If it has a toothpick in it, it's an hor d'oeuvre (and free if you believe everything you hear on the Simpsons).
I really struggled this week, I had no event on that particularly needed finger food, so I couldn't use that for inspiration context, and I couldn't remember any that I've made before. When I was flicking through The Family Circle Recipe Encyclopedia and saw a picture with a toothpick in it, I was sold!
They're ugly, basic, and don't have that wow factor, but they're easy, quick, tasty, cheap and freezable.
The ingredients for the meatballs go in a bowl and you mush it all up with your hands, roll it into balls, and fry them in a pan with heated oil. Simple!
Meatball Ingredients (I halved them, but I'll give them as published)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
750g beef mince
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 cloves garlic (I didn't halve this - I love garlic)
2 teaspoons of cracked black pepper (I don't recommend using cracked pepper, my grinder is VERY slow, this took forever, but I didn't have any ground pepper)
1/4 teaspoon of salt
2 tablespoons plum sauce (check out my Nanna's homemade plum sauce - highly prized as she's stopped making it - maybe I'll ask her for the recipe and make it for my Dad)
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary (I didn't have any, but Gourmet Garden's herb blend worked well)
1-2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint or basil (I used basil, I'm not a big fan of mint)
You can just use any old sauce for dipping if you don't want to make the Rich Tomato Sauce (although I did, as it's really quick and easy too).
Rich Tomato Sauce
Deglaze the pan with 1 1/2 cups red wine, add 1 clove of crushed garlic, bring to boil then simmer to reduce liquid by half. Strain into a medium pan (this is entirely optional, I didn't do it, I just added the rest of the ingredients into the frypan) Add 3/4 cup tomato puree, 1/3 cup chunky bottled tomato sauce and 2-3 teaspoons Dijon mustard, again bring to the boil, then simmer to reduce liquid by half. Gradually whisk in 30g butter.
See - toothpicks. Ergo, hor d'oeuvre. (Can I mix Latin and French? Anyway, you get my point)
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