Cheese ball recipe fuels NASCAR fans
Kae O’Brien’s profession, coupled with her favorite hobby, has given her an edge in a nationwide contest. O’Brien, a cook at Holy Family Hospital, is an avid NASCAR enthusiast. “I’ve been a huge fan for about 10 years,” she said in the hospital kitchen. “My dad always watched, and my sister never misses a race.”
And when her sister saw a blurb regarding the NASCAR Cooks! contest on the Internet, she knew just whom to call.
According to NASCAR.com, the contest was designed to “spotlight the natural fit between NASCAR and food.” Fans were invited to create and submit their favorite tailgate party recipe. The grand prize included a trip for eight to the NASCAR Nextel Cup race in Talladega, Ala., on Oct. 7.
The tantalizing lure of that prize compelled O’Brien to roll up her sleeves and get creative in the kitchen. “My husband and I watch the races on TV, but we’ve been to Vegas and Bristol,” she said. “It’s much more exciting in person. The smell of the rubber, the noise when the cars go by.”
The veteran cook describes her fascination with NASCAR with the fervor of a fan. “Once you get to know the drivers and their personalities, you notice things like who bumped who on the track, and you watch for payback time.”
Her favorite drivers are Toby Stewart and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
O’Brien admits her quest for a prize-winning recipe was frustrating at times.
“It kind of drove me nuts,” she said. “I didn’t want to do a burger.” And in keeping with the tailgate party theme she said, “I wanted something easy – something on a stick.”
In the end, the combination of meatballs and mozzarella inspired her. She grabbed a skewer and slid half of a prepared meatball on it. Then she added a slice of mozzarella and continued the pattern. Next came the tricky part. She wanted to deep-fry the meat and cheese in an appetizing batter, but it took several attempts to come up with the right coating.
“I tried tempura, but it was too thin,” she said. “I tried hush-puppy batter, but I didn’t like the texture.” Finally, she discovered that pancake batter was just the tasty ticket.
She christened her concoction “Speedway Cheese Balls.” O’Brien recently demonstrated the recipe in the hospital kitchen. The batter turned crisp and golden in the fryer, and the cheese melted into delightfully gooey strings. O’Brien recommends serving the treat with warm marinara sauce.
O’Brien’s recipe ended up being in the top eight semifinalists in the country. The results have not been officially announced, but as of Friday, O’Brien said Speedway Cheese Balls was No. 2, trailing slightly behind “The Ultimate Inside Out Burger.”
While she was waiting for the official announcement, O’Brien said of the cheese balls, “I got really sick of eating them.” But she added with a grin, “My husband’s not tired of them yet!”