vip in the city

Balls and berries

At the Bix Beiderbecke building for a home-cooked meal. SYB had meatballs on the brain, so he invited me and JL to his home for an intimate dinner party, a redux of the very first of these gatherings, back in 2004.

Per my own latest obsession, I whipped us up a round of honeyed nut milks and settled in on the new black leather couches (very bachelor pad!) to catch up on my shows. SYB toiled away in the kitchen, rolling out meatballs inspired by the Bon Appétit recipe: a combination of meats, eggs, parmesan, parsley and garlic. When making meatballs, as with pancake and muffin batter, it’s important not to overwork the mixture, which will result in a tough and dense final product. The balls should be gently shaped, so that they just hold together — not packed hard like a snowball.

SYB did a fine job; he need not have worried about the last minute omission of breadcrumbs. His meatballs were crispy and browned on the outside, juicy on the inside — just as meatballs should be. There’s something to be said about not slavishly following cooking directions anyway. I remember a recipe for meatballs that appeared in The New York Times around this time last year. Writer Julia Moskin had profiled cookbook author and restaurant owner Rick Bayless in a piece about Mexican-inspired alternatives to the traditional nachos and wings for Super Bowl Sunday: “Quick Cowboy Beans,” “Crusty Black Bean-Chorizo Subs” and those “Chipotle Meatballs.” It all sounded pretty tasty. But then, the following Wednesday, the correction:

[A] recipe last Wednesday for meatballs with an article about foods to serve during the Super Bowl misstated the amount of chipotle chilies in adobo to be used. It is one or two canned chilies, not one or two cans. [emphasis mine]

¡Ay carumba! As the correction was printed a full week after the original piece, post-Super Bowl, I wondered if anyone had prepared those meatballs for a party as written. Perhaps that was even how the Times was alerted to the error. Worst meatballs ever!