Mini Buffalo Chicken Balls

Preparation Preheat the oven to 450°F. Drizzle the vegetable oil into a 9×13-inch baking dish and use your hand to evenly coat the entire surface. Set aside. Combine the butter and hot sauce in a small saucepan, and cook over low heat, whisking until the butter is melted and fully incorporated. Remove from the heat and allow the mixture to cool for 10 minutes. Combine the hot sauce mixture, ground chicken, egg, celery, bread crumbs, and salt in a large mixing bowl and mix by hand until thoroughly incorporated. Roll the mixture into round, 3/4 -inch balls, making sure to pack the meat firmly. Place the balls in the prepared baking dish, being careful to line them up snugly and in even rows vertically and horizontally to form a grid. The meatballs should be touching one another. Roast for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the meatballs are firm and cooked through. A meat thermometer inserted into the center of a meatball should read 165°F. Allow the meatballs to cool for 5 minutes in the baking dish before serving. Reprinted with permission from The Meatball Shop Cookbook by Daniel Holzman and Michael Chernow with Lauren Deen. Copyright © 2011 by Daniel Holzman and Michael Chernow; photographs copyright © 2011 by John Kernick. Published by Ballantine Books, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved. Daniel Holzman is executive chef at The Meatball Shop. He is an alum of Le Bernadin, San Francisco's Fifth Floor, and Aqua, among other highly acclaimed restaurants. He attended the Culinary Institute of America, where he received a full scholarship from the James Beard Foundation. Michael Chernow runs the front-of-house operations and the beverage program at The Meatball Shop. He has worked extensively in restaurants in New York and Los Angeles. He is a graduate of the French Culinary Institute, where he earned degrees in culinary arts and restaurant management. He and Holzman met as teenagers when they worked together as delivery boys at the New York vegan restaurant Candle Café. Needless to say, the vegan thing didn't really stick. Lauren Deen is the author of the New York Times bestselling Cook Yourself Thin series and Kitchen Playdates. She is an Emmy award—and James Beard award— winning television producer and director. She is currently executive producer of food(ography) on the Cooking Channel.

Preparation Preheat the oven to 450°F. Drizzle the vegetable oil into a 9×13-inch baking dish and use your hand to evenly coat the entire surface. Set aside. Combine the butter and hot sauce in a small saucepan, and cook over low heat, whisking until the butter is melted and fully incorporated. Remove from the heat and allow the mixture to cool for 10 minutes. Combine the hot sauce mixture, ground chicken, egg, celery, bread crumbs, and salt in a large mixing bowl and mix by hand until thoroughly incorporated. Roll the mixture into round, 3/4 -inch balls, making sure to pack the meat firmly. Place the balls in the prepared baking dish, being careful to line them up snugly and in even rows vertically and horizontally to form a grid. The meatballs should be touching one another. Roast for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the meatballs are firm and cooked through. A meat thermometer inserted into the center of a meatball should read 165°F. Allow the meatballs to cool for 5 minutes in the baking dish before serving. Reprinted with permission from The Meatball Shop Cookbook by Daniel Holzman and Michael Chernow with Lauren Deen. Copyright © 2011 by Daniel Holzman and Michael Chernow; photographs copyright © 2011 by John Kernick. Published by Ballantine Books, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved. Daniel Holzman is executive chef at The Meatball Shop. He is an alum of Le Bernadin, San Francisco's Fifth Floor, and Aqua, among other highly acclaimed restaurants. He attended the Culinary Institute of America, where he received a full scholarship from the James Beard Foundation. Michael Chernow runs the front-of-house operations and the beverage program at The Meatball Shop. He has worked extensively in restaurants in New York and Los Angeles. He is a graduate of the French Culinary Institute, where he earned degrees in culinary arts and restaurant management. He and Holzman met as teenagers when they worked together as delivery boys at the New York vegan restaurant Candle Café. Needless to say, the vegan thing didn't really stick. Lauren Deen is the author of the New York Times bestselling Cook Yourself Thin series and Kitchen Playdates. She is an Emmy award—and James Beard award— winning television producer and director. She is currently executive producer of food(ography) on the Cooking Channel.