Small Bites by Jennifer Joyce takes the popular restaurant trend of small plates and turns it into a fresh style of entertaining. Joyce's party recipes are clever but extremely doable: She gives chicken meatballs a heavenly sticky glaze, for instance, by rolling them in sugar before baking. Ingredients 1 pound skinless boneless chicken thighs, trimmed of visible fat and cut into 1 3 tablespoons Asian fish sauce 3 small shallots finely chopped 3 each garlic cloves minced 1 stalk fresh lemongrass tender white inner bulb only, minced 3 tablespoons Cilantro chopped, plus 1/3 cup leaves for serving 1 tablespoon Mint finely chopped, plus 1/3 cup leaves for serving 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon Pepper freshly ground 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1 head Boston or red leaf lettuce leaves separated 1 small seedless cucumber peeled halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise 1 small red onion halved and sliced Asian chili sauce

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400°. Position a rack in the top third of the oven. In a food processor, pulse the chicken until coarsely ground; transfer to a bowl. Add the fish sauce, shallots, garlic, lemongrass, chopped cilantro and mint, cornstarch, salt and pepper and mix with your hands.

Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread the sugar on a plate. Using slightly moistened hands, roll the chicken mixture into 1 1/2-inch balls. Roll the meatballs in the sugar until they are evenly coated. Transfer the meatballs to the prepared baking sheet and bake them for 15 minutes, until they are lightly browned and cooked through.

Meanwhile, arrange the lettuce, cilantro and mint leaves, cucumber and onion on a platter. Transfer the meatballs to the platter and serve with chili sauce.


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Yields: 4 Servings
     Food & Wine magazine, June 2006, page 62

notes:  WINE The Spanish grape Verdejo has a citrusy zing that goes perfectly with this sweet-spicy lettuce-wrapped chicken. It grows in the Rueda region in north-central Spain, where fine dry weather in 2004 resulted in terrific wines like the tangy Naia and the zesty, fresh Solar de la Vega.

Recipe by Jennifer Joyce

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