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.

Tarte de Pommes-tini

Inspired by one of Chicago's hot new restaurants, Girl & The Goat, this cocktail recipes uses the French apple brandy Calvados and rum to provide smooth fall flavor. Phil Vettel of the Chicago Tribune gave Girl & The Goat a great first review, but you don't have to drive all the way downtown to enjoy this sophisticated sipper.

The cocktail on the menu at the Girl & The Goat is named "The Pirate Norman." Chef Stephanie Izard of Top Chef fame and her staff likely named the drink after its two main ingredients, aged rum (pirate) and the Normandy import of Calvados (Norman). This interpreted recipe of the Girl & The Goat cocktail is called "Tarte de Pommes-tini" or roughly "apple tart-tini" in French. While it may not be the exact Pirate Norman from Girl & The Goat, the taste may be just perfect for those martini lovers who never truly embraced the overly sweet "apple-tini" craze. And the flavor comparision to the original is pretty close. The ingredients are easy to find in the western suburbs of Chicago. Calvados is easy to find and is often used for cooking. Make sure the rum you choose is a dark aged rum.

Tarte de Pommes-tini

(enough for two cocktails with some extra left for refills)

Combine in a martini shaker with crushed ice:

• 2 shots Calvados
• 4 shots aged rum
• juice of 1 lemon (strained of pulp)
• 3 tsp. of sugar

Shake and strain the cocktail, serving in martini glasses.

Best place to shop for sausage in Aurora is the century-old Wurst Kitchen

If you love grilling brats, sausages and just about any other kind of encased or smoked meats, your best bet is to visit the Wurst Kitchen Sausage Co. in Aurora. In business in the Fox Valley for more than 115 years, the Wurst Kitchen started out making handmade and all-natural smoked and processed meats, largely serving the area's German community. Today the shop carries on the tradition of producing handmade sausages and meats, creating more than 80 different varieties throughout the year.
Polish sausage, bratwurst and veal bratwurst are just a few of the great choices for shoppers visiting Wurst Kitchen. More unusual flavors include Pizza, Taco, Tequila & Lime and Cherry Bomb bratwurst. At any given time the shop carries 40 varieties. A package of four large size brats or sausages are priced around $8. A list of offerings can be found here.

Located at the corner of Union and 2nd Street on Aurora's east side, the shop shows that it has strong roots. This location happens to be the original. For those who live further west of Aurora, Wurst Kitchen also operates an outlet and restaurant in downtown Plano (12 W. Main St.). A recent Saturday afternoon the Plano restaurant boasted a pig roast on premises. Catering options are available, and hunters will also find that Wurst Kitchen can process game like venison or foul. Contact the store for more details.

Shopping for South Asian Specialties in Illinois' Fox Valley

Located near the Fox Valley Mall in Aurora (3577 E New York St.), Namaste Bazar offers a wide variety of fresh, frozen and packaged foods focused on Indian and South Asian specialties. The store, which opened in May, is easy to shop and also offers chaat — savory snacks — with a menu of items like panipuri, bhelpuri, masala puri, sevpuri, and more in addition to masala tea and coffee.

The friendly owners seem to take great pride in the 1,200-plus items they stock, making it a welcoming place for shoppers of all backgrounds. The quaint outdoor seating area is very inviting for sitting and enjoying chaat or coffee during good weather. Free wi-fi is available in the store.

Even shoppers who may not be familiar with the ins and outs of Indian cooking will find a great deal to purchase at the store. There is a plentiful selection of frozen meals and treats available that will greatly expand the variety of convenience meals you keep on hand in your kitchen. There are also many ready-to-eat South Asian snack mixes and convenient spice blends that will help a cook who is intimidated by mastering a new cuisine. The spice selection is extensive and prices are very reasonable. Namaste Bazar even offers a savings club for frequent shoppers that provides discount prices, coupons, rewards gifts and more.