Get your goat on !

Sometimes, it is good to let them get your goat.

I  certainly am  glad that Chef Ric Orlando has no problem sharing his goat with a roomful of eager diners.

It was Braai night at New World Home Cooking, a barbeque with wine tasting featuring South African wines, what is not

to love about that ?

Braai is the African form of barbeque or grill, and has a whole tradition around it.  There is a large wood or charcoal fire, men do 

the cooking, and everyone eats sitting around the braai, it is a very social event.  Sound familiar ?

I was determined to attend this, even though no one was able to go with me.  I got the usual sinking stomach feeling right before I 

walked in alone, but I have come to accept my shyness and do my best to push through it.

There was no need to worry, the Saugerstock crowd is very laid-back and welcoming.  I was seated with Bruce and Gene and Dianae, all new to me.

We introduced ourselves, chatted a bit about where we lived and what we did and it was all fine.  By the end of the evening we wished each other well

and hoped to meet up again at the next foodie event.

On to the good stuff, the FOOD !

It was cloudy and rain showers threatened, but luckily it remained dry enough so that the outdoor grilling went on with no problems. Ric was manning the long,hot grill and 

nice chunks of citrus marinated goat was grilled up, nicely blackened on the outside.  Sausages, chicken and shrimp skewers were the other proteins but for me the goat was the big draw.

This was a real BBQ, big platters of food laid out, you grabbed a plate and helped yourself.  I settled in with  a nice chunk of goat meat and some shrimp.  I have no clue what part of the goat  I 

got as I took a chunk not on a bone, but you could see various leg bones and such on the platter.   The goat meat looked and tasted like a cross between lamb and pork, if that makes any sense.  It was lighter colored than I expected 

and while tender enough it had that bit of chew that you would expect from a gamier animal.  I really liked it and from what I could see and hear so did everyone that tried it.  Ric mentioned that the 50 lb goat was pretty much finished off by the 40 or so people eating.  

In addition to the meats, there were seasoned grilled vegetables, corn, a mango salad to die for, various chutneys, and grilled potatoes.   There were also some grilled whole jalapeños and jalapeño slices, the mango salad providing

the welcome cooling effect.  The mango was combined with red onions, peppers,scallions and vinegar, really nice.

Along with all this were some nice South African wines.  During the pre-BBQ appetizer hour we had a chenin blanc with little venison sausages and some cheese toasted bread.  This was an easy drinking white wine, pleasant with the bread and sausage.  With the main meal we had a pinotage, a blend including pinot noir which was great with the goat and BBQ foods.  We had a second red wine with dinner,  made by "Goats Do Roam",  a nice little wink at our dinner.  Though I liked the name of the second red, the pinotage was my favorite. 

Any fine meal deserves a little sweet at its finish, and this meal ended with grilled bananas with caramel sauce and fresh whipped cream.  This was a big hit at our table and one of my gentleman friends even had seconds, but you didn't hear that from me...

Cake ballz !

Ok, I have been making a lot of cake balls lately.  I was turned on to them by a co-worker and decided to make them my "bring to a party"  food for the endless parties of summer.

What are cake balls, you ask?   They are delicious little dense,  moist balls of cake, almost truffle-like in texture, coated in chocolate and impossible to resist !

Here is the simplest and easiest ingredient list for cake balls :

1 box cake mix, baked as instructed, typically with water, eggs and oil.

1 can frosting

chocolate bark candy coating (or any meltable chocolate)

Bake and cool the cake, shape doesn't matter so I just use the trusty "9" X "13" pan.

Crumble the cake into tiny bits in a large bowl, I break it in chunks then use the hand mixer to finish it off.

Mix in frosting, one tablespoon at a time, until the cake will form a ball when rolled together.  Typically anywhere from 1/2- 3/4 of a can of frosting is enough.

Roll walnut sized balls of cake, lay them on a wax paper covered tray.

Freeze them for at least 30 minutes.

Melt your chocolate bark in the microwave according to the package instructions.

Take the cake balls from the freezer and coat them in the chocolate, two forks work pretty well.

Lay them on a wax paper covered tray.

If you are decorating them with sprinkles do it as you dip them since the bark will harden quickly on the cold cake.

They are done, keep them in the fridge and you are good to go !

This is the easiest way to make them, but you can take this to a higher level by using a good homemade cake and frosting and quality chocolate to coat them.  It is your call and your friends that you have to please.

The best thing about cake balls is that  the variations are endless.  You can use any flavor cake with any frosting flavor you want.  You can decorate them with sprinkles, or coconut flakes, or crushed nuts, or a drizzle of a contrasting color chocolate.   You can mix in a little fruit filling  with the frosting. You can leave out the frosting and use a creamy liquor like Bailey's Irish Cream to make an adult version.  Stick a lollipop stick into them and make cake pops.

You are only limited by your imagination here.

Here are some of my favorite combos :

spice cake with cream cheese frosting

chocolate cake with chocolate fudge frosting

white cake with Bailey's Irish Cream

What do I want to try ?

banana cake with cream cheese frosting 

key lime cake with some tequila ! ( Can you say margarita-ville ) 

chocolate cake with raspberry

You get the idea ...