Kathy's Waikiki Meatballs

The last time I made turkey meatballs from scratch, they were pretty disappointing. They were low on flavor, and the texture just wasn't there. Armed with a recipe from my good friend, Kathy, however, I was determined to create a flavorful turkey meatball! Her Waikiki Meatballs - featuring a delicious sweet and sour sauce - are fantastic and will certainly become a favorite at our house too.

Kathy has been a wonderful mentor to me. I met her soon after I moved to the D.C. area through a leadership program at a local church. Our class learned so much about how to live out our faith in the workplace. Her teaching and guidance helped shape me as a young professional, and I am so thankful to have met her during those first few difficult (yet exciting) years in the working world.

Kathy's recipe calls for ground beef, but I decided to use ground turkey to cut down on the fat. I highly recommend using fresh ginger in the recipe as well. In order to get a fine mince on the ginger and onion, I used the food processor. It cut down on time and tears from cutting up the onion myself! One way to test the seasoning in your meatball is to make a small patty and cook it quickly in the pan of oil and butter mixture. You can add more salt if the flavor isn't coming through. My meatballs were browning very quickly in the pan, so I decided to bake them for about 15-20 minutes to ensure they didn't burn. This process worked really well - less stressful too!

Once the meatballs have about ten minutes left to bake, start preparing the sauce.

Be sure that you mix the cornstarch, sugar, reserved pineapple juice, vinegar and soy sauce together before you add it to the skillet. This helps dissolve the cornstarch completely. The sauce won't take long to thicken over medium heat. You will notice that it turns a translucent color when it's close to being done. Then, add the pineapple.

Throw in the chopped green pepper and the meatballs and toss to coat the meatballs in the sauce.

If you really want to intensify the island flavors, I recommend you make coconut rice to serve with this hearty meal. Food Network has a great recipe here. You can also use the light coconut milk to cut down on the fat.

This dish is a both comforting and exotic. The fresh ginger adds something special to the meatballs, and the sweet and sour sauce with the crisp green pepper is the perfect complement. Though the turkey meatballs are a little less firm than beef ones, the crispy exterior provides additional texture. Serve this crowd-pleasing meal, and you'll be transported to beautiful Waikiki in no time.

Waikiki Meatballs
From Kathy's Kitchen
Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup onion
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger or about 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
• 1 1/2 lb. ground turkey or ground beef
• 2/3 cup bread crumbs (I used Panko)
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 13-ounce can pineapple tidbets or chunks, drained (save the liquid)
• 1/3 cup vinegar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/3 cup chopped green pepper
• Cooked rice for serving

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Put onion and fresh ginger in a food processor and chop finely. You can also just use a knife to mince the onion and ginger, but I think that the food processor is easier and ensures more evenly minced ingredients.  

Thoroughly mix the beef, crumbs, egg, salt, milk and onion / ginger mixture. Shape into 1-inch rounded balls. 

Heat butter and olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat and brown the meatballs. It will only take about five minutes. Transfer the browned meatballs to a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until fully cooked. 

While the meatballs are baking, mix cornstarch and sugar and stir in reserved pineapple juice, vinegar and soy sauce. Stir until smooth. Pour into the skillet you used to brown the meatballs. Over medium heat, stir constantly until the mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir for one additional minute. 

Add the pineapple, meatballs and green pepper. Serve with rice.

Shrimp, Mango, and Avocado Salad

It's only March, and I'm already looking for no-bake recipes, so I don't have to use the oven or the stove top. What is going on with this weather? Whatever it is, I'll take it.

Nick gets credit for finding this recipe. It is one of his "go-to" meals for a quick yet delicious weeknight dinner. There's really nothing special about the contents of the salad - shrimp, mangoes and avocado over a bed of lettuce. What makes it fantastic is the sweet and spicy vinaigrette dressing. The base is Vietnamese sweet chili sauce, and then you add in unseasoned rice vinegar, fresh or ground ginger, and salt and pepper to taste. You can find the chili sauce and the vinegar in the ethnic foods aisle of most grocery stores. While the vinaigrette tastes sweet initially, the heat can sneak up on you. A bit of sweet mango and creamy avocado will help cool you down, though!

I didn't have fresh ginger on hand, so I used about one teaspoon of ground ginger. Fresh is always better, but the ground will do in a pinch.

Once you make the vinaigrette, just pour a few tablespoons over the thawed shrimp and toss to coat.

Chop up your mango. I used the Champagne mangoes at Whole Foods. They are small, wonderfully sweet and usually don't need much time to ripen.

 

Trying to get the hang of my avocado slicer. It sort of worked.

Now, all you need to do is toss the shrimp, mango, avocado and lettuce into a bowl and pour on the rest of the vinaigrette.

 Take a bite, and you'll be transported to that little cafe at your favorite tropical spring break getaway.



Shrimp, Mango, and Avocado Salad
From The Bon Appetit Test Kitchen
Serves 2 (main course servings) or 4 (first-course servings)

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup Vietnamese sweet chili sauce
• 2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon minced and peeled fresh ginger or 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 12 peeled cooked large shrimp (about eight ounces) - I used frozen shrimp
• 1 large head of butter lettuce or 1 package of "salad in a bag" of your preference
• 1 mango, peeled and pitted, cut into 1/3-inch thick slices
• 1 avocado, halved, pitted, peeled, cut into slices

Preparation

Whisk sweet chili sauce, rice vinegar and ginger in a small bowl; season with salt and pepper. Place shrimp in a medium bowl. Add 3 tablespoons of the vinaigrette; toss to coat.

You can either put all the salad ingredients in a large bowl and mix in the vinaigrette or place the ingredients on each plate and then serve the vinaigrette on the side.