Recipe Mutiny: 03/13/18

Tuesday, March 13, 2018

An All-Ball March Madness Menu

As March Madness draws nigh, you’ve probably paid a lot of attention to your brackets, but what about your game day menus? Ordering pizza is always a fine choice, and whipping up a plate of nachos takes no time at all, but if you want to get a bit more creative—say, for a weekend viewing party—one option is to take inspiration from basketball fever and embrace spherical foods.

That’s right, an all-ball menu! (Deepest apologies if that phrase triggers traumatic memories of hearing Koko the gorilla’s All Ball the kitten story in grade school. You’re not alone.)

When it comes to basketball-shaped foods, nature provides some suitably round ingredients—brussels sprouts, sort of; baby new potatoes; globe grapes—but it may be easier to take matters into your own hands. You can make anything into a meatball, so that covers the main course, should you desire a full meal. But here are some ideas for party-perfect spherical snacks that are good for pretty much any occasion, NCAA related or not. However, fair warning: there happens to be a lot of cheese in this lineup, both literally and figuratively.

Mini Cheese Balls

Five Heart Home

A regular size cheese ball (or a huge cheese ball, for that matter) is just as appropriate, but there’s always something more fun about smaller versions of things, and food is no exception. You can take these in any flavor direction you like, from ranch to blue cheese-pecan to Doritos-covered, but a combination of bacon, jalapeños, and pimento cheese is a definite slam dunk. In any case, use pretzel rods to impale them and you have a handy holder that’s also edible. Get the recipe.

Fried Mac and Cheese Balls

Foodie Crush

If you prefer your cheese warm and gooey, make fried mac and cheese orbs. Again, they’re adaptable; jazz ’em up with salsa verde, chopped chiles, blue cheese and Red Hot, or whatever you like. Just provide plenty of toothpicks for preventing any loose ball party fouls. Get the recipe.

Sriracha Sausage Cheddar Balls

Unsophisticook

Bisquick, cheese, and sausage combine to form hearty little bites reminiscent of boudin balls, perfect for dipping in all sorts of sauce, from homemade ranch to extra Sriracha. If you worry about your floors, just tell people no traveling with the (sausage) ball. Get the recipe.

Feta Stuffed Falafel

Chowhound

You can always skip the cheese in these if you prefer, or swap it out for something else like chopped sun-dried tomatoes or olives, but either way, hummus provides a perfect assist. Get our Feta Stuffed Falafel recipe.

Baked Broccoli Cheese Balls

Recipe Tin Eats

If you’d like to sneak in a few more veggies with your cheese, these broccoli-packed cheddar balls are a perfect choice. Expect people to post up next to these, thanks in no small part to the accompanying lemon yogurt sauce. Get the recipe.

Sweet Potato Balls

Roti and Rice

If you want a break from the cheese entirely, try these. (They tick off the vegan and gluten-free boxes too.) You can apply the same principle to regular mashed potatoes, but for March Madness shindigs, the natural orange color of sweet potatoes obviously makes these crisp-chewy wok-fried snacks a top seed pick. Get the recipe.

Meatballs in Enchilada Sauce (Albondigas)

Platings and Pairings

Just because meatballs are an obvious choice doesn’t mean they’re not a fantastic one. You can craft all kinds of meatballs with a basic formula, but these enchilada-sauced examples are great for snacking on or folding into tacos for a fuller meal. They’ll be messy, so assemble plenty of napkins—or hire a guy to mop the sauce off your floor in between ~~plays~~ bites. Get the recipe.

Boozy Bloody Mary Tomato Bombs

Bloody Mary tomato bombs (grape tomatoes marinated in vodka with spicy dipping salt)

Family Fresh Meals

Perfect for those weekend morning games! While really great grape tomatoes aren’t quite in season yet, once you marinate anything in a spicy vodka mixture—and add a lemon-pepper-celery dipping salt to boot—it’s going to taste good. (You could try mixing these with our marinated bocconcini too, for something a bit more substantial.) Get the recipe.

Vodka Infused Melon Balls

Healthy Nibbles and Bits

Another natural pick for early games, vodka-macerated melon balls also roll with the dessert options. Stick with cantaloupe alone if you’re committed to the vaguely orange food color scheme. Get the recipe.

Brigadeiros

Gluten Free on a Shoestring

There are at least a Sweet 16 of spherical desserts to choose from—all manner of truffles, popcorn balls, basketball cake balls, buckeyes (especially fitting if you’re pulling for Ohio State)—but Brazilian brigadeiros are incredibly simple to make, and take well to rolling in sprinkles, so if you can find some orange nonpareils, you’re all set up for an easy win! Get the recipe.

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Are Oreos Really Vegan?

For over a century, Oreos have been one of the most delicious and versatile cookies around. Whether you dip it in milk, use it as an ice cream topping, or put it in cheesecake, there really is no wrong way to eat an Oreo.

Based on the ingredients listed on the box you would also assume they’re a dream food for vegans. According to the packaging, Oreos contain: unbleached enriched flour, sugar, palm and/or canola oil, cocoa, high fructose corn syrup, leavening, corn starch, salt, soy lecithin, vanillin, and unsweetened chocolate.” No dairy! No butter! No eggs! Hooray, not a trace of animal products in sight!

So obviously Oreos are vegan, right? Well, not so fast. Because the FAQ page on the Oreo website begs to differ. When asked if the products are suitable for vegans, the site claims “Oreos have milk as cross-contact and therefore are not suitable for vegans.” Huh?

So what exactly does this explanation mean? Cross-contact essentially implies that tiny amounts of milk could have come into contact with the cookies or the equipment used to make them. Basically there’s no guarantee that the Oreo you’re about to eat contains traces of milk, but there is a slight possibility that it might.

So here’s the final verdict. If you’re a vegan and adhere to a strict diet free of animal products, you probably want to avoid Oreos just to be on the safe side. Or if you’re feeling especially ambitious, you can try making your own at home. These recipes courtesy Feasting on Fruit and the Minimalist Baker look like great alternatives to the Nabisco stalwart. Thank goodness the internet can come to the rescue and provide homemade options to satiate your cookie cravings. And even if you’re not vegan, you may want to try baking them too, as they’re sure to contain a lot less processed ingredients than anything store-bought.

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