Got Goat?

A little mistake resulted in a delicious supper. The following recipe was intended for ground chicken, turkey or lamb. We used goat. Amazing.

From A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg - Doron's Meatballs with Pine Nuts, Cilantro and Golden Raisins

Yogurt Sauce

1 cup plain yogurt, whole milk

3 TBS lemon juice

1 garlic clove, minced

1/4 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp salt

*Whisk and set aside to mingle at room temperature while making the meatballs.

Meatballs

1/2 cup minced yellow onion

1/4 cup minced cilantro leaves

1/2 cup chopped pine nuts

1/2 cup golden raisins, roughly chopped

1/2 cup soft bread crumbs (whir a torn slice in the processor)

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground cumin

fresh ground black pepper

1 pound ground goat tenderloin

Mix onion - black pepper well. Add goat. Lightly mix with hands. Form into meatballs and fry in a skillet with olive oil until cooked through. I browned mine good and finished them in the oven. Serve with yogurt sauce. Drink the leftover sauce with a straw. Kidding. But you'll want to. Am I not the worst recipe writer ever?!

Ketchup or Catsup. Take your pick.

I strongly dislike bottled ketchup. It's sickeningly sweet and smooth and hits my gag reflex all wrong. There is an amazing place downtown (and Duluth) called Hell's Kitchen. It's on my top five favorite restaurant list. They make wicked awesome ketchup. They also happen to have recently published a cookbook in which they share the recipe. I tweaked it slightly and I'll share that version with you:

1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes

1/2 cup minced onion

3 canned pear halves, drained

3 TBS juice from canned pears

1 can tomato paste

1/4 cup brown sugar

3 TBS apple cider vinegar

1 tsp dry mustard

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tsp salt

1 tsp white pepper

1 TBS whole peppercorns

1 whole bay leaf

1 tsp whole allspice

1tsp ground mace

1 tsp whole cloves

Put the first group of ingredients (tomatoes - white pepper) into a food processor and whir it good until smooth-ish but don't overdo. Transfer to a saucepan and bring to a simmer over low heat. Put the remaining group of ingredients in some cheesecloth and tie it up. Plop it in and let it simmer, stirring occasionally, for at least an hour and up to 3. Squeeze the spice bag good, discard, let it cool and put it in a pretty jar.