Blackberry Thyme Margarita

Photos by Corey Woodruff

A couple weeks ago, I was invited to preview the reimagined menu at The Grill at the Ritz-Carlton in St. Louis. The Grill chef, Damien Faure (who, incidentally, is married to Simone Faure of La Patisserie Chouquette) has designed a menu highlighted by "traditional as well as communal and shared plates [...] along with classic house-made desserts, signature beverage creations, and an innovative Infused Oil offering." Guests can personalize their menu selections with a variety of house-infused oils. Flavors include lemon verbena & avocado, black garlic & herb, bacon & porcini mushroom, purple basil & brandywine tomato, black truffle, and spring onion & chipotle.

Everything that I sampled was delicious. I tried the New Orleans-style BBQ shrimp & grits with grilled chorizo; Prince Edwards Island Mussels with lemongrass & Kaffir lime; grilled Medjool dates with bacon, Cambozola, & roasted hazelnuts; blackened steak & mushroom flatbread; Tuscan kale & hearts of palm salad with strawberries & goat cheese (one of my favorite dishes that night); hot smoked salmon with tomato coulis; center-cut filet; beer-can chicken (that's right...Chef Faure wanted to represent a "local" dish); grilled asparagus, roasted cauliflower, & twice-baked potato. Dessert was strawberry & white chocolate baked Alaska and profiteroles with hazelnut ice cream.

Yep. It was A LOT of food. I was a happy, happy girl.

Before dinner, we sampled a few of The Ritz signature cocktails.  Why am I not having cocktails at The Ritz Lobby Lounge on a regular basis? They have like a gillion kind of martinis. My favorite was the Blackberry Thyme Margarita: "Sauza Blue, Cointreau, Fresh Lime Juice, Muddled Thyme, House Made Blackberry Simple Syrup, Blackberries."

Here's my recreation:

Blackberry Thyme Margarita

Eggnog Cake with Rum-Soaked Cranberries & Pecans

I'm happy to be participating in an Eggnog Party sponsored by Davidson's Safest Choice® Eggs. They've asked me to create and post an eggnog recipe using their pasteurized eggs. 

You can join the party, too! Safest Choice® Eggs is giving away two baking Grand Prize packs valued at $500 each:

• one (1) $200 Amex gift card
• one (1) Sur La Table® Platinum Professional Bakeware, 7-Piece Set
• one (1) Sur La Table® Silicone Snowman Spatulas, Set of 2
• one (1) Better Homes and Gardens Baking: More than 350 Recipes Plus Tips and Techniques cookbook
• 52 coupons for a free dozen of Davidson’s Safest Choice® Eggs

The giveaway will end at midnight Eastern time on Friday, December 13th. You can enter at the end of this post.

So, why use pasteurized eggs? "Davidson’s Safest Choice® Eggs are pasteurized in an all-natural, gentle water bath pasteurization process to eliminate the risk of Salmonella. The vast majority of eggs sold in grocery stores are NOT pasteurized. Safest Choice™ offers peace of mind when making recipes calling for raw or undercooked eggs [like homemade eggnog] and removes the worry of cross contamination."

Halloween Menu Ideas

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. Or...at least it used to be. I think I've gotten to the point that I've out-grown it. I used to throw pretty wild "Tarts & Vicars" costume parties, but some resulting drama put an end to that years ago. Plus, I don't have kids to dress up and trick-or-treat with. In fact, I've begun to loathe trick-or-treaters around here...it's usually just a bunch of teenagers sans costumes. I'm now the grumpy old lady who keeps her porch light off and her curtains shut.

This year, I'm hosting a two-person dinner party and monster movie marathon. I'm planning a simple supper: black & orange cheese and fruit platter, green curry, and caramel popcorn.

In thinking about my Halloween menu, I wanted something sophisticated but easy, festive but not childish. As a result of my research, I started a list of grown-up party menus. Then, I asked a couple of my favorite foodie/blogger friends to contribute a round-up of recipes. Here's what we came up with...

Black & Orange Cocktail Party:

The "sinister spread" from Martha Stewart

Cocktails:
Black velvet cocktail
Blood orange margarita
Candy corn vodka martini

Appetizers: 
Black & blue cheese log 
Black olive tapenade with orange & white crudite (endive, fennel, cauliflower, daikon radish, jicama, orange bell pepper, baby carrots)
Deviled eggs with pimento cheese & smoked paprika 
Poppy seed & cheddar cheese ball
Roasted carrot dip
Roasted sweet potato slices topped with black bean hummus

Sweets:
Chocolate caramel marshmallow pops
Chocolate cupcakes with orange cream cheese frosting
Chocolate pumpkin pie bars

It's all about the Boos!

Festive cocktails complied by Ruth Sparrow

 Ghostly spirits from BHG

Black Cloud Cocktail
Black Widow
Bloody Scary

Dra-Kahlua
Eyeball Highballs

Lovin' in the Coven

Monster Movie Marathon Munchies:

Zombirella's Frankencake

 

"Death in the Afternoon" cocktail 
Caramel apple martini
Green olive tapenade with crackers
Garlicky kale salad
Ricotta & chive gnocchi with kale pesto
Grasshopper macarons
(And LOOK...a whole menu inspired by The Bride of Frankenstein!)

Pumpkin Feast:

Nigel Slater's hot, sweet baked pumpkin

Pumpkin juice (recipe below)  
Pumpkin hummus with pita chips
Grilled salmon (or chicken or pork) with pumpkin-molasses barbeque sauce 
Pumpkin & red lentil soup
Pumpkin-pecan pie

Day of the Dead Dinner:

 Sugar skull sugar cookies from Sugarbelle

Pan de muerto (bread of the dead)

Oaxacan black mole 

Pork tamales

Green chile chicken tamales 

Dulce de Calabaza (candied pumpkin)

Mexican hot chocolate with vanilla & chile

Autumnal Desserts:

Candied apples from Just a Taste

Bourbon sweet potato cupcakes
French pear tart
Maple cake with maple syrup frosting
Mini cranberry meringue pies 
Pumpkin muffins
Salted caramel sauce
S'mores with maple-bacon marshmallows & dark chocolate
S'more shooters
Spiced apple sorbet

Black & White Bash

 compiled by Laura of Food Snob STL

 Black and white cookies from Smitten Kitchen

Black pepper goat cheese log 

Black garlic noodles

Simple cauliflower 

Pumpkin Cheesecake bites with "ghost" meringue icing 

 

Pumpkin Juice

inspired by J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series

 

2 quarts apple juice, divided
1 piece fresh ginger (about 2-inches), sliced
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 teaspoon whole cloves
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup brown sugar

1 28-oz. can pumpkin puree

bourbon or spiced rum, optional

• Pour 3 cups of the apple juice into a saucepan; add the ginger slices, cinnamon stick, and cloves. Bring the mixture to a boil, turn down to a simmer, and cook for 15 minutes.
• Remove from heat, add the honey and brown sugar, and stir to dissolve.
• Add the pumpkin puree & remaining apple juice. Refrigerate the mixture until well-chilled.
• To serve an adult beverage, add a shot of bourbon or spiced rum to a glass of ice. Fill with the pumpkin juice.

Note: If the mixture is too thick for your liking, strain it through a mesh-strainer before serving.   

Muy Sabrosas Margaritas

My Uncle David makes the best margaritas.  I always loved visiting his farm in Tennessee, where he and my aunt had cocktail hour at 6:00 every evening.  At least once during our visits, David would make a pitcher of his infamous margaritas.

His recipe is like a family heirloom.  Once at a wedding shower for one of my friends, the guests were asked to bring their favorite recipe written on a recipe card for the bride-to-be. My mom, who was not known to be a great cook, brought the margarita recipe.  No one was surprised.

When I asked Uncle David for the recipe a couple years ago, this is what he sent:

Start with a larger container than you think you'll need.
Add 1 unit of good tequila.
Add 1/2 unit of triple sec.
Whatever amount you then have, add half that amount of orange juice.
Whatever amount you then have, add an equal amount of good margarita mix (Cuervo, for example; the cheap shit is a sugary mess).
Add one small bottle club soda.
Adjust strength by adding more than 1 unit of tequila; above is the minimum tequila for more sedate gatherings.
Rub rims with lemon, lime, or orange wedges.
Salt rims.  (People who request "no salt" for health reasons should be asked to leave.)
Fill glass as full as possible with ice.
Squeeze in three lemon, lime, or orange wedges over the ice, leaving one of those squoozed wedges in the glass.
Shake the margaritas until you get foam.
Pour over the ice.
Drink.

The most difficult part of following David’s recipe is the mathematics involved in figuring out units and half units. Here are the actual measurements I used for a pitcherful:

3 cups good tequila (reduce to 2 cups for a sedate gathering)
1 cup of triple sec
1 ½ cups orange juice (freshly squeeze is preferable)
4 ½ cups margarita mix * (see recipe below)
1 cup club soda

* The key to a really good margarita is homemade sweet & sour mix.  The margarita mixes you can buy are made with high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavorings, and preservative chemicals.  It’s easy--and tastier--to make your own.

To make enough margarita mix for one pitcher, you’ll need 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water, 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, and 1 ½ cups freshly squeezed lime juice. Make a simple syrup by heating the sugar and water together in a saucepan over medium heat just until the sugar melts.  Turn off the heat and let cool to room temperature.  Then add the lemon & lime juices.

S'more Shooters

With the holiday gluttony and new year celebrations behind us, most people are detoxing and making resolutions. But, I say, fuck that shit. We should live life to the fullest every day, not just during the holidays.

I've been thinking about how people only celebrate on "special" occasions. They only use great-grandma's good China once or twice a year, they are saving that expensive bottle of wine for the perfect moment, or they only take time to visit family & friends during the holidays.  The problem with saving something for a special occasion is that the occasion may never happen. Life is a fickle bitch, and she'll smack you upside the head when you least expect it. I learned this very quickly when my mom suddenly dropped dead at age 47 (sixteen years ago this month).

Last week, my oldest and bestest friend lost her house in a fire. Luckily, she and her family were out of town at the time, so they are all safe. But, they've lost pretty much everything they owned. I can't even imagine this kind of devastation. Of course, contemplating the "what-ifs" is the worst thing (the fire seems to have started in the middle of the night, in the basement underneath their 10-year-old son's room, a room which was completely destroyed by the flames).

This has made me think a lot of my life and the things I am grateful for. Overall, I am pretty damn lucky, and I should appreciate what I have. I need to just celebrate good life in general.

So, I'm going to break out my Waterford champagne flutes for Sunday morning mimosas. I'm going to keep in contact with my family more often. And, I'm going to indulge in little treats like S'more Shooters for no special reason at all:

Makes 12

12 large marshmallows or 35 mini-marshmallows

1 cup half & half

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1 ½ cups whole milk

¾ cup amaretto

½ cup graham cracker crumbs

Bacardi 151 or other flammable liquor

1.  In a small saucepan, bring the half & half to a boil. Place the chocolate in a medium bowl. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate & stir until melted.

2.  Return the chocolate to the pot & whisk in the milk. Over medium heat, bring to a simmer & stir in ½ cup of amaretto.

3.  Pour the remaining amaretto into a small bowl. Place graham cracker crumbs on a small plate. Dip the rims of shot glasses into the amaretto, then the crumbs.

4.  Transfer the hot chocolate to a measuring cup with a spout and fill the shot glasses. Top each with one large marshmallow or three mini-marshmallows, and pour a tablespoon of 151 over each class. Ignite with a lighter to toast the marshmallow. Blow out before drinking.

5. Say a toast & drink up! 

Pasta with Bacon Vodka Cream Sauce

If you follow me on Twitter, you know that I love all things pork, especially bacon. I've even made bacon vodka a couple times.

Yes, that's right...BACON vodka. I first made it for a bacon class I was teaching; we used it to make Bloody Marys & BLT martinis (with lettuce water, fresh tomato juice, a crouton rim & a sprinkle of bacon salt that tasted JUST LIKE the sandwich...no joke).

To make your own bacon vodka, you just cook up some bacon. Add it to a big jar with an entire bottle of vodka. Let it hang out in your pantry for a few weeks (it will look like a science experiment after a while, but don't be alarmed). Fish out the bacon. Freeze the jar of vodka. Strain. Strain. Strain. Drink. It's tasty shit. For real.

If you don't want to make your own, you can now buy a bacon-flavored vodka called Bakon Vodka. I have to tell ya, though...homemade taste more like real bacon. The flavored stuff smells and tastes like bacony Bac~Os. So, just make your own. Homemade bacon vodka has a smokey, rich taste. REALLY good in mixed drinks AND food.

I made a vodka cream sauce...because pasta, tomatoes, cream, and bacon seemed like a natural combination. Initially, I used a Rachel Ray recipe (gasp!) called You Won’t Be Single For Long Vodka Cream Pasta that I found on Smitten Kitchen. I chose this particular recipe because it calls for an entire cup of vodka, unlike most recipes which only use 1/3 to 1/2 cup, and only 1/2 cup of cream. I wanted to taste the bacon essence, dammit! Still, even with my omitting the addition of 1 cup of stock in favor or more vodka, I simply couldn't distinguish any of the bacony goodness.

So, I decided to create my own vodka cream sauce recipe to highlight my bacon vodka:

1. Saute a small onion, diced, in about a tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil. When the onion is soft, carefully add 1 cup of bacon vodka. It shouldn't ignite, but it's best to turn off the heat when you add the booze. Simmer this until slightly reduce, 3 minutes or so.

2. Then, add 1 cup diced tomatoes (I blanched & peeled a few Campari tomatoes; you should use the freshest, ripest tomatoes you can find). Season with salt & pepper (and, if you'd like, some fresh thyme or oregano). Cook until the tomatoes start to break down, 5 minutes or so.

3. Stir in 1/4 cup heavy cream and cook just until the cream is warm. Serve over penne noodles.

Tree Trimming & Egg Nogging

My family used to cut down a fresh tree every year for Christmas. We'd pick one out at the tree farm near my grandparents' house the day after Thanksgiving. A couple weeks later, we'd traipse back out to the tree farm with a saw to cut it down.

The holidays weren't complete without the whole family fighting over the tree decorating. The first problem was that my mom insisted on a HUGE tree, one that was over 15 feet tall, since our living room had a towering cathedral ceiling. Of course, trees always look smaller out in the field. Inside, however, they barely fit.

My dad would struggle with getting the tree home in our pea green station wagon (think Christmas Vacation). Once, the tree flew off the top of the car on the highway. My dad ended up laying in the wayback with the tree, holding on to it so it wouldn't fly out of the car. Then, he'd struggle with getting the tree inside. We always had to bring it in the back sliding glass door. We usually had to tie it up so it would stay straight. One year, he busted the ceiling fan with the ladder. Eventually, we'd begin decorating with multi-colored lights (the kind with the big bulbs), bubble lights, family ornaments, silver tinsel (strand by strand, as mom insisted), and candy canes.

Even though there was always drama, I miss that time so much. My dad hasn't put up a tree since my mom died almost 14 years ago.

Unfortunately, my ex-husband wasn't too keen on getting real trees. He (and his family) always put up a pre-lit, artificial tree. It made me sad. Luckily, Jerad's family always got a real tree...one they even cut down themselves! A couple years ago, I was supposed to go out to the tree farm with Jerad and his mom. It was a cold, rainy day--and I wasn't feeling well--so I told them I'd just meet at Jerad's parents' house to help decorate later that day. About an hour later, they showed up at my house with a gorgeous 12-foot Douglas Fir, lights, and ornaments.

I can't really explain how much that meant to me. It made me realize that I'd found my "home."


Today, after searching around two different fields, we cut down the biggest Christmas tree I've ever seen! Seriously, it takes up almost the entire room. It's crazy big! I'm still waiting for a squirrel to jump out.


Of course, every tree trimming party needs a cocktail. This is the one I made tonight, after we'd finished decorating and were enjoying the lights & strong fragrance of pine.

Homemade Egg Nog
from Kitchen Conservatory

Makes 1 gallon

12 eggs, separated
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups bourbon (or brandy)
4 cups heavy cream
nutmeg, to taste

• In a stand mixer, beat the egg yolks and sugar together with a pinch of salt until pale yellow and fluffy.
  
• Continue whipping and, very slowly, pour in the bourbon.
  
• In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites until they hold peaks.
  
• In a separate bowl, whip the cream until it holds peaks.
  
• Fold together the egg yolks, egg whites, and whipped cream. Garnish with lots of freshly-grated nutmeg.

Note: This will keep for a week in the refrigerator.

Jerad worshipping at the altar of The Tree.
He's a little like Clark Griswold.

Better with Booze: Vodka-Laced Mango Cupcakes

"It's better with booze" has always been a personal motto of mine.

Plain ol' pot roast for dinner? It's better with booze!

Boring baby shower? It's better with booze!

A cold winter night? It's better with booze!

Church? It's better with booze!

So, when I saw that the theme for this month's Cupcake Hero event was booze, I decided to whip up some liquor-laced goodies because....DESSERT IS BETTER WITH BOOZE!

I actually invented a recipe for this event, one which I am very proud of because--as I've said before--I'm no baker. I knew I wanted to do something with Absolut New Orleans, a mango & black pepper flavored vodka. So, this is a vanilla cupcake with a vodka-soaked mango center and vodka buttercream icing.

Never heard of Absolut New Orleans? It was released last fall, the first in a series to honor American cities. The flavors are supposed to represent the cities' cultural spirit, and all proceeds are donated to those cities.

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup milk
1 ripe mango
1/2 cup Absolut New Orleans vodka

• Preheat oven to 350.
  
• Peel and finely chop mango. Marinate mango in the vodka (use enough to cover completely) for 1/2 hour or more. Drain but save the juice for cocktails!
  
• Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
• Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time. Beat in extract.
• Add flour & milk, alternately, to sugar mixture.
• Fill 12 cupcake liners with 1 heaping tablespoon of batter.
• Add 1 teaspoon of mango to each cupcake.

• Top each with another heaving tablespoon of batter. Add more batter to each to fill liners 3/4 full.
• Bake for 20 minutes or until cupcakes are done.
• Remove from pan and let cool completely before icing.
  

For the icing:

1/3 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted
6 tablespoons Absolut New Orleans vodka

• Cream butter, salt, & vanilla until light and fluffy.
• Add sugar, gradually.
• Add vodka, one tablespoon at a time, and beat until smooth.
• If you're feeling sassy, add a couple cranks of black pepper to the icing.
  
• Ice cupcakes.
• Eat a bunch and catch a buzz.