Chicken Meatball "Soup" and a brush with fame

So the other night I went out to a show.  It was at the Midway and it featured a bunch of punk bands, including The Cretins, whom we were specifically going to see since they'll be playing at my birthday show, and I've never gone to one of their shows.  I never did get to see them - they didn't get to play, because the show started late, other bands ran long, and then the last band before them set off the fire alarm (no, really, that really happened).  But I did get to see someone I recognized from this very blog - well, two people, because the inimitable Sarah Sparks was there too - but famed habanero-eater and connoisseur of convenience store food Chestnut Growler was in attendance, and I'm not ashamed to say I was like "Hey!  I know that guy!  He's from MassBytes!"

No one is going to recognize me from the internet.  That's ok.

Unless maybe I come at you bearing a bowl of this "soup."  Then you too can say "Hey!  I know that girl!  She's from MassBytes... and you call this soup?  I don't think you know what the word 'soup' means."  It's true.  This isn't really soup.  It isn't really even stew.  The liquid all absorbs and thickens until it's just this sort of creamy glaze over everything, so it has that really smooth, unctuous - and here's a word I don't really like to use - mouthfeel.  It's one of those things that is deceptive about the ingredients.  The liquid is just stock and water thickened up by the pasta cooking in it.

You also get an interesting combination of geographical flavours in here - ideas of Mexican, Mediterranean, and Asian tastes all show up. Give it a try!

Also, the meatballs themselves are really good.