduced, 20-30 minutes.  You can simmer it longer to get a thicker sauce.
4. Serve sauce on top of meatballs and rice.  You can strain the sauce to get rid of the ginger pieces, but I left mine in the sauce.

Ben spent most of his law school days with three great guys at Baylor, and as a result I became great friends with them, their significant others, and their kids.  After graduation we moved to Amarillo along with one of the other couples, Tim and Jackie.  Jason and Carrie and their adorable girls moved to Decatur and Christian moved to Houston.  Being scattered throughout the great state of Texas makes getting together a tough endeavor.  It’s also hard to find a time that works with everyone’s schedule.  So, this weekend was a special one because everyone was able to meet up in the bustling metropolis of Decatur.  Christian brought his fiancé, so we were able to meet her, and we definitely approve.

One of the great things about this group is our numerous shared interests.  For Carrie H and I one of those is food!  We had many incredible dinner parties in Waco, and when we get together now we usually plan a menu for one of our meals.  This weekend, Carrie also planned great breakfasts and lunches.  She is incredible.

The main event was a Mad Men and 60’s inspired meal of hors d’oeuvres and cocktails.  In our research of this era we discovered that a lot of the dishes were made using convenience foods like cocktail weenies, canned foods, pre-prepared foods, etc.  I am not ashamed to say that I am a food snob.  I won’t say that Carrie H is a food snob…but I won’t say that she’s not a food snob… anyway, we were not about to cook a meal using a bunch of canned food.  We did want to use some of the traditional menu items, but to add some updated recipes to create more of an interesting and tastier meal.  Here is the final menu decision.

Spinach dip with crudités

Fruit kabobs

Caramelized Shallot and Gruyere Fondue (recipe below)

Brie stuffed mushrooms

Smoked paprika bacon wrapped dates stuffed with manchego

Swedish meatballs

This was such great fun.  I’m usually not pushing for a themed party complete with a wardrobe to match, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to wear this dress and share my Bump-Its so that all the ladies could have nice puffy hair-dos.

We made the guys get a little fancy and wear skinny ties.  They were good sports.

Here is the fondue recipe.  I’ve made this before and it is delicious.  I think it tasted more delicious served from my awesome avocado green vintage fondue pot…a gift from Carrie H.

Gruyere Fondue with Caramelized Shallots (Bon Appetit, March 2000)

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 1/4 cups thinly sliced shallots (about 6 ounces)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 1/2 cups (or more) dry white wine
• 14 ounces grated Gruy(re cheese (about 3 1/2 cups packed)
• 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• Generous pinch of ground nutmeg
• 1 sourdough baguette, cut into 1-inch cubes

1. Melt butter in heavy medium skillet over medium heat. Add thinly sliced shallots and sauté 3 minutes. Reduce heat to low; sprinkle shallots with sugar, salt and pepper. Sauté until shallots are caramelized, about 15 minutes. Transfer shallots to small bowl. Add 1 1/2 cups wine to skillet; boil 1 minute.
2. Pour wine into heavy medium saucepan; set over medium-low heat. Toss cheese with flour in medium bowl to coat. Add half of caramelized shallots to wine; add cheese mixture by handfuls, stirring until cheese melts and is smooth before adding more. Thin with more wine if mixture is too thick. Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper.
3. Transfer cheese mixture to fondue pot. Set pot over candle or canned heat burner. Top fondue with remaining caramelized shallots. Serve with bread cubes.