All Clad Chefs Tour

Remember the All Clad Chefs Tour I mentioned?  This past Saturday, I headed over to check it out myself and see what was up. 

As I exited Bloomingdale’s at the Shops at Riverside, this sign directed the way! 

… to the fancy All Clad truck, celebrating their 40th anniversary and their relationship with chefs around the city.  The chef of the day was Daniel Holzman of Meatball Shop.  I’ve long wanted to visit but never seem to make it over there – he was giving out samples of his:

spicy pork meatballs, sauce and creamy polenta.  I took FeistyMom with me and she who said privately to me “I don’t like meatballs!” not minutes before tasted this and declared them really good.  Yeah, that good – slightly spicy with the tomato sauce and the creamy polenta… yum!!! 

I chatted briefly with Chef Dan before I went on my merry way, happy with what I’d gotten: a quick bite from Meatball Shop that was good enough to bump them to the top of the list (a visit is planned for next week, post to come), a brand spankin’ new All Clad fry pan (thanks, All Clad!) that is happily frying up bacon for a green bean salad with bacon-shallot dressing, and… the recipe for the above. 

Yes, I’ll share! … the recipe , anyway 🙂

Spicy Pork Meatballs, Sauce & Creamy Polenta
courtesy of Chef Daniel Holzman, Meatball Shop

Meatballs (makes 24)
2 lbs. pork shoulder, ground
1 1/3 T salt
4 hot cherry peppers, minced
1/4 cup pepper pickling liquid
4 slices white bread, minced
3 eggs
2 T olive oil

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  Combine all of the ingredients except for the olive oil in a large mixing bowl and mix by hand until thoroughly incorporated.  Drizzle the olive oil into a large baking dish (9×13) making sure to evenly coat the entire surface.  Roll the mixture into round, golf ball sized meatballs making sure to pack the meat firmly.  Place the balls into the oiled baking dish such that all of the meatballs are lined up evenly in rows and are touching each of their four neighbors in a grid.  Roast until firm and cooked through (about 14 minutes). 

Spicy Sauce
1 lg. yellow onion, diced
1 lb. pork shoulder, ground
2 T olive oil
2 t. each chile flakes, salt
2 T tomato paste
2 28oz. cans, canned tomato, chopped

Cook onions and pork, with olive oil, chili and salt over a medium heat in a large pot (6 qt) stirring constantly until the meat is thoroughly cooked and the onions are soft and beginning to brown (about 15 minutes).  Add the tomato paste and continue cooking for five minutes.  Add the canned tomatoes and stir constantly until the sauce begins to boil.  Continue cooking for 35 minutes stirring every four or five minutes such that the sauce does not burn. 

Polenta
2 C polenta (not instant)
9 C water
1/2 C heavy cream
1/3 C grated parm cheese
1/2 stick butter

In a medium pot, combine the water and salt; bring to a rolling boil over a high heat.  Whisk in the polenta and continue whisking until the water begins to boil again.  Lower the heat to the lowest setting and continue to cook, stirring every 5 minutes for 1 hour.  Remove from the heat and whisk in the remaining ingredients.  Allow to sit 10 minutes before serving. 

Enjoy~ and if you make these meatballs, you better invite me over to enjoy them too! 

Happy eating!  And if you want to know more about where the All Clad truck will land next – this Sunday’s location is a doozy, but I’ll be at Citi Field – Food & Wine has all the details.

Thanks again to All Clad for hosting this lovely event, and for sponsoring me to be there.  I had a great time and really enjoyed the meatballs; while I received no monetary compensation, I did receive a sweet All Clad fry pan.  I was under no obligation to post about this event, positively or negatively, but I figured I should share the wealth with y’all.