Southwestern dinner at home

Originally uploaded by lools.

A pomegranate margarita recipe in Cook 1.0's drinks section inspired me to have a dinner party with a Southwestern theme. I was quite ambitious with the range of dishes I decided to prepare, but I figured that we could drown ourselves in tequila should my cooking go completely awry.

H (Harry the bartender) was in charge of fixing the pom cocktail. To make a pitcher, combine 2 cups tequila, 2 cups pomegranate juice, 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice and 1/2 cup superfine sugar in a pitcher with lots of crushed ice. Serve on the rocks in salted glasses. Garnish with lime wedges. H did a great job with the drink and everyone loved it.

While pomergranate margaritas flowed freely all night long, our guests munched on white and blue corn chips dipped in roasted tomatillo salsa. The first dish was grilled corn salad. This was followed by wild mushroom quesadilla with a fiery chipotle salsa. For the main course, I made a hearty casserole with brown rice, cheddar, ricotta, jalapenos and lots of cilantro. This was accompanied by frijoles borrachos (drunken pinto beans) prepared by simmering the beans in beer and cilantro. It sounds a bit weird but it was delicious!

I tried something really simple for dessert. I lightly grilled marshmallows on a grill pan and tossed them with cinnamon and cayenne pepper to give them a Southwestern touch. The cinnamon-cayenne flavour pairing worked really well. Unfortunately I ran out of marshmallows but my stock of Ciao Bella sorbet in the freezer came to the rescue!