Party time, dinner time, anytime. I am Heather, a meatball junkie..
It’s March Madness season, the time of the year when football is over, professional basketball and hockey are (it seems like) only half way through their seasons and baseball is just getting started! So we watch college basketball…With Kentucky being so awesome this year, I’m sure that half of the country wants them to win and the other half is rooting for the rest of the teams! Me, I really have no interest, so my idea of March Madness is having friends over to hang out, drink wine and eat meatballs! That’s real madness, I’d say! Ha!
For some reason, I have been craving Chicken Marsala lately. Kinda odd, I know. But it is March Madness right? So, if you are sitting around watching a ton of basketball and need something to nosh on, why not make Chicken Marsala meatballs? Everyone loves a good meatball and this is a tasty variation and great party food! It would also be good over a plate of pasta!
A few of us lucky foodies in Denver were invited to an event held at Lola’s Mexican Fish House that was sponsored by Food Should Taste Good and Climbing Grier Mountain (check out Lauren’s beautiful food blog). What a great experience at one of my favorite Mexican restaurants in Denver. I have been going to Lola’s since their original location off of Pearl St. We got to sample all kinds of tortilla chips provided by Food Should Taste Good. All of their chips are are organic, gluten free, non-GMO and super tasty. Kinda up my ally in “if I’m going to eat a chip” department. I could easily eat a bag of the jalapeno kind! Yum. We also got to sample Lola Huevos, a Yucatan Breakfast, Lolaburguesa (voted BEST hangover burger in Denver), Chicken and Waffles, a homemade Cinnamon Dusted Doughnut, Bloody Mary’s and Hibiscus and Pineapple Mimosa’s! We all pretty much rolled ourselves out of Lola’s. (Good thing I had two hours of tennis yesterday afternoon). Make sure to check out Lola’s in the LoHi neighborhood of Denver and pick up a bag of the Food Should Taste good tortilla chips. You won’t be disappointed!
- 2 1/2 pounds ground chicken
- 1 1/2 cups fresh bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 8 oz mushrooms, chopped fine
- 1/2 cup shallots, chopped fine
- 2 tbs minced garlic
- 1/2 cup Marsala wine
- 1 tsp dried marjoram
- 2 tbs butter
- 2 tbs olive oil
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp pepper
- 1 inch cubes of Swiss Cheese (optional)
- oil for browning meatballs
- [br][b]For the Sauce[/b][br]
- 8 oz mushrooms, chopped fine
- 1/4 cup shallots, chopped fine
- 1 tbs garlic, minced
- 2 tbs butter
- 2 tbs olive oil
- 2 tsp marjoram
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 3 tbs flour
- 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
- 1/2 cup sweet Marsala wine
- In a large saute pan heat up 2 tbs of olive oil and butter. Add mushrooms, shallots, garlic, marjoram, salt and pepper. Cook until soft and add 1/2 cup of Marsala wine. Cook until most of the wine has been evaporated about 4 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.
- In a large bowl add ground chicken, bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese and cooled mushroom mixture. Mix until combined well. Cover and place in the refrigerator for an hour or longer.
- Roll out meatballs. I made small ones and large ones. In the larger version, I placed a one inch cube of Swiss cheese in the center and rolled the meat around it.
- In a large saute pan, liberally coat it with oil and bring up to a medium high heat. Brown the meatballs on all sides remove from the pan and set aside.
- To make the sauce, in another large saute pan heat up 2 tbs of olive oil and butter. Add mushrooms, shallots, garlic, marjoram, salt and pepper and cook until softened. Stir in the flour and mix well. Add the hot chicken broth, Marsala wine and bay leaf. Cook until the sauce thickens about 3-4 minutes. Adjust seasoning if needed.
- Turn heat to low and add the meatballs back to the sauce. Cover and cook for 1/2 hour or until the meatballs are cooked through.
- Serve with the sauce for an appetizer or over cooked egg noddles.
Some of the best places for brunch in Denver! Guess I need to try them all!
A wide array of Tortilla Chips by Food Should Taste good and yummy salsa’s from Lola
Yum… The molasses hot sauce was so good!
Lolaburguesa. A damn good burger is all I gotta say!
Chorizo gravy and cherry Fresno syrup. Nuf said..
Cinnamon Dusted Doughnuts, well I’m not a doughnut eater, but I would become one if I could eat these!
Some of the varieties of Food Should Taste Good tortilla chips! I’m only buying these from now on!