Thanksgivings Past and Early Thanksgiving Present – Lemongrass Meatballs

We recently held our annual Early Thanksgiving dinner – the 27^th or 28^th consecutive year we’ve hosted friends for a celebration weeks before the traditional holiday. Our gathering goes back to the days when supermarkets would entice shoppers with a free turkey. We weren’t going to turn down the gratis bird, but it was too large for two, so we invited friends for dinner. It’s been a tradition ever since. This year’s dinner got me thinking about Thanksgivings past.

Growing up, we usually went to my Uncle Mel’s house for the holiday meal. I’m sure it was all wonderful, but I recall only two things about our years there. First was the great fanfare that resulted when he served the cranberry relish well known to those who listen to NPR. It’s a recipe from former host Susan Stamberg’s mother-in-law, bright pink, the color of Pepto Bismol, with onions and loads of horseradish. Not your traditional cranberry sauce and I don’t even remember tasting it. The other was that at the time, The Sound of Music was on television after dinner. It may have only been one year, but my recollection was it playing every year. Overall, it was a relatively calm affair, with maybe ten or a dozen guests in total.

That contrasts sharply with Thanksgivings after I met my wife, Marci.

We traveled north to Marci’s sister’s house outside of Boston for the holiday meal. Her sister would wake in the wee hours of the morning to put an immense bird in the oven to feed the masses early in the day, certainly no later than 1:00 pm. There must have been well over 30 guests, more than half of them kids. I recall a huge number of appetizers, enough for a meal itself. And that was before turkey and all the Thanksgiving trimmings were served. After dinner sometimes there was entertainment from each family in attendance – lip syncing and skits, and of course football was always on in the background.

One would expect with such an early start that guests would leave by four or five o’clock. But no one vacated the premises; they all waited in anticipation for the next meal of the day, an enormous eggplant parmesan that was pulled from the oven just when you thought everyone should depart. It was hot, bubbling, and cheesy, served with Italian bread and maybe a salad, a wonder that anyone had room after the earlier feast. Finally, only after gorging themselves again would the masses take their leave.

We all slept well that night, at least as well as we could with distended bellies. And the next morning we’d wake up to the smell of freshly roasting turkey; Marci’s sister always cooked an extra turkey breast the next day just to make sure there were enough leftovers.

Our Early Thanksgiving dinner is not as staid as the holiday of my youth, yet it veers from the craziness of those days in the Boston suburbs. This year we hosted 23 guests. I made a huge number of appetizers, the exciting part of the meal in my opinion, which varies from year to year, while the main meal itself is traditional Thanksgiving fare. But guests come in the evening and there are no skits or The Sound of Music or even football. I guess I do miss the eggplant parmesan.

Happy Thanksgiving

Here is this year’s Early Thanksgiving meal:

Appetizers:

Crudités

Lemongrass Meatballs with Dipping Sauce – recipe below

Whipped Feta Dip with Pomegranate, Pistachio, and Honey with Pita Chips to dip

Parmesan Candied Bacon Crackers

Scarpaccia

Thai Curry Chickpeas

French Onion Puff Pastry Bites

Herbed Goat Cheese Phyllo Cigars

Cucamelon Pickles

Main Meal:

Roasted Turkey

Gravy

Mashed Potatoes

Corn Pudding

Quinoa with Butternut Squash, Mushrooms, and Fried Shallots

Butter Simmered Carrots

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Cranberry Chutney

Desserts (brough by guests):

Orange Chocolate Brownie Torte

Apple Pie

Cheesecake

Vegan Coffee Cake

Salted Caramel Brownies

Flourless Chocolate Cake with Raspberries

Lemongrass Meatballs with Dipping Sauce

Inspired by Rick A. Martinez’s New York Times recipe for Grilled Lemongrass Pork, these meatballs, along with their dipping sauce, are sweet, savory, garlicky, and spicy, as good Vietnamese-inspired food should be. Served with toothpicks, they were a hit as an appetizer at Early Thanksgiving.

They could be made with ground pork, but I used healthier ground turkey in its place. In addition, I broil them to crisp up the outside, although pan frying would likely produce excellent results. They conveniently can be made ahead and reheated in the microwave when ready to serve, and even the dipping sauce lasts a few days in the refrigerator. The meatballs themselves freeze well, and I would take five minutes to whip up a new batch of dipping sauce as they thaw. And in the Thanksgiving tradition of leftovers, they would be delicious as the main protein in banh mi, the world’s most perfect sandwich.

makes about 50, 1-inch meatballs, about 45 minutes

For the Dipping Sauce:

¼ cup brown sugar

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

½ Tbsp. fish sauce

1 Thai birds eye chili, minced

1 Tbsp. lime juice

1 Tbsp. white vinegar

¼ tsp. salt

For the Meatballs:

1 large shallot, roughly chopped

2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

1 Thai birds eye chili, stem removed and roughly chopped or ½ teaspoon crushed red

pepper flakes, or to taste

2 makrut lime leaves, rib removed, roughly chopped

1 tsp. chopped fresh lemongrass

2 Tbsp. brown sugar

1 Tbsp. fish sauce

½ tsp. cornstarch

juice of ½ lime

1 Tbsp. fresh mint

2 Tbsp. fresh cilantro

1¾ lbs. ground turkey

1 egg

1 cup breadcrumbs

½ Tbsp. kosher salt

fresh cilantro, mint, and vegetables such as carrot and cucumber, for serving

1. Prepare the dipping sauce. Bring the brown sugar and ¼ cup water to a boil in a small saucepan and reduce the heat to medium-low. Allow the mixture to cook until it has thickened a bit, about 5 minutes. Watch it carefully to make sure the liquid does not boil away. Remove from the heat, allow it to cool for a couple of minutes, add the remaining dipping sauce ingredients, and stir to combine. Set aside in a small bowl until meatballs are ready to be eaten. Place it in the refrigerator if it is going to be more than an hour.
2. Put the first 10 meatball ingredients (shallot through cilantro) in a blender and blend to a well-combined paste.
3. Using your hands, combine the paste in a large bowl with turkey, egg, breadcrumbs, and salt.
4. After wetting hands so meat does not stick, roll mixture in your palms into 1-inch diameter balls and place on an aluminum foil-lined sheet pan.
5. Position the uppermost oven rack so it is about four inches from the broiler and broil meatballs until the tops are lightly browned, as quickly as a few minutes, depending on the oven.
6. Remove from the oven and flip each meatball so the uncooked side is up. Return to broiler and cook until the top is lightly browned, and the internal temperature of meatballs reaches 165 ^oF. If the meatballs brown before they reach this internal temperature, switch the oven setting to bake at 350 ^oF, and bake meatballs until done.
7. Place the meatballs on a plate, and serve with fresh herbs and vegetables, as well as toothpicks and dipping sauce on the side.

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