Summer Drink Series #1: Blackberry Margaritas

Summer is definitely upon us here in Phoenix. Today I think is going to be the hottest day of the year so far with a forecasted high of 110. This is the time of year I start to wonder why it is I live here. But I have a pool in my backyard which makes it somewhat bearable. It's definitely going to make training for my half marathon tricky since pretty soon even the lows will be in the upper 80s or low 90s. (Did you know I'm training to run a half marathon? I am. You can follow my progress on my weight loss blog if you're interested.)

Anyway, I was toying with the idea of having a series of blog posts over the summer of tasty adult beverages. I posted on my Facebook page asking for ideas and if people thought it was a good idea. They did and they offered up some tasty sounding ideas, so my idea is a go. I rely heavily on peer pressure, in case you can't tell. So here's the first drink in my summer adult beverage blog series.

I hadn't had a chance to flip through the most recent Cooking Light issue when my friend Jen said there was a tasty looking recipe in there for blackberry margaritas. The mere mention of the word "margarita" generally makes my ears perk up, so I quickly found my copy and looked up the recipe. Tasty indeed! Coincidentally, not more than a day or two after that conversation, there were blackberries in my produce basket from the produce co-op. The Good Lord obviously wanted me to make these. I thought they'd be a perfect accompaniment to the queso fundido burgers I had slated for the husband and I to have later that week. I just had to hide the blackberries from my kiddos.

Blackberry Margaritas
Source: Cooking Light, June 2011

1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 lime
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup 100% agave blanco tequila
3/4 cup Grand Marnier
2/3 cup fresh lime juice
12 ounces fresh blackberries

Combine 1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar and kosher salt in a dish. Cut lime into 9 wedges; rub rims of 8 glasses with 1 lime wedge. Dip rims of glasses in salt mixture. Combine water and 1/2 cup sugar in a microwave-safe glass measuring cup. Microwave at HIGH 2 1/2 minutes, stirring to dissolve sugar; cool. Combine syrup, tequila, Grand Marnier, fresh lime juice, and blackberries in a blender; process until smooth. Strain mixture through a cheesecloth-lined sieve over a pitcher; discard solids. Serve over ice. Garnish with remaining lime wedges.

*****

I love me a good margarita and this definitely fit the bill. Although we skipped the whole straining step in an effort to save time and get to drinking sooner. However, that pretty much backfired because then they were too thick and seedy. So we threw some ice into the blender and had frozen margaritas instead. Normally we aren't frozen margarita people, but these were really tasty.

Summer Drink #1 was deemed a success!

I loved the color of these margaritas!!

Blackberry Cobbler

I think awhile back I mentioned that I had found out my great aunt won a James Beard award for a cookbook she wrote. Okay, really I just wanted to throw in that because it only kind of relates to this recipe. One of the cookbooks she wrote was strictly desserts (not the award winner). We always kind of laughed at this particular book because a lot of the recipes have anecdotes about members of our family that are completely untrue. Like there's some kind of apple recipe that says how my mom had a small apple orchard. Uhhh...if two rhubarb plants in the backyard count as a small apple orchard, sure. This particular recipe tells a story of how my grandpa took up baking as a hobby once he retired. As far as I know, my grandpa never baked anything in his life. He made great pancakes and chili and could fry up a mean hamburger and boil potatoes like no one's business, but I think that may have been the extent of his cooking ability. He did like to go pick blackberries like the story says, but he left the baking to my grandma. This is all kind of moot I guess since I'm not planning on typing up the anecdote, but I just thought I'd mention it.

So, last week blackberries were on sale for super cheap, and I couldn't resist. I bought four containers. We ate one of them, and I wanted to do something with the other three that was super tasty. My friend Jen A. had a berry baking fest recently and made some good sounding blackberry recipes, so I was thinking about making one of those. Then I pulled out this cookbook of my aunt's to see what was in there. I saw this cobbler recipe and figured this would be it. I didn't have quite enough blackberries for it, but I was close enough.

Blackberry Cobbler

Dough:
1-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3 Tbsp solid vegetable shortening, frozen
2 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
1/2 cup buttermilk

Filling:
6 cups fresh blackberries, washed and drained
3/4 cup sugar
4 sugar cubes, crushed (for texture), or 4 tsp granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 400. Lightly butter a 9-inch round casserole dish that is at least 2 inches deep.

In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Using a pastry blender or tw oknives, cut in shortening and butter until mixture forms coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center and pour in the buttermilk. With a fork, stir until just combined. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured board and roll or pat dough to forma rough 8-inch circle.

In a bowl toss blackberries and sugar. Pile into prepared dish. Gently lift the circle of dough an dplace over the berries, pinching together any breaks or tears in the dough. (The dough should look rustic and "cobbled.") Sprinkle the top with the crushed sugar cubes or granulated sugar.

Bake until fruit bubbles and top is golden brown, about 25 to 30 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack for at least 20 minutes before serving warm with whipped cream or ice cream if desired.

*****

So, I had full intentions of taking a picture of this and posting it, but the husband and I ate all but one serving last night because it was just so darn tasty. We would have eaten all of it, but the boy helped me make it and I promised him a piece. I only had four cups of berries, but it worked well enough. This was super tasty and I would definitely make it again if I can find blackberries for cheap. Yum!