Naf Naf: Excellent, Affordable Middle Eastern Cuisine

Naf Naf Grill, http://www.nafnafgrill.com, is a quickly expanding local chain of Middle Eastern fast casual restaurants. They've gone from the original location on Ogden in Naperville to multiple west suburban locations (Freedom Commons and Fox Valley Mall), a Niles location, and one in Chicago.

There's not a loser on their entire menu. Everything from the pitas to the hummus to their signature chicken shwarma are all excellent. The Veggie Feast features falafel, baba ghanoush, hummus, purple cabbage salad and tabule salad. The chicken and beef kebabs are also stellar.

Quick and affordable, Naf Naf has a clean, modern feel that is inviting for families, couples or takeout.

Cobra Corn - Healthy snack with bold flavor made in Chicago

Cobra Corn is popcorn seasoned with a one-of-a-kind flavor, Mumbai Masala. A unique blend of 10 Indian spices & seasonings. The founder of the company is Mihir, whose mother created the recipe as a way to feed him as hungry teenager and appeal to both his American and Indian taste preferences. It became so popular with friends, even when he went off to college, that he knew he was on to something. Now the snack is available for everyone to enjoy. You can find it online at www.cobracorn.com or at more than 100 retailers nationwide. In Chicago there are many locations to find it, including two Whole Foods locations (Gold Coast and South Loop), as well as in suburbs like Naperville at Michael's Fresh Market. If you love Indian spice and are tired of the same old snack options, give Cobra Corn a try!

Cobra Corn bonuses:

• No artificial flavors or colors
• No preservatives
• No MSG or maltodextrin
• No Cholesterol
• Good source of fiber
• 0g Trans Fat per serving
• Popcorn is a gluten-free food

New Black Olive Tapenade from The Gracious Gourmet

Black Olive Tapenade from The Gracious Gourmet
Brand new product from Connecticut's award-winning The Gracious Gourmet. Black Olive Tapenade: This classic olive tapenade marries three kinds of olives with extra virgin
olive oil, thyme and parsley. Meyer lemons and capers add a twist of vibrant flavor.

Blackberry Margaritas

After finding frozen seedless blackberry puree at a local Hispanic market, we decided to see what we could create with it. Jeff created Blackberry Margaritas to go with our braised chicken tacos tonight. It turned out to be both a beautiful and delicious drink. Dare I say we are also getting our antioxidants out of this? The leftover puree will likely be mixed with maple syrup tomorrow for waffles.

Blackberry Margaritas

In a cocktail shaker combine with crushed ice:
Juice of 1 lemon or 2-3 limes
3 T of seedless, unsweetened frozen blackberry puree (thawed)
2 T sugar (can add more sugar if you like it sweeter
2 shots Patron Citron
5 shots Jose Quervo Gold Tequila

Serve over crushed ice. Rim glasses with sugar/salt mixture if desired.

Nouveau Southern Dinner Party

Nouveau Southern Dinner Party

We enjoyed a small gathering last weekend of friends for appetizers and cocktails inspired by the South. We put our own twist on it, doing a duo of duos — two takes with modern twists — on Southern classics.

The menu was as follows:

• Homemade Pimento Cheese Spread on Crostini (http://vinoevittles.blogspot.com/2010/07/pimento-cheese-recipe.html)
  
• Southern Pickle Platter: with pickled green tomatoes, okra and sweet petite gherkins
• Double Oink Roll-ups: sausage balls wrapped in bacon and baked with a brown sugar and mustard glaze
• Chicken Wing Duo: traditional spicy and Memphis Rendezvous barbecue style. Served with homemade buttermilk blue cheese dressing and crudité (http://vinoevittles.blogspot.com/2010/09/bama-baked-wings-recipe-offers-healthy.html)
  
• Duo of Deviled Eggs: avocado and cayenne eggs, as well as traditional made with sweet gherkins and garnished with smoked Spanish paprika
• Red Velvet Cupcakes for dessert with Cream Cheese frosting (the beautiful cupcake liners are from Sutton Gourmet Paper www.suttongourmetpaper.com) I like Martha Stewart's recipe for the cupcakes and frosting.
• Cocktails: A Drunken Arnold Palmer (made with Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka and homemade lemonade) and an Alabama Sunset (made with brandy, prosecco and muddles blackberries and sugar)

Mini Chevre Cheesecakes with Spiced Cherries

Ingredients:

• 1 cup crushed graham crackers or other cookies
• 1/2 cup plus 1T sugar
• 4 T melted unsalted butter
• 1 and 1/2 packages of regular cream cheese (12 oz. total)
• 1 (4 oz.) package of chevre (goat cheese in log form)
• 1/4 tsp vanilla
• 2 large lightly beaten eggs
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 jar Spiced Sour Cherry Spread from The Gracious Gourmet
  
• 18 cupcake liners

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard cupcake pan with cupcake papers. Mix graham cracker crumbs with melted butter and 1 T of sugar. Press 1 T of the graham cracker mixture into the bottom of each of the 18 cupcake liners in the cupcake pan. Bake until firm, about 6 minutes. Let cool on wire rack.
2. Reduce oven temp to 275. Beat softened cream cheese and goat cheese together with a mixer on med. speed. Add 1/2 cup of sugar and vanilla. Keep blending. Add eggs slowly, scraping sides of bowl into mixture. Add sour cream and pinch of salt. Pour batter into baking cups, filling nearly to the tops.
3. Bake until sides are set but centers are wobbly, about 20-25 minutes. Let cool on wire racks. Wrap tops of cheesecakes tightly in pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate for four hours or overnight. Serve with 1/2 T of Spiced Sour Cherry Spread from The Gracious Gourmet (more or less can be used as desired). Will keep 3 days in the fridge. (www.thegraciousgourmet.com)

This recipe was adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe called "Mini Cheesecakes with Apricot Jam." I changed the cookie crust, kind of cheese, topping and adjusted the ingredients to better proportions. Makes 18 individual cakes. The topping is also fantastic! It has notes of red wine and lemon juice and spice in it. Not overwhelming at all! And the whole cherries in it are just gorgeous for the holidays.

The cupcake liners used are from Sutton Gourmet Paper! They bake up beautifully and hold color and design with just one liner. I am not showing the other striped papers I used from another company not to be mentioned! They turned out greasy and the crust burnt. So, I highly recommend Sutton Gourmet Paper! Order online at www.suttongourmetpaper.com

Bama Baked Wings recipe offers healthy option to football favorite

Wings and football are a classic combination, but healthful game-day food often doesn't make the cut. Here's a recipe for hot wings that will satisfy hungry fans and take a little bit of the calorie and fat sting out of enjoying deep fried wings. Named "Bama Baked Wings" for the University of Alabama football team, these wings are good enough for SEC fans — who boast being the most passionate college football followers in the nation. That means fans here in Illinois will also be impressed, no matter what college or pro tem they root for.

Instead of using Frank's brand hot sauce for northern-style Buffalo wings, this recipe calls for Louisiana brand hot sauce ... even though The Crimson Tide and LSU don't play nice together on the field! Louisiana brand is easy to find in Aurora-area grocery stores. Also listed is a recipe for blue cheese dressing that won't be as bad for your diet as store-bought stuff in a jar.

Bama Baked Wings Recipe

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

• 6 pounds of fresh chicken wings, cut into drum and wing parts
• 1 c flour
• 1 egg beaten with 2/3 cup of water
• 2 T. Seasoned Salt or Creole Seasoning
• canola cooking spray
• 2 sticks of butter (can substitute light butter)
• 3 T. red wine vinegar
• 3/4 c. Louisiana brand hot sauce (can use less for milder wings)

For the blue cheese dressing, mix together everything but the veggies. Refrigerate until the wings are ready to serve.

• 1 cup Light Sour Cream
• 1 cup Olive Oil Mayo
• 1 tub of blue cheese crumbles (can also use light blue cheese crumbles)
• garlic salt and pepper to taste
• 2 T. milk
• dash of red wine vinegar
• cut celery and carrot into sticks for snacking

Directions: Cut the wings so they are separated into drum and wing sections. If using frozen wings, make sure they are defrosted overnight before baking. Cover 2 hotel pans or baking sheets with foil — you may need three pans depending on how large they are. Spray the foil with canola cooking spray. Mix the flour and seasoned salt in a bowl. Dip the wings in the egg wash and then bread them in the flour mixture. Spread the wings out evenly on the baking sheets. Lightly spray the top of the wings with canola spray. Bake in a 425-degree oven for 20 minutes. Turn the wings after the 20 minutes and set timer for another 10. In a saucepan, melt the two sticks of butter. Add the hot sauce and 3 T. of vinegar. Stir until blended. Take the wings out of the oven and brush them on one side with the hot sauce mixture using a pastry or grilling brush. Return to the oven again for 10-15 minutes or until they seem done.

Brush on extra sauce if desired before serving. Set out blue cheese dressing, carrot and veggie stick alongside the wings.