Our Pat’s are in the SuperBowl this weekend, so we need some yummy treats to sustain us through all of our shouting at the T.V. screen!  Enter one of my guilty pleasures when working from home…having The Martha Stewart Show on in the background.  I was lucky enough to have it on recently when Daniel Holzman and Michael Chernow of The Meatball Shop were on with this recipe for Mini Spicy Buffalo Chicken Meatballs.  Now to be clear, I LOVE buffalo chicken wings.  Love them.

But, I almost never eat them since they’re not exactly healthy…which is why I love these, now I can get that buffalo chicken wing experience I love more often!  They’re certainly a healthier take on buffalo chicken wings but still just as delicious and easier to eat.  Don’t get me wrong…they still have butter in the sauce and you want a good blue cheese dressing to dip them in but it’s certainly an improvement! And most importantly, boy are they tasty!  These will likely be my go to spicy buffalo dish for a while, which makes Christian happy since he loves them as well!

From: The Martha Stewart Show, January 2011
Makes about 75 mini meatballs
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
3/4 cup Frank’s RedHot hot sauce, plus more for serving
2 pounds ground chicken, preferably thigh meat (I’ve also used ground turkey as a substitute)
2 large eggs
2 ribs celery, minced (about 1 cup)
1 2/3 cups dried breadcrumbs
2 teaspoons coarse salt
Blue Cheese Dressing (feel free to use a jarred Blue Cheese instead of making it, that’s what I do)
Celery sticks, for serving

 

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Evenly coat a large rimmed baking sheet with olive oil and set aside

 

Place butter and hot sauce in a small saucepan over low heat. Cook, whisking, until butter is melted and hot sauce is well incorporated. Remove from heat and transfer to a large bowl; let cool to room temperature, about 10 minutes.

 

Add chicken, eggs, celery, breadcrumbs, and salt to bowl with butter mixture; using your hands, mix until well combined. Roll chicken mixture into firm, 1-inch round balls and place on prepared baking sheet; arrange the meatballs in rows so that they are touching on all sides. Transfer to oven and bake until cooked through, about 15 minutes.

 

Take out of oven and let stand 5 minutes before removing from baking sheet. Place on a serving platter and drizzle with hot sauce; serve with dressing and celery sticks.

 

So when my Pats are in the Superbowl on February 5th,  these will certainly be on the table.  Likely along with the “Superbowl Guacamole” that I made last year (although I’ll try to make it prettier for the Pats!), chips, maybe some slow-cooker short ribs and a veggie platter.  Keeping it simple…because I’m a New Englander…which means I actually wants to drink some beer and  watch the football game when my Pats are playing!

Go Pats!