In the fall of 2007, Andy Williams asked me to help him develop a restaurant concept for the space next to his theater in Branson. I had worked for Andy in the past and knew that any restaurant that he put his name on would be first class. Needless to say, I jumped at the chance. I was in charge of conceptual development along with Andy and his wife Debbie as well as hiring, training, and basically everything else that has to be done in opening a restaurant. In the spring of 2007, we opened the Moon River Grill to much fanfare and a stunning VIP party that featured an 18 foot seafood display in a real canoe! The recipe below is a variation of one that I created for Andy.

Although you see meatballs at many football parties, rarely do you taste one home-made and as delicious as these!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ¾ cup onions (finely minced)
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 2 lb. ground round
• ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ teaspoon dried basil
• 1 egg, beaten until frothy
• 2 slices stale white bread
• ½ cups milk
• 3 teaspoons
• 2 teaspoons black pepper

PREPARATION

Heat sauté pan and add the oil. Sauté onions and garlic in sauté pan over medium heat until onions are soft. Add thyme, oregano and basil and sauté for another minutes or so. Chill onion mixture. Place bread and milk in a mixing bowl. Let bread soak until it absorbs all the milk then squeeze out milk, tear into small pieces, and combine with beef in a separate mixing bowl and add the onion mixture, the egg, and salt and pepper. Mix well (but do not over work the meat) this will make the meatballs tough. Weigh out 2 ounce portions. The meatballs should be perfectly round. This is achieved by using slightly wet hand and throwing the meatballs from one hand to the other a few times then making a perfect ball by gently rolling.

There are two methods for cooking the meatballs:

You can either bake in a 350° oven for 20 to 30 minutes or place raw meatballs in your favorite tomato sauce, bring to a simmer and cook in the sauce, covered, for 45 minutes.

You can use any number of different sauces for the meatballs and they can be served swimming in the sauce or with the sauce on the side for dipping.

Aspiration, also known as broccolini, is a wonderful green vegetable which was produced by crossing Chinese Broccoli with traditional broccoli. It has a long, edible stem and is topped by tender broccoli-like florets. Due to its mild, pleasant flavor, broccolini has more of an appeal than traditional broccoli. The name confusion will eventually be solved by the giants in the vegetable world, but for now, buy it under any name because it is really a great vegetable! Any method that works with broccoli will work with aspirations. I chose this for my Game Day trio since this dish will please the meat eaters as well as vegetarians at your house!

INGREDIENTS

• 2 quarts of water
• 1 large bowl of ice water
• 2 bunches aspirations
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 container Sabra Hummus (available in our deli)

PREPARATION

Bring 2 quarts of water to boil over high heat in a large saucepan. Reduce heat to medium. Remove rubber bands form the aspirations and place in the boiling water. Simmer for 2 to 4 minutes depending on your preference for cooking green vegetables. Remove from pan and immediately plunge in ice water. When completely cooled, remove from ice water and drain well. In a large bowl, toss aspirations with the olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Remove hummus from container and place in the middle of a large platter. Arrange the aspirations around edge of platter. Serve cold.

INGREDIENTS

• 3 lb. chicken wings
• 2 cups bread crumbs
• 1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 stick melted butter

For the Marinade:

• 2 cup yogurt, plain, unflavored
• 6 fl oz. lemon juice
• 4 fl oz. Dijon mustard
• 6 tsp. garlic
• 4 tsp. salt
• 4 tsp. sage
• 4 tsp. oregano
• 4 tsp. pepper
• 1.5 lb. onions, raw, minced

PREPARATION

Combine all ingredients for marinade. Add chicken wings to marinade and marinade overnight or at least 2 hours. Mix bread crumbs with Parmesan. Remove wings from marinade, place in bread crumb mixture and toss to coat wings evenly. Placed on non-stick cookie sheet or a greased cookie sheet. Brush lightly with melted butter and bake at 425° for about 30 minutes.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (8 oz) container sour cream
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 package dry vegetable soup mix
• ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (10 oz) package baby spinach, chopped or frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 1 can (8 oz) water chestnuts, drained and chopped
• 1 can (14 oz) artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
• 3 tbsp finely chopped onion

PREPARATION

Combine all ingredients in large bowl and chill 2 hours before serving. Serve with pita chips.

Homemade Pita Chips ( serves 8 )

INGREDIENTS

• One package of pita bread (any brand)
• Olive oil
• Sea or Kosher Salt
• Coarse Black Pepper

PREPARATION

Cut pita bread into bite size triangles and put in a gallon size Ziploc bag. Toss with olive oil and spread in a single layer on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes.