November 7, 2011
While James Villas’s latest book, From the Ground Up (Wiley, Oct. 2011), explores the intrinsic pleasures of ground meat, Holzman and Chernow try to go one better in this well-rounded collection by mixing a variety of meats with an assortment of fillers, shaping them into spheres, then frying, braising, or roasting, and pairing them with an agreeable sauce. The authors gained extensive experience bouncing between New York and California restaurants, and currently run the Manhattan and Brooklyn eateries from which the book derives its title. Having palled around since they were teens, it was perhaps inevitable that they would stoop to recipe names like duck balls, Fightin’ Irish balls (made with corned beef and cabbage), bunny balls, and grandma’s balls (chopped liver and matzoh crumbs). Purists and haters of double entendre will find comfort in the more traditional offerings centered around beef, lamb, and pork. Most of the 28 meatball recipes are proportioned to provide a couple dozen orbs, 1.5 inches in diameter. Sauce options include a spicy meat sauce, cilantro yogurt, and a mango raisin chutney. Side dishes, salads, and desserts make up the second half of the book and reflect a more serious culinary attitude through options such as fennel risotto and chocolate walnut meringues. But if they also toss in a mini chicken ball salad, it cannot be helped. That’s just the way they roll.