HAMPTON ROADS, Va. — Chef Patrick Evans-Hylton joins Coast Live to serve up a meatball bahn mi sandwich and delicious buttery hot rum in celebration of National Meat Month in January!
Here's what Chef Patrick had to say about today's selections on his Virginia Eats and Drinks blog:
BON APPETIT TO NATIONAL MEAT MONTH! CELEBRATE WITH OUR MEATBALL BAHN MI
January is National Meat Month, and we are getting our carnivorous juices flowing thinking of ways to celebrate.
One way is with meatballs. Who doesn’t love meatballs? These tasty treats can be made with beef, chicken, pork, or turkey - and even made vegan too with.
Keep this sandwich in mind for Super Bowl, coming up next month.
- Make the marinated vegetables: in a medium bowl add 2 cups grated or shedded carrots, 2 cups grated or shredded radishes, 2 thinly sliced jalapeños, 15 fresh cilantro sprigs rough chopped, 1/4 cup rice vinegar, 1/4 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon sesame oil, and 1 teaspoon coarse salt. Toss to coat, cover, and set aside.
- Make the meatballs: preheat the oven to 375F. In a large bowl, add 1 pound ground pork, 1/2 cup panko or other breadcrumbs, 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon ground basil, 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 cup milk, and 1 beaten egg. Gently mix until just combined.
- Pinch off mixture and roll into golf ball-shaped servings, about 12-15 total. Each portion is approximately 4 tablespoons or 1/4 cup; you can purchase 1/4 cup ice cream scoops for the best portion control.
- Place meatballs evenly on a large cookie sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Bake meatballs for 16-20 minutes, until center is cooked to about 160F and exterior is browned.
- Make the creamy chili sauce: in a medium bowl add 2/3 cup sour cream and 2 tablespoons Asian hot sauce, such as Sriracha. Stir to combine.
- Make the sandwiches: cut a long baguette into fourths or a medium baguette in half. Cut each in half horizontally and scoop out the inside of each piece of bread.
- Evenly spread the top and bottom of each baguette half evenly with the creamy chili sauce. On the bottom half of each baguette evenly add the marinated vegetables. On top of the marinated vegetables, evenly add the meatballs. Close with the top of the baguette and serve.
- Makes 4 sandwiches
More, www.VirginiaEatsAndDrinks.com [virginiaeatsanddrinks.com]
CHEERS TO WINTER WITH OUR BUTTERY HOT RUM
Hot toddies are simply alcoholic beverages that are served warm, such as hot buttered rum.
National Hot Toddy Day is celebrated on January 11, but these cocktails are wonderful all winter long.
A recipe in 1786 defined it as a “beverage made of alcoholic liquor with hot water, sugar, and spices.” A predecessor of hot buttered rum was documented as early as 1594, when Thomas Dawson described “Buttered Beere,” which included beer, eggs, sugar, nutmeg, clove, ginger and sweet butter bubbling away over a fire in a pewter pot.
As the New World was explored, and as rum became the fashionable drink of the seventeenth and much of the eighteenth centuries, a similar concoction was crafted using that distilled spirit instead.
Here is our version of a classic Hot Buttered Rum.
- Make a compound butter by adding 8 tablespoons room-temperature unsalted butter, 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar, 2-1/2 tablespoons good vanilla extract, 1-1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon, and 1-1/2 tablespoons ground nutmeg. Fold all ingredients to incorporate and set aside.
- In a glass mug, add 1 tablespoon compound butter, 2 ounces dark rum, and 8 ounces hot water. Stir until butter melts and ingredients blend. Top with another tablespoon of compound butter, garnish with a cinnamon stick, and serve.
- There’s enough compound butter for 4 drinks. Store unused butter for up to a week in the refrigerator or freeze.
We like Four Farthing Spiced Rum from Chesapeake Bay Distillery, www.ChesapeakeBayDistillery.com [chesapeakebaydistillery.com]
EAT, DRINK + DO: START OF THE NEW YEAR DELICIOUSLY WITH VIRGINIA BEACH RESTAURANT WEEK
It may be the tastiest time of the year: this month starts Restaurant Week season across Coastal Virginia, including Virginia Beach Restaurant Week which runs January 15 - 21.
The first Virginia Beach Restaurant Week began in 2004.
Presented by our friends at the Virginia Beach Restaurant Association (VBRA), a large number of Beach restaurants present specially designed menus with pre-fixe pricing.
Look for restaurants like Firebrew, Gaston’s Italian Steakhouse, and The Stockpot. There are dozens of participants, and a full list can be found on the Virginia Beach Restaurant Association website.
This is a great opportunity to dine out with family and friends while enjoying a favorite restaurant and maybe trying something new on the menu. Or a great opportunity to explore a restaurant you’ve always wanted to try.
For my top tips and tricks to make the most of Restaurant Week, email me at PatrickEvansHylton@gmail.com with “Restaurant Week tips and tricks” as the subject.
For more visit www.DineInVB.com.
FOR MORE VIRGINIA EATS + DRINKS
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