A Hotly Contested Dinner Race

This week’s Ben’s Day Wednesday was fraught with strife. We were slated to make buffalo meatballs together on Sunday, but alas, the buffalo meat was not thawed enough, despite two days in the fridge. Ben had to settle for leftover soup with “pretty bread,” as he derisively called our garden focaccia. The disappointment was palpable. When he wants to stick it to us for failing him in some way, Ben tells us he finds our behavior “discouraging.” Well, this meal was plenty discouraging for Ben. I told him that we would try Monday on the meatball front. 

Monday, the buffalo was still not thawed. One day? Okay, sometimes that’s how things go, but two days? What kind of operation am I running? Buffalo suppression! Ben circulated allegations of fridge fraud, fired me as meat czar, and moved on to other dinner options. With mere moments left before the dinner hour, he pushed through the appointment of taco salad to replace the beloved buffalo meatballs. 

If you are looking to replicate our meal…first, why? Okay, maybe you, too, are knackered after a long day of work and your objective is to stave off hunger with something your kid does not dub “discouraging.” Maybe, in these troubled times, you also keep an emergency box of food-like substance in your pantry to pull out on just such an occasion. We’re not judging. We did it and I’m posting about it, but a recipe is not exactly what happened.

If you are following the timeline, you’ll realize that we cruised into Tuesday, election day, with no buffalo meatball resolution, and no firm plan for dinner. When I got home from work Tuesday, Ben got out the ingredients needed for buffalo meatballs, and crossed his arms defiantly in the international gesture for “Let’s go, Woman!” At this point, I should have given in, and just made the ever-loving meatballs, but I was tired. Bone-tired. The kind of tired you get from staring at a screen in solitary confinement for 10 straight hours for the last eight weeks. The kind of tired you get from trudging through the last eight months in a pandemic stupor. 

We ordered pizza.

Today, Wednesday, we finally made the buffalo meatballs! ALL the meatballs. Why buffalo meatballs, you ask? When I taught second grade, I made my class different foods for each Native American region that we studied. Ben always looked forward to the Plains lesson, because he knew I would make extra buffalo meatballs for him. It’s been years since then, but for some reason, Ben woke up with buffalo on his mind last week. 

One year when I made these meatballs for my class, I had a vegetarian in my room. Of course, trying the food was always optional, but this kid really wanted to taste the meatballs. Isn’t that always the way? The vegetarian wants meat. The kid with the peanut allergy seeks birthday cupcakes of unknown provenance. All day, he was conflicted, and finally, he called his mom to see if it was ok to try them. She said it was up to him, and when he tried them, he swooned. “Thanks a lot!” His mom laughed when she called me that afternoon. “Now I need your recipe because he wants them for his birthday party!” I’m not saying I’m proud of flipping an undecided eater, but the meatballs speak for themselves.

Buffalo Meatballs

1 pound ground bison

1/2 cup dry bread crumbs

1/4 cup milk

2 tablespoons finely chopped onion

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 egg

Preheat oven to 400°. Mix all ingredients. Shape into twenty 1 1/2 inch balls. Place on ungreased sheet pan and bake until light brown, 20-25 minutes.