To make marmalade, peel onions, halve, and thinly slice. Thinly slice 4 garlic cloves. In large, heavy saucepan, heat butter and oil over high heat. Add onions and garlic and stir to evenly coat. Sprinkle with sugar, fresh thyme, and red pepper flakes, and stir to dissolve sugar. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium. Cook, uncovered, for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Onions are ready when juices have evaporated, and they begin to caramelize. Add wine, sherry vinegar, and Port and stir in. Continue to cook, uncovered, over medium heat for 25 minutes, or until liquid has reduced by two-thirds and onions are a deep mahogany color. Remove and cool. Add a pinch of salt, to taste, if you wish. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Marmalade can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week. Simply reheat before serving.

To make meatballs, preheat oven to 400 F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

In small saucepan, heat 1 Tbsp oil. Add minced shallots and garlic and sauté briefly until soft. Transfer to large mixing bowl along with remaining ingredients, except ground beef and chives. Stir together to blend. Add ground beef and, using your hands, work in seasoning mixture until evenly blended. Shape into 1 Tbsp-sized balls. You should have about 22 meatballs.

On parchment-lined baking sheet, place meatballs in single layer, making sure they don’t touch one another to allow for even browning during baking. Bake, uncovered, for 20 to 25 minutes, or until center of meatballs read 160 F when tested with a meat thermometer.

Place meatballs on serving platter and spoon marmalade overtop. Sprinkle with chives and serve with bamboo skewers.