Fancy meatballs deserve elegant pasta

Here is a posh meatball recipe, good for one of those dress-up-for-company dinners. It came from my neighbor Maryanne Tucker, back when I asked you all for a good meatball recipe.

This is no ordinary meatball. It deserves elegant pasta – perhaps a nice fettuccine or linguine – or homemade egg noodles. Some nice asparagus, which will be in season soon (if it will ever stop snowing and freezing), served on the side would be good, and some tender-leafed salad stuff. And then some light dessert with an emphasis on fruit would be good, because these little guys are loaded with calories.

Combining meat and cheese really is gilding the lily, but what great results. We do it all the time with cheeseburgers. In regular meatballs, the parmesan works wonders. And one time I had the most delicious ground lamb patties made with feta cheese stuffed inside. They were so tasty.

You can choose the blue cheese you like best to use, and for this you can use a Danish blue, including even already crumbled stuff. I am too much of a cheapskate to pay someone else to crumble my blue cheese for me, considering that it takes all of 10 seconds.

When I use butter to fry in, I usually add olive oil to it because it keeps it from burning. You could use just olive oil to fry the meatballs in. I thought I would try adding a little wine. Maryanne suggests garnishing with chopped parsley, if you wish, which makes it very pretty.

Glazed Blue Cheese Meatballs

Serves 4.

1 pound lean ground beef

1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese (about 2 ounces)

1 tablespoon sliced green onion (scallions)

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/4 teaspoon or less salt

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup white wine (optional)

1/2 cup cream (or half and half)

Combine the beef, cheese, onion, Worcestershire sauce and salt. Shape the mixture into 12 meatballs. Melt the butter in a skillet with olive oil. Add the meatballs and brown them. Then cover the skillet and cook over a low heat for 15 minutes. Remove the meatballs and keep them warm.

If you use wine, add it to the skillet and simmer, scraping up the cooked on bits, then add the cream and simmer for five to eight minutes to reduce the cream and make a sauce. Return the meatballs to the pan to rewarm them slightly and spoon the sauce over them. Serve atop hot pasta and pour the rest of the glaze over them.

Looking for …

Steamed mussels. I’d like to steam mussels and end up with a more interesting result than I usually get. All I do now is put a little white wine in the steamer with water, and a quartered onion, and even though they taste alright, it definitely isn’t anything to write home about. Any suggestions?

Send queries or answers to Sandy Oliver, 1061 Main Road, Islesboro 04848. E-mail: tastebuds@prexar.com. For recipes, tell us where they came from. List ingredients, specify number of servings and do not abbreviate measurements. Include name, address and daytime phone number.