Sweet and spicy chicken wings, trimmed of excess skin and carefully grilled composed the foundation of our dinner. Sides of fresh guacamole, re-fried beans, store brought pica de gallo, Trader Joe’s handmade flour tortillas and shredded cheddar rounded out the menu.
This was an easy menu to mostly prep in advance. Monday, I trimmed the chicken wings, put them in a bowl and then into the refrigerator. Also combined the barbecue sauce ingredients. Tuesday, I marinated the chicken overnight in a combination of fresh lime juice, Worcestershire and minced garlic and shredded the cheese. On the day of the dinner; the refried pinto beans went into a covered pot to wait on the stove top, guacamole was made and the flour tortillas were wrapped in foil.
Of course, margaritas were a given with this dinner but I wanted to add a flavor to the traditional drinks. I had almost 2 pints of fragrant raspberries from Costco on hand—so we ended up drinking Raspberry Margaritas (which were delicious)!
For each drink, I combined 1 ½ oz. of tequila, ½ oz. Cointreau, ½ oz freshly squeezed lime juice, and about ¼ oz. Framboise along with a large handful of fresh raspberries. Those are the basic proportions. For the dinner, I made 6 servings and put the liquid and fruit in the Cuisinart along with some crushed ice and blended well. This mixture got poured into a big jar and put in the freezer.
That way, all I had to do was pour when my guests arrived. Oh, I forgot. The raspberries were a little tart, so I added a couple of long squirts of Agave Syrup to the Margaritas. Didn’t make them too sweet. Just right.
As the re-fried beans gently warmed on the stove top, I grilled the chicken wings. First, both sides were cooked without any sauce, then I glazed them generously with the sauce (catsup, pickled jalapeno juice, liquid smoke and a little brown sugar).
Las Vegas has been unusually mild this summer (global warming?), so we sat outside, eating and drinking and enjoying each other and the meal. That sense of friendship, sharing and closeness at the end of a meal?
Isn’t that the best pay-off for a dinner party?
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