Butterfly Effect + Buffalo Goat Cheese Balls

     There I was, in my kitchen, listening to the likes of Iron and Wine, Death Cab for Cutie, and the Shins, and cooking one of my most favorite recipes ever- Buffalo Oven "Fried" Goat Cheese Balls (adapted from the original recipe on Half Baked Harvest)- and then I started thinking. I thought about this recipe and that it led me to try goat cheese for the very first time, and that led me down a whole different path. This recipe changed my life. It really did. And exactly how is this possible? One word for you: butterflies.
     There is a theory that surely you have heard of called the Butterfly Effect. The theory states that the movement of a butterfly's wings on one side of the world can influence events on the other side of the world, and therefore, any action taken by any individual or group can and will affect countless others individuals and groups through a series of sequential events following the initial event. I'm done confusing you now... Read up on it if you find my definition to be lacking.
     So how did Half Baked Harvest's recipe for goat cheese balls change my life? Let me explain. I used to be an extremely cautious eater. Like, beyond picky. There were so many things that I wouldn't eat because I'd never tried them before or because they looked weird or sounded complicated. Goat cheese was one of these things. I had never tried it- not even once. But the day I made this recipe, I tried it. And I loved it. Goat cheese became my new favorite thing. Right now you're probably thinking something along the lines of  "Yeah, so what? It's just goat cheese." But let me tell you, that's just the beginning. After trying goat cheese I developed a passion for goats. I realized how cute they were and how versatile they were and how sweet and lovely there were... *sighs* And this led me down a new path in life. I had previously wanted to be an archaeologist specializing in Anglo-Saxon history which would've meant that I would have gone to Cambridge University in the UK to study Anglo-Saxon history in depth. In order to achieve this goal, I was putting so much effort into school. I wanted to get all A grades, take a whole bunch of AP classes the next year, and be some sort of super student. I wasn't myself. But all of this changed.
     After falling madly in love with goats, I fell madly in love with farming. I wanted to be a farmer and cheese maker somewhere cold and rainy like Ireland or Minnesota. All of this led me to understand something I'd never been able to comprehend before: to be successful is to be happy. I previously had thought that to be successful I needed to be an excellent student and get excellent grades and go to an excellent university and have an excellent career. But I was wrong. If you are a farmer and you love to farm, then you are more successful than office bots with 6-figure salaries and politicians with a global grip who lack that dopamine reward. You've got it, and they don't.
     So this recipe is like an old friend of mine. It pushed me in the right direction. It helped make me who I am today. I doubt it will have any effect on you whatsoever. I mean, it will have a fantastic effect on your taste buds, but probably not your core. Yeah, I'm just special. But surely you do have something that changed your life. Something simple and ordinary. Share if you feel like it.
Here it is:
Buffalo Goat Cheese Balls
10.5 ounce goat cheese log
Generous amount of panko bread crumbs- original recipe calls for 2 cups, but I use less.
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup Frank's Red Hot
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. First cut your goat cheese into between 12 and 14 even slices. And then cut them each in half. And then form them into cute little balls. There should be 24-28 of these depending on how many slices you cut. If you make 28 balls they will be crispier. That's what I like, so that's how I cut my goat cheese.

Next, beat your egg and set out your bread crumbs. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Do not skip this, because your cookie sheet will be a terrible mess if you don't use parchment. Really. My setup looked like this:

Now here's where it gets tricky. You've got to coat the goat cheese balls in egg and then roll them in the panko until they are nice and covered. Place them on the baking sheet. I recommend using one hand to roll them around in the egg and the other hand to roll them around in the panko. Otherwise, you're going to feel irritated by all the bread crumbs sticking to your fingers.

By now, you've gotten through the hard part. Stick them in the oven for 15-20 minutes. I personally put mine in for 20 so that they can get nice and crispy. When you take them out they should look like this:

While you let these cool, make the buffalo sauce. To make the buffalo sauce, melt the butter any way you wish- I did mine over a hot burner. Vigorously whisk the Frank's and the butter together. And then you've got your sauce. 

Now dunk your goat cheese balls into the sauce. I did this with my hands because I'm messy, but you can use a fork or something if you want.

 After this, put them back in the oven for 5 minutes to crisp up. Then you're done! Eat them, or let them cool and then eat them. I don't like waiting for them to cool. You can put any leftover sauce on the side and dip the finished product in it for extra flavor. Or not. It's up to you. 

You can save the goat cheese balls and reheat them in the oven if you'd like. But don't save the sauce. It will harden and become gross. If you want more, it's pretty easy to make. Just 1 part melted butter to 1 part Frank's Red Hot. Easy! 

I'm sorry that my post isn't that funny today- it's just a different kind of recipe for me. To cheer you up, here's a one of my favorite stand-up routines to watch as you eat:

You're welcome.