MANGO MARGARITAS

If you love margaritas and mangoes, you will love this recipe. You can buy tajin chile powder in some grocery stores that carry Mexican ingredients. If you can't find it, just use salt mixed with chile powder.

You can substitute the frozen mangoes with peaches and the grapefruit juice with orange juice.

1 cup silver tequila
½ cup Cointreau or Triple Sec
¼ cup lime juice, about 2 limes
1 cup pink grapefruit juice, 2 to 3 grapefruits
¾ (16 oz) bag frozen chopped mangos
Lime wedges, for garnish
Tajin chile powder mixed with coarse sea salt, for rims

Pour tequila, Cointreau or Triple Sec, lime juice, grapefruit juice and mangos in a blender and blend until smooth. 
Run a wedge of lime around the rims of 4 glasses 
Dip rims of glasses in a small bowl of the chile powder and salt mixture.
Equally divide the margarita mix between the 4 glasses and add a slice of lime.

Makes 4 drinks

SOUTHERN FRIED CHICKEN WITH COUNTRY GRAVY

My mother would make fried chicken every other Sunday. She served the fried chicken with mashed potatoes, chicken gravy, and collard greens. I believe this is the juiciest chicken with the crispiest coating. . .I think you will agree!

Dredge Ingredients
2 t garlic powder
2 t onion powder
2 t finely ground black pepper
2 t paprika
2 t brown sugar

2 t dry mustard
1 t sea salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup cornstarch

8 to 10 chicken pieces
1 cup buttermilk or whole milk mixed with juice of ½ lemon
1 egg
Peanut oil, for frying
                                 
Place pieces on a baking sheet fitted with a rack. Pat dry with paper towels and let sit on the rack for 30 minutes to come to room temperature.

Meanwhile, mix dredge ingredients together in a bowl.

Pour buttermilk into another bowl and whisk in the egg.

Working with one piece of chicken at a time, lightly dredge chicken in flour mixture, then place in buttermilk mixture. 
Dredge again in flour mixture and place back on the rack.

Heat peanut oil in a deep fryer or in a cast-iron Dutch oven to 375 degrees F.
If you don't have a thermometer, put the end of a wooden spoon in the hot oil.
If the oil bubbles around the spoon, it should be hot enough.

Fry thighs and drumsticks for a total of 12 minutes. 
Fry breasts for 10 minutes.
Fry wings for 8 minutes.

Place cooked chicken on the clean cookie sheet fitted with a wire rack and keep warm in a 225 degree F oven while frying the rest of the chicken.

Country Gravy

2 T unsalted butter

¼ cup all-purpose flour

1 cup chicken stock

2 cups half-and-half or milk

Sea salt and finely ground black pepper

In the Dutch oven that contains about 2 tablespoons of oil and the brown bits from the chicken, add the butter and let melt over medium-high heat.

Add the flour and cook, while whisking, until a light golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Whisk in the chicken stock and milk.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

BUTTERMILK CAKE WITH VANILLA BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

When I was a child, living on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, my family would drive to Virginia every Sunday. In the Spring and Summer, we would meet relatives somewhere in beautiful Virginia near a river or on Skyline Drive. My Aunt Dorothy would bring this delicious old fashioned buttermilk cake. 

2 cups cake flour or all-purpose flour
1 t baking powder
½ t baking soda

½ t fine sea salt
¾ cup (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 t pure vanilla extract
¾ cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease an 8-inch baking pan.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. 

In a standing mixer fitted with a paddle, cream together butter and sugar.

Mix in the eggs and vanilla.

Blend in the buttermilk, alternately with flour mixture, into the creamed mixture. 

Using a rubber spatula, transfer batter into the prepared pan.

Smooth top with an off set spatula or a table knife.

Bake in center of oven for 40 to 45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean.
Remove from oven and let cool completely before frosting the cake.

Vanilla Butter Cream Frosting
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
¼ t fine sea salt
1 T pure vanilla extract
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 to 3 tablespoons heavy cream or buttermilk

In a standing mixer fitted with a paddle, cream together the butter and vanilla until smooth.
Beat on high another 2 minutes.

Lower speed to medium and add sugar, alternating with cream.
Beat until it is a good spreading consistency.

Spread frosting onto cooled cake, either in the pan or on a platter.

Cut into 9 squares or 12 smaller squares.

BLOOD ORANGE, VODKA & ELDERFLOWER COCKTAIL

I found blood oranges in my grocery store a couple of days ago. I had the elderflower liqueur on hand, as well as the vodka, lime, and lemon thyme in my herb garden.

If you love blood orange juice, this could be your absolute favorite cocktail.

½ cup freshly squeezed blood orange juice

4 oz vodka

1 oz St Germain (elderflower liqueur)

Juice of 1 lime

Blood orange slices, for garnish

Lemon thyme sprigs, for garnish (optional)

In a small pitcher, combine the orange juice, vodka, St Germain, and lime juice

Stir to combine and pour into two cocktail glasses filled with ice.

Garnish with blood orange slices and a sprig of lemon thyme.

Makes 2 drinks

BUS in 1920s

EASY CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES

Chocolate truffles are a type of chocolate confectionery made with a chocolate ganache center coated in cocoa powder, confectioners' sugar, or finely chopped nuts. Ganache is a French concoction made with cream and good quality chocolate. The sky is the limit to what you can flavor your ganache with. They are quite expensive to buy and you can easily make them at home for a fraction of the cost. You can get your chocolate fix with just one truffle!

Chocolate Ganache

1 ¼ cups heavy cream

8 oz bittersweet (70% cocoa, if possible) dark chocolate, chopped

12 oz semi-sweet (70% cocoa, if possible) dark chocolate, chopped

2 t pure vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

2 T Grand Manier, Cognac, or Frangelico if desired 
1 T instant espresso, disolved in 1 t water, if desired

In a saucepan, bring the cream to a very low simmer.
Turn off heat and add the chopped chocolate with the vanilla and salt.

Whisk the chocolate ganache until smooth and shiny.
Let sit for about 5 minutes and then stir with a spoon or rubber spatula.
Stir in the vanilla extract and one of the extra flavorings, if using.

Spoon into a square pan and refrigerate for about 1 hour.

Using a 1 tablespoon ice cream scoop, drop level tablespoons of the ganache onto a baking sheet or large platter. 

Coatings (make all coatings or just one)

½ cup medium ground or chopped almonds

½ cup medium ground or chopped pistachios

½ cup cocoa powder or confectioners' sugar

Keep hands cold by rinsing them in cold water and drying with a paper towel.

Roll the ganache balls in the coatings.

Store in 2 tightly covered containers and refrigerate until ready to serve.

They will keep for one week - if they last that long!

To serve, place in small paper truffle holders, if desired.

Makes 36 to 48 truffles, depending upon size.

IZETTA'S TENNESSEE PORK CHOPS WITH WHISKEY GLAZE

This recipe is in honor of my mom who was born in Tennessee. She didn't add Jack Daniels to her pork chops, but I think she would approve of this recipe. This is truly a Southern comfort dinner, served with mashed potatoes and greens. 

Lee's Kitchen Tips:
Today, the recommended temperature of cooked pork is 145 degrees F. That is 15 degrees lower than recommended years ago. Don't dry out your chops.

Whiskey Glaze

¼ cup Jack Daniels Tennessee whiskey

½ cup apple juice (I use honey crisp apple juice, but use your choice)

1 T brown sugar

2 t Dijon mustard

1 T cider vinegar

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 bone-in, center cut pork loin chops, about 1-inch thick

1 T extra-light olive oil or avocado oil

1 cup chicken broth

½ t Kitchen Bouquet (optional)

2 T unsalted butter

Whisk together the whiskey, apple juice, brown sugar, mustard, and vinegar in a medium bowl. Transfer ¼ cup of the mixture to a zippered plastic bag and add the pork chops. Press out the air and seal. Squish bag to coat with the marinade, refrigerate and marinate 2 hours. Cover and refrigerate remaining marinade.

Remove pork chops from marinade and pat dry with paper towels and discard marinade in zippered bag.  
Heat oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. 

Season chops to taste with salt and pepper. 

Brown them for 4 to 5 minutes on each side.

Add chicken broth and cook another 4 minutes.

Remove chops to a baking pan and keep warm in a 225 degree F oven while making the gravy. 

Add reserved whiskey sauce to skillet and Kitchen Bouquet.
Bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits with a wooden spoon.  

Cook until reduced to a thick glaze, about 3 to 4 minutes.

Reduce heat to medium-low and add the butter. 

Cook for another couple of minutes.

Spoon sauce over chops and mashed potatoes.

Serves 2