Back in October I was sent a gift basket that included a bottle of Merlot, along with cheese, crackers and an apple slicer. At the time I was tending to Finnley and put the bottle under the cupboard for a later date. To be honest, I forgot about it until I ventured into the kitchen to make these wonderful creamed mushrooms.
I guess I was in the mood for something creamy and warm. I ended up on Pinterest scrolling though some easy recipes because I was out of some of the ingredients to make the Creamed Mushrooms.
Bummer.
It was a bummer until I found this recipe for Merlot Meatballs by The Midnight Baker. They sounded easy enough; plus, I had the Merlot.
The recipe below has been adapted from the original. I modified it to fit our families taste buds and to use what I had on hand.
Delicious sums up the end result of this dish. Pre-made meatballs are easy but I think homemade meatballs taste better. Here is an easy recipe for Homemade Meatballs that I use quite often with a variety of meatball dishes or this recipe for Turkey Meatballs would work well too.
As with some recipes, they tend to taste a little bit better the next day. The sauce on the meatballs got a bit thicker and the flavors really shined through. I enjoyed the meatballs but the sauce was the star of this dish. I highly recommend that you have some fresh bread (gluten free bread found here) on hand.
Recipe: Merlot Meatballs
Adapted from The Midnight Baker
Prep. Time: 30 minutes
1 bag of pre-made meatballs (16-18 count)
1/2 cup diced mushrooms, small
1/2 cup diced onions, small
2 T. butter
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup Merlot wine
1 1/4 cup of heavy cream
1 T. chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon honey
Loaf of Italian Bread, optional
1. Bake meatballs according to package directions.
2. In a large saute pan on medium high heat, melt butter; add garlic, mushrooms, salt/pepper and onion. Cook until onion is clear.
3. Turn heat down to medium, add wine, cream, honey and parsley.
4. Add Meatballs and simmer, stirring occasionally, until reduced and thickened. Sauce should simmer for at least 15 minutes. The longer it reduces the thicker and creamier the sauce will be.
5. Serve in a large bowl, over noodles, or in individual serving dishes as an appetizer.
The sauce is too good to waste, use the bread to sop up every last drop.
Written by Sherron Watson
You had me at Merlot....I will be making these meatballs I always have a bottle of Merlot on hand :)
ReplyDeleteThey are a new family favorite for us and I hope you enjoy them as well. Enjoy the Merlot.
DeleteA delicious idea :) Have a nice day.
ReplyDelete