The Legend of the Margarita

Several posts ago, I wrote about Tequila and gave you a “pea” size history on its’ origins and manufacturing and a recipe for Tequila Muffins. What I didn’t give you were these intriguing legends that I’ve found over the years about how the “margarita” originated. I’d like to share those with you now.

So far, I have found four different versions as to how the most popular tequila drink, the Margarita, was first created. If you know of another one, or know which one is the correct story, blog me and share it with us. Here goes:

1st version: There was a wealthy caballero who was totally consumed with the beauty of a young woman named Margarita. So, he had a drink created in her honor by the local bartender. Sadly, he woke one morning to find both Margarita and his money gone. Only her garter remained. ( Sounds iffy to me.)

2nd version: A man by the name of Francisco "Pancho" Morales is credited with the creation of the Margarita. It is said he first designed the drink in 1942. Presumably he was working at a place called Tommy's Bar when a woman came in and asked for a drink he had never heard of. Not wanting her to think of him as inept (and for fear of ruining his reputation as an excellent bartender), he conjured up a drink mixture of tequila, cointreau and lime juice. The woman loved it and asked Pancho for the name of the drink. He told her it was a Margarita. Pancho died in El Paso, 1997. This one sounds quite convincing.

3rd version: The Margarita was named for Margarita Sames of San Antonio. The drink was especially created for her for a Christmas party she was hosting in Acapulco in 1948.

4th version: The Margarita was named after Margorie King, a young actress. She reportedly could not drink any alcohol except tequila. The owner of Rancho La Gloria, Danny Herrera, created the drink so that Margorie would not seem unlady-like as to drink straight tequila. This was back in the late 1930's.

Most Expensive Tequila!

Dos Lunas Grand Reserve
$2,500/750 ml bottle

The most expensive tequila comes not from Mexico, but from Texas. It is distilled by the Dos Lunas distillery. The owner, Richard Poe, always said he wanted to make the world’s best tequila and he probably has.

The tequila is made from Jalisco’s best agave and is aged for 10 years in Spanish sherry casks. This particular brand is rare and only a reported 1,000 bottles have been made. Those still not sold are kept under lock and key, very safe, very secure.

An announcement was made in August of this year stating that “Dos Lunas Tequila Celebrates Its Third Year of Being Herbicide and Pesticide-Free.” Founder and CEO Richard C. Poe II made the announcement and said, “I am proud of Dos Lunas Tequila, not only because it is all natural and chemical-free but also because it continues to be a standout in terms of flavor and taste, and is undoubtedly the smoothest tequila on the market today".

El Paso’s own, Park Kerr, author, foodie, and part owner of the El Paso Chile Company, has authored two marvelous cookbooks about the “Margarita” and Tequila. They are named; Viva Margarita and El Paso Chile Company Margarita Cookbook. Just like Mexican Chocolate, where the uses are endless and its’ origins are from Mexico, Tequila recipes abound in Parks’ cookbooks. He offers recipes for Margaritas (of course) but also recipes for desserts and savory dishes as well. I have these books and I love using them not only for special occassions but also for everyday meals that you want to make special for someone. Think about getting his books, they sure would make a great Cristmas present for someone.


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Meanwhile, I will leave you with a few (7) margarita recipes of my own that you can enjoy.

7 Margarita Recipes for YOU

Margarita
Makes 1
1 slice of lime
Course salt
½ ounce fresh limejuice
1 ½ ounces tequila
½ ounce orange flavored liqueur
2 to 4 ice cubes
Rub the inside rim of the chilled glass with the slice of lime. Pour salt into a saucer and dip the glass until a thin layer of salt adheres to the moistened rim. Combine the limejuice, tequila, orange-flavored liqueur, and ice cubes in a cocktail shaker. Shake well and strain into the salt-rimmed glass. Makes one serving.

Margarita Sunrise
Makes 6
1 lime, cut in half
Granulated sugar
3 cups cracked ice
¼ cup powdered sugar
1 cup tequila
1 can (6 ounces) frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
Rub rims of 6 stemmed glasses with 1 lime half; dip rims of glasses into granulated sugar. Squeeze juice from both lime halves into blender. Add remaining ingredients. Cover and blend on high speed until foamy. Pour into glasses.

Jalapeño Margaritas
Makes 1
Steep jalapeño peppers in a sour mix (1 part sugar syrup and 1 part lemon juice). In a blender, mix your tequila, Triple Sec, sour mix, a dash of Tabasco Sauce. Garnish with a whole jalapeño and a slice of lime.

Chocolate Margarita
Makes 2
Chocolate Chipotle Powder, recipe follows
1½ ounces dark chocolate liqueur
1½ ounces chocolate vodka
1½ ounces tequila
1½ coffee flavor liqueur

Chocolate Chipotle Powder*
2 tablespoons Mexican Chocolate ground into powder
1-tablespoon ground chipotle powder (or red chile powder if you prefer)
Mix completely

Spread the Chocolate Chipotle Powder out on a large plate. Rim 2 (8-ounce) martini glasses by rolling the edge of each glass on a clean wet sponge, then rolling the edge over the powder. Tap the glass gently to knock off the extra powder. Pour the rest of the ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice and shake vigorously until the outside of the shaker is frosty. Strain immediately into the glasses and serve.

Peach Margaritas
Makes 6
1 lime, cut in half
Granulated sugar
3 cups cracked ice
1 cup tequila
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
½ can (12-ounce size) frozen orchard peach juice concentrate, thawed
6 peach slices
Rub rims of 6 stemmed glasses with 1 lime half; dip rims of glasses into granulated sugar. Squeeze juice from both lime halves into blender. Add remaining ingredients except peach slices to blender. Cover and blend on high speed until foamy. Pour into glasses. Garnish with peach slices.

Lemony Margaritas
Makes 6-7
2 large lemons, cut in half
Coarse salt
2 cups cracked ice
1 ¼ cups tequila
1/3 cup triple sec
Rub rims of stemmed glasses with 1 lemon half; dip rims of glasses into coarse salt. Squeeze juice from lemon halves to measure ½ cup. Place lemon juice and remaining ingredients in blender container. Cover and blend on high speed until foamy. Pour into glasses.

Strawberry Margaritas
Makes 4
6 ounces tequila
2 ounces triple sec
8 ounces frozen strawberries
4 ounces frozen limeade concentrate
6 cups ice
Place ice in a blender and crush for 15 to 20 seconds. Add frozen strawberries, tequila, triple sec, and limeade. Blend until smooth.
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Piloncillo Bread Spotlighted

Two wonderful foodie friends have shone the spotlight this month on a recipe I had posted a while back: Piloncillo Brown Sugar Pound Cake. These two loving friends are:



Tina, from Mommy's Kitchen

and

Megan, from Megans Cookin

I wanted to take this opportunity to say a BIG THANK YOU!!
I haven't been blogging that long, but I have found that when you find other people who share in the same passion as you, you're bound to make some pretty incredible friends.
Please visit these great foodie buddies and share the love. Foodies are great people, let's show the WWW who we are and what we're capable of. Hugs to everyone.

Please go to my chocolate blog. I was a "Featured Foodies" on Glorias Cookbook Cuisine.
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Mexican Word of the day: BODYWASH
I can't go to the cantina tonight cuz no bodywash my kids

Mexican Meatball Soup / Caldo de Albondigas

MEATBALLS, GET YOUR MEATBALLS HERE! A frugal idea. Beans, rice, Mac 'n cheese, potatoes, soup. As each day goes by, the grocery bill gets higher and higher. We, as cooks and foodies worry that the day will come when we can no longer afford to feed our families properly. Go back to the basics folks. Despite my own personal afflictions, I'm still a healthy person and I grew up on beans and rice. We had a bit of meat maybe once a week if mom could afford it. There's no shame in that. I'm proud of the way my mom was able to take care of my two brothers and me as a single parent. My father passed away when I as only 3.

From the frugal lessons that I learned growing up, I've not once been unable to feed my husband and kids a wholesome meal even when times are tough. Basic foods helped us all to grow healthy and strong. Ask my 200 + pound son who I still wrestled with up to maybe 8 years ago when my Fibro really got a hold of me.

My brother Jose R. Cordero is a wonderful husband, father, musician, and teacher. He sent me this recipe a few years ago when I was putting together the Aprovecho Cookbook. I had asked several people, including my brothers, to send me recipes that reminded them of the growing up years here in El Paso. Jose smiled and said, "I know of one." Caldo de Albondigas. It was a specialty of my mother's. When she could afford it, she would make soup. Bean soup, vegetable soup, oxtail soup, chicken soup (oy!), and of course, our favorite meatball soup.

Jose lives in Mystic Connecticut. He's been there many years now. He retired from the Coast Guard where he played with the Coast Guard Congressional Band. He's played Carnegie Hall and with the Russian Symphony Orchestra. I'm very proud of him and only wish we lived a little closer so that we could see each other more often.

Thanks for letting me share a little bit about my "bro", Jose. Try out his recipe; I think you'll like it.

Mexican Meatball Soup
Caldo de Albondigas

2 pounds ground beef
2 eggs
½ cup long grain rice
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper
½ cup finely minced onions
3 stalks celery, chopped
6 carrots, chopped
5 potatoes, cubed
1 (9 ounce) can tomato sauce
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
Lime wedges, tortillas, Bolillos, optional

Mix ground beef with the eggs, rice, cumin and garlic. Add salt and pepper to taste. Shape meat mixture into 1-½ inch meatballs. Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil. Gently place the meatballs into the boiling water. Add the onions, celery, carrots, potatoes and tomato sauce. Cover and reduce heat to low boil for about 1 hour until vegetables are soft and rice in meatballs is tender. Serve hot garnished with cilantro, a wedge of lime, tortillas or bolillos.
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MEXICAN WORD OF THE DAY: WATER
My mammasita gets mad so mush and I don't even know water problem is!
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Don't forget to check out my Chocolate Blog for a great dessert idea.

Somebody Loves Me!!!

I got this crazy cute award from two (not one) foodies.

DebinHawaii
http://kahakaikitchen.blogspot.com/ and

Reeni
http://cinnamonspiceandeverythingnice.blogspot.com/

Just want to say I love you guys too. You always visit my blog and have wonderful things to say.
These ladies are fabulous.

Reeni's blog makes me feel like I’m coming home for a great home cooked meal. She’s warm and lovely and takes great photos. Stop by her blog and say hello.

Deb, this girl drives me crazy. She makes all this incredible food…in Hawaii. I love going to her blog because she makes me feel like I’m right there by the ocean sipping a nice cold drink and watching the waves roll in. Also stop by her blog to say hello.

So, now it's my turn. I'd like to give this award to:

Michele from Life, Lightly Salted.
Michele is down to earth, very natural and open and I LOVE her blog design, crossbones and all. She’s really a love..and her cooking is great. So stop by her blog as well and say howdy to Michele.

Gloria from Cookbook Cuisine.
Gloria is an amazing woman, blogger, and author. She never tires of teaching other foodies how they can publish their own incredible cookbooks. She writes, she cooks, and she still makes time to go see her grandchildren's football games. Visit Gloria's blog and say hello.

Now, for Michele's meme challenge.

Sweet or salty?
Both of course. It’s like when you go to the movies and you get popcorn. You absolutely have to have some CHOCOLATE to go with it. It’s just a natural taste sensation.
Which ingredient(s) do you use most?
Onions and tomatoes. Most border dishes I make contain these and I’d be lost without them. I was devastated with the salmonella outbreak.
What’s the cooking sound you most love?
Sizzling, popping, and the drip, drip, drip of my coffee maker.
What’s your favorite cooking smell?
Bread baking in the oven and the smell of fresh baked chocolate chip cookies.
What are the qualities you most admire in a dish?
The natural look. I have a hard time eating foods that have been architecturally designed for looks and not taste.
What is your most treasured possession in the kitchen?
My coffee maker, I start and end the day with a fresh brewed cup.
What is a dirty word in your kitchen?
This needs more salt! I don’t use a lot of salt when I’m cooking because my people always reach for the saltshaker before even trying a dish.
What are you afraid to do in the kitchen?
Falling. I always listen to music when I cook, so I start dancing around. Lord help me if I spill something and I do a moonwalk, there she goes, she’s flat on her butt.
What won’t you eat?
Slimy stuff, like oysters.
Have you ever lost your appetite for a food you once loved?
Not yet, but if Bob keeps insisting on steak every weekend, that might be the first.
Have you ever had a change of heart involving a food you once disliked?
Spinach. My mom used to make me eat it as a child. I hated it. But now, I really like it, especially fresh in a salad.
If you could choose one historical or living cook to make you a meal right now, who and what would it be?
Ina Garten. I love the Barefoot Contessa.
Who are your favorite cookbook authors/food writers?
There are so many, but I must say that I am enjoying the self-made cookbooks by some of the foodies I’ve met.
What is your favorite food-related word?
CHOOLATE and Tequila
What is your favorite food-related scene from literature or the movies?
I absolutely love the Grand Hall scenes in the Harry Potter movies where the students sit down to eat. Can you imagine having anything you want with a wave of a wand?

Enjoy the rest of your day. I'm cooking Caldo de Albondigas (Meatball Soup). I'll put that up in the next post.
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Don't skip out on my chocolate blog. I found some new stuff you'll really like. Aprovecho.

The ALMA Awards

Did anyone see the ALMA Awards last Friday?

The NCLR ALMA Awards were created in 1995 to promote fair, accurate, and balanced portrayals of Latinos in the entertainment industry. NCLR is the National Council of la Raza and ALMA means soul or spirit. In the case of the awards, the presentations were made to those entertainers who best portrayed the “true spirit” of the Latino people.

EVA LONGORIA PARKER, Executive Producer and host, did an excellent job of keeping the show on schedule and at the same time manage to do about 10 wardrobe changes. Actually, she was quite delightful (and Tony was in the audience).

There were several performances and many awards presented. These are some of my favorites:
Chevy Entertainer of the Year:
America Ferrera, Ugly Betty

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series:
Jorge (Hurley) Garcia, LOST

NCLR ALMA Humanitarian Award:
Shakira

Youth Advocacy Award:
Pamela Jimenez Cardenas

Special Achievement Award –Outstanding Director of a Made-for-TV Movie:
Kenny Ortega “High School Musical 2” (Disney Channel)

Trailblazer Award Special Achievement in Music:
Linda Ronstadt

The show was 2 hours long and I actually sat through the whole thing, very much unlike me. It seems I’ve always got ants in my pants, but not this time. I felt such a sense of pride seeing “mi gente” recognized for their achievements.

If you didn’t catch the awards show and would like to see a complete list of winners, who BTY include Charlie Sheen's alter ego, Carlos Estevez, go here: ALAMA Awards.
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Mexican Word of the Day: Choose

You like my "choose"? They are adidas!

16 de Septiembre

The 16th of September is one of great celebration, not only for Mejicanos, but also for those of Mexican decent everywhere. It commemorates the day Father Hidalgo climbed to the balcony of the Parish of Nuestra Senora de Los Dolores (Our Lady of Sorrows) and exclaimed loudly, “Long live independence. Long live Las Americas. Death to bad government.”

This became known as the “Grito de Dolores” a call to independence from Spanish dominance. Soon after his “grito”, Father Hidalgo was captured and executed. Jose Maria Morelos, a small village priest, took up the call for independence and continued to motivate and incite the revolutionaries against the Spanish.

Independence was finally achieved in 1821 when Guadalupe Victoria, a liberal, became the first elected president of the Republic of Mexico.

Hispanics like myself celebrate this holiday as a tribute to the struggle that the revolutionary army made up of farmers, peasants, villagers and indios endured in honor of their success in achieving freedom from the Spanish crown.

You don’t have to be a terminator or super soldier to win your blessed freedom from tyranny. You just have to cherish your freedom enough to stand up for what’s right.

I would like to offer a few Mexico-inspired dishes to get your fiesta up and running. Enjoy life, celebrate your freedom and be grateful for family, friends and country.


Coctel Bandera Mejicana

1 pint Tequila
½ cup lime juice
½ cup sugar
Crushed ice
1 jicama
1 cup green seedless grapes
1 cup cherries

Mix the tequila with the lime juice and sugar. Add crushed ice and mix thoroughly. Serve in tall cocktail glasses. Skewer one green grape, one cube of jicama, and one cherry. To represent the colors of the Mexican Flag, garnish each cocktail with the skewered fruits. Makes 8 servings.

Tequila Mary

1 ½ ounces Tequila
1 cup tomato juice
1 tablespoon chopped green chile
5 - 6 ice cubes

Put all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a large stemmed glass and serve with a rib of celery and a pickled jalapeño as garnish. Makes 1 serving.

Mexican-Flag Salad

2 heads of broccoli
1 large head of cauliflower
2 packages (12 ounces each) of cherry tomatoes
Pimentos
Jalapeño slivers
1 end-slice of bread

On a rectangle-shaped serving platter, arrange broccoli, cauliflower, and cherry tomatoes in equal portions starting on the left side of platter with the broccoli and ending on the right side with cherry tomatoes.
With a shape knife, cut the end-slice of bread into an eagle shape (or whatever shape you desire) and toast it in the toaster (or in the oven if you think the bread slice might break coming out of the toaster).
In the center portion, the one covered with the cauliflower, position the toasted, eagle-shaped end-slice of bread in the center. Beneath the eagle, form a ½ circle with jalapeño slivers. Decorate with pimento pieces. Position 1 jalapeño sliver by the eagle's beak to represent the snake. Chill in refrigerator till serving time.

Dip:
½ cup sour cream
½ cup mayonnaise
Mix these two ingredients and chill in fridge to allow flavors to mellow, 30 minutes. Add minced onion (or onion powder), chopped cilantro, chile powder, salt, pepper, and a pinch of sugar, all ingredients to taste. Be conservative with the amounts. You can always add more, but you can't take them out!

Pastel de 3 Leches
3 Milk Cake

CAKE:
6 large eggs, separated
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
8 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
1 cup all purpose flour

Milk Mixture
1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 ½ cups whole milk or cream
2 tablespoons vanilla extract or Amaretto

Whipped Cream:
2 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons sugar
¼ cup Amaretto

Garnish (optional):Sliced fruit, such as strawberries, kiwi, start fruit, etc.

For the cake, preheat the oven to 350°. Beat 6 egg whites, baking soda, and salt on medium speed until soft peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes. In a separate bowl, lightly whisk 6 egg yolks. With mixer on low speed. combine yolks with egg whites. Slowly add sugar and vanilla. With a rubber spatula, fold in cooled melted butter. Sift ¼ cup of flour into mixture and fold with spatula to combine. Continue sifting and folding the flour into the batter ¼ cup at a time until it is all mixed in. Pour batter into buttered and floured 9-inch cake pan. Bake 20 to 25 minutes. Test for doneness by inserting a toothpick in the center. If it comes out clean, the cake is done. Cool 5 minutes on wire rack.

For the milk mixture, combine the 3 milks and vanilla about 5 minutes before the cake is donw baking. After the cake has cooled for 5 minutes, remove cake from pan and place on cake plate making sure plate has a rim so that the milk mixture does not runn off the edge. Pierce top of cake with a fork or toothpick. Pour milk mixture onto cake and allow 3 to 5 minutes for the milk to be absorbed. Once the cake has cooled completely, cover and refrigerate until serving time.

For the whipped cream, chill a bowl and beaters thoroughly. Beat the cream with a mixer until it begins to thicken. Slowly add sugar and Amaretto. Beat until stiff peaks form. When ready to serve, cut cake into serving portions and top with the shipped cream. Garnish with sliced fruit.

For the chocolate version of the 3 Leches Cake, go to my chocolate blog and enjoy a delectable style of this wonderful dessert. Aprovecho.
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Mexican word of the day: Defense
La migra chase me cause I jump defense!

NEVER FORGET

Don Haskins, The Bear, is at Peace

Don Haskins, former basketball coach for the UTEP Miners has passed away. He was an El Paso legend, an icon and a true character.

Don Haskins was basketball coach for the Texas Western (now UTEP) 1966 NCAA Men’s Division 1 Basketball Championship team, making headlines for having the first all African American starting lineup in the country. He made history and took El Paso along for the ride.

My daughter Lily came home from work yesterday afternoon at 5pm and the first words out of her mouth were, “Mom, coach died.” “What?” She gets news updates on her cell phone and she had just received one from the El Paso Times saying that Coach Haskins had passed away at 4:30 pm (Sunday, September 7th) due to heart failure.

I checked online and the news was so new that it hadn’t been posted yet. But Bob, being elated about the Cowboys win over the Browns, decided to watch the local news and sure enough, during the sports segment, the story broke.

We were all rather quiet for a while trying to absorb the news we’d just received.

Coach touched many lives. Ours was no different. Bob used to do the Don Haskins coach’s show. My husband is Program and Video Production Manager in our city’s cable company. So his involvement in UTEP Athletics has been a constant in our lives for many, many years now. My unrelenting complaint about being a sports widow because of all the sports programs he does at all different hours and days between August and March remained unspoken. I kept thinking of Coach’s lovely wife, Mary. A sweet and pleasant Southern Belle who was probably the only one to tame “The Bear”, as Coach Haskins was affectionately referred to.

We are a UTEP household. I attended UTEP, Bob and my son Michael graduated from there and now our daughter is attending her second year at the university working towards her Social Work degree.

I got to know Steve, one of Coach’s sons and his enchanting wife Carmen. She and I worked together for a number of years. Another Southern Belle, sweet and gracious as any lady from the South. But don’t get her dander up, she’ll put you right back in your place. My kind of gal.

We’ll miss you coach. Though you never really enjoyed the notoriety and being in the public eye, your fans held you in the highest regard. We hope you and Bobby Joe are shooting a few hoops up there.

Glory Road, starring Josh Lucas as Don Haskins, is a movie that was released in 2006. The movie is about Coach’s life and the events leading up to the NCAA Championship in 1966. If you haven’t seen it and are a sports or history fan, be sure and watch it.

Are You Ready for Some Football?

Oh yeah, it’s that time of year again. Sitting in front of the screen and screaming for your favorite football team and cussing out the referee when he doesn’t make the call you expect him to make. Why aren’t there any women referees? I guess guys are afraid they’d keep the game fair. Ooooh.

Anyway, football is great to watch and great to eat by. You can chow down some store bought pizza, some heartburn hot dogs or a stale bag of popcorn. Or you can get ready for the game with some really great food to munch on. I say "munch on" because the secret to really great game food is small-size portions so that you can eat as much as you want and think you’re pigging out, but in reality it ends up being a regular size meal.

Bob helps me prepare the football feast early in the day, cause if the “Boys” are playing, I’m not about to be in the kitchen missing the game.

So, good luck with your team and have some fun. It’s that time of year when everyone’s a fan.

Here’s our Game Plan Menu:

This is so easy my daughter could make it.

Mini Jalapeño Cheeseburgers
(small yet filling, and so simple to make)













1 (10 count) package frozen biscuits
2 pounds ground meat
10 asadero slices
sliced pickeled jalapeños
salt and pepper to taste

Bake biscuits as per package directions. Slice each biscuit in half horizontally and set aside.Form 10 small hamburger patties from the ground meat. Grill patties on a stove top grill or an outdoor grill. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Two minutes before removing from grill, top each patty with a slice of asadero cheese. Top the asadero with jalapeño slices.Place one patty on the bottom half of cut biscuits and replace the top. Makes 10 burgers.


Chile con Queso


½ onion, diced
6 roasted, peeled, and seeded long green chiles
2 jalapeños stemmed, seeded and diced
1 large tomato, chopped
1 can evaporated milk
10 to 12 ounces cheese (Monterrey Jack, Longhorn, or even Velveeta), shredded or chopped
1 tablespoon of bacon grease or shortening
Corn tostada chips, homemade or store bought

Sauté onions in bacon grease for about 3 minutes until translucent. Add long green chiles and jalapeños. Sauté another 5 to 6 minutes. Add chopped tomato and evaporated milk. Bring to a simmer. Allow to simmer for a couple of minutes. Turn down heat. Start adding the shredded or chopped cheese. Stir until cheese is completely melted and bubbly. Serve with lots of tostadas and napkins.

Drinks
Well, here, Bobby and I have to compromise again. I don’t especially like beer, and he doesn’t have wine too often, so we have both.

He gets Corona or Dos X’s and I make a pitcher of
Manzana Cocktails. (or chocolate margaritas, whichever I’m in the mood for)

1/2 cup apple juice
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons lemon
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 medium apples, peeled, cored, and chopped
1 bottle chilled sparkling wine, like Prosecco

Combine first 5 ingredients in a Dutch oven and blend well. Add chopped apples. Stir and cover. Over medium-low heat, simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and drain.
Allow to cool then mash apples in food processor or by hand.
Place 2 tablespoons mashed apples in bottom of tall cocktail glasses and top with sparkling wine. Makes 6 glasses. And that makes me happy.

Dessert you say? Of course. But you’ll have to go to my chocolate blog to get the recipe.
Football Mexican Chocolate Butter Cookies. Do you think the title is long enough, or should I make it longer? :) This is a recipe my mom gave me long ago.

Whatever team you’re rooting for, remember it’s just a game. Have fun and take advantage of the time you can share with your family. Hasta luego mis amigos/amigas.
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Mexican word of the day: Budweiser
Your chica is so fine, budweiser face so ugly?
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Recipe for a Cookbook, by Gloria Chadwick

Recipe for a Cookbook,
by Gloria Chadwick

I just finished reading Gloria’s book on a complete how-to in developing your own cookbook. How I wish I’d had this book back when I was first attempting to publish.

The book is filled with much valuable information and it sells for the price of $14.95 in print and only $10.00 as an ebook.

Recipe for a Cookbook is 8 chapters long and has 7 appendices added to the end. These appendices are worth a mint on their own. The reference material contained in these last 7 additions to the book takes a great deal of time to research and she’s already done that for you. She includes information on book formatting, design, printing options, contests, reviewers and marketing. Everything you wanted to know but were afraid to ask, in fear of sounding like a newbee to the publishing world.

Gloria is a food writer, trained culinary expert, published author of 26 books (an accomplishment in itself), and an excellent cook. As with most of us food bloggers, she started out writing down her recipes because of the call for help from her family and friends for cooking and recipe ideas. Once she started writing them down, there was no stopping her.

She says in her book, “This book is a guide that shows you how to create, cook and serve your cookbook with style and flair.” She does this and more.

These are some of the ideas that you will find in her book:
*A timeline for taking your book from conception to publishing.
*The different aspects contained in the traditional versus the self-publishing methods.
*Ideas and suggestions for the presentation and formatting of your cookbook.
*Pricing and promotional materials.
*Marketing recommendations. This includes what you are already doing with your blog.
*A huge list of websites, magazines, book fairs, and tradeshow to look into.
*The benefits of online marketing and direct mail.
*There is a sample query letter and a sample book proposal to send to publishers.

On top of all of this, there are recipes dispersed throughout the book that you can make while you take a break from reading.

Was I impressed with her book? Absolutely. She’s an accomplished writer and trained cook. Do I recommend this book? Yes I do. If you have filled your life with your passion for cooking and you would love to get your work published, get this book first. It will save you a lot of time and research frustrations. It will answer questions you may have about leaping into the world of publishing.

Kudos to you Gloria. Job well done. My best wishes on the next one, Foods and Flavors of San Antonio.

On a side note, she has just started up a new blog on diabetes. Gloria was diagnosed with diabetes several years ago and is now blogging about alternative methods of control and maintenance of this distressing condition. It’s a lovely read. Go to Doable Diabetes to read her new blog and please recommend it to anyone suffering from this illness.