Spicy but Sweet

Looking for something that will bring everyone in from the Range at suppertime? 

Beef and alcohol, always a winner (but alcohol only after all the firearms and accessories are put away).

Cooking with "adult beverages"  is something perhaps not everyone has tried.  Certainly almost any dish can be doused in alcohol and set on fire (sometimes even intentionally!)  But cooking it down, paired with the right spice, such as in last nights Great Balls of Fire -Bourbon Glazed Meatballs  can be an adventure in flavor as opposed to  "hey, where's the number for the gyro place?"
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The secret spice?  Cardamon.  It is sometimes hard to find, though many large groceries carry it in the ground form. Using it fresh from the pod gives the best flavor, the seeds within being crushed.  This is a standard bourbon glaze to which I added fresh garlic and cardamon, red pepper and some Heavy Metal Heat from the  Scoville Brothers Hot Sauce folks. The Scoville Brothers are a very popular acoustic music group in Northern Indiana and their hot sauce line is as good as their tunes, with as much flavor as heat.

Great Balls of Fire Meatballs

Ingredients:

meatballs:
1 1/2 pounds ground sirloin (mixed with a bit of pork) Note: Unless you want ball bearings, don't use cheap, overly fatty hamburger.
1/2 cup milk
6 Tablespoons bread crumbs

3/4 teaspoon sea salt
3 cloves roasted garlic chopped  (or 3/4 tsp. powder)
1/8 tsp. plus one healthy pinch ginger
1/8 tsp. cardamon ( I used the seeds from 6 cardamom pods, crushed)
1/8 tsp.  Scoville Bros. Heavy Metal Heat hot sauce (with bhut Jalokia, the "Ghost Pepper")
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons Bourbon (I used Evan Williams)
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil.

pepper

sauce:

2-4 shakes of crushed red pepper flakes (four isn't blazing hot but it had a gentle kick)

1/2 cup Bourbon
3/4 cup well packed brown sugar
1/4 cup plus 1 Tablespoon orange marmalade
pinch of orange zest (fine gratings of the outer layer of an  orange peel)

1/4 cup peach preserves
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Mix meatball ingredients and form into 1 and 1/2 inch or so sized balls.   Dust with a little black pepper, and brown on medium heat in olive oil (do not cook through). Remove. Reduce heat to low and add sauce ingredients to pan drippings, stirring until brown sugar melts. You will notice a decided alcohol aroma, but as the alcohol cooks off, it will become a very savory glaze. Add meatballs back in and cover. Simmer on low for an hour, stirring every 10 minutes or so. Remove lid the last 15 minutes of cooking. Serve over noodles or rice.