Jay’s favorite Red Robin burger is the Royal Red Robin which is served with an egg atop the patty.

Personally, I prefer the Bonzai Burger….

Last Christmas my brother-in-law gave me The Meatball Shop’s cookbook. Apparently this is a hip joint where all the cool kids hang out in NYC’s Lower East Side.

Since we’re old, uncool, suburban soccer parents that live clear on the opposite corner of the country, we can still experience the hipness that is TMS in the privacy of our own cluttered, kids-running-amok environment.

I put Jay in charge of figuring out tonight’s dinner and he came across the “Steak ‘N’ Bacon Cheddar Balls” {every man’s dream!} saying that it reminded him of his precious RRR Burger…

I was a little skeptical of the egg on my burger and was going to skip it but, decided YOLO {you only live once} and gave it a shot.

It’s actually realllllly good!

Here is what you need:

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, finely diced

8 ounces bacon, diced {about 1 1/2 cups}

2 pounds 80% lean ground beef

6 ounces cheddar cheese, grated

3 large eggs

1/2 cup bread crumbs

2 teaspoons salt

Here is what you do:

Preheat the oven to 450*F. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of the olive oil into a 9X13-inch baking dish and use your hand to evenly coat the entire surface. Set aside.

Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the onions and bacon and cook, stirring frequently, until the bacon has browned and the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the onions and bacon to a plate and place in the refrigerator to cool.

Combine the ground beef, cooled bacon and onion mixture, cheddar, eggs, bread crumbs, and salt in a large mixing bowl and mix by hand until thoroughly incorporated.

Roll the mixture into round, golf ball-size meatballs {about 1 1/2 inches or 2 dozen meatballs}, making sure to pack the meat firmly. Place the balls in the prepared baking dish. {I read the directions wrong and made 12 large meatballs and roasted a little longer ~ about 25-27 minutes}

Roast for 20 minutes, or until the meatballs are firm and cooked through. A meat thermometer inserted into the center of a meatball should read 165*F.

Allow the meatballs to cool for 5 minutes before serving.

I placed one meatball sliced horizontally onto a toasted kaiser roll with some spinach on the bottom half and topped with a sunny side up egg, fresh ground pepper & Sriracha.

Served alongside was some zucchini that I tossed in olive oil, salt & pepper and some crushed red pepper and roasted at 400* for about 20-25 minutes.

*****

This is a meal that probably should not be eaten more than once or twice a year. It was fun to experiment with the egg and try another meatball recipe from this book.

Since we have 9 huge meatballs left, I think we’ll have those with a salad or some other roasted or sautéed veggies and skip the egg and bun!

I think it’s safe to say that you could file this recipe away for Father’s Day and make almost any man happy with it.

Enjoy your Veteran’s Day!

The willingness of America’s veterans to sacrifice for our country has earned them our lasting gratitude. ~ Jeff Miller