SIGNATURE COCKTAIL RECIPE: THE SOUTHERN GENTLEMAN

One gracious way to set the tone for a party or a wedding is to serve guests a signature cocktail as they arrive. As a host, having a pre-made cocktail does make bartending duties easier. I love to have a large tray of drinks waiting for guests at the door so they can help themselves and immediately mingle.

For weddings, you can use a signature cocktail to bring some of your heritage or personal style to the party and it does help reduce costs if you serve it in place of a full bar.

The Southern Gentleman cocktail is bourbon, mint, and blackberries with a float of Prosecco on top. This cocktail was crafted for Kathleen & Keith's New Year's Eve wedding in Palm Beach as tribute to the couple's Southern heritage-Kathleen is from New Orleans, her husband Keith is from Jacksonville. Everyone raved about it that night! (Kudos to Aaron's Catering/International Polo Club Palm Beach for crafting it perfectly!) This goes down really easy. Even the non-bourbon drinkers like it!

Because everyone asked for the recipe, Keith asked me to show him how to make it. We recreated it last week at their home. This recipe is for one cocktail but it is easy to make for a big crowd. Instead of muddling the blackberries, I use a stick blender to puree them and then strain. If you don't have a stick blender, you can use a wooden spoon and a mesh sieve to achieve the same results. It just takes longer.

THE SOUTHERN GENTLEMAN COCKTAIL

INGREDIENTS

1 ounce simple syrup, chilled
4-5 fresh blackberries
4-5 fresh mint leaves, torn
1 1/2 ounces bourbon
Splash of chilled Prosecco

INSTRUCTIONS
Make a simple syrup using equal parts sugar and water. (Put water and sugar in a sauce pot- stir to combine.  Bring to boil, once it boils remove from heat. Stir to dissolve sugar and let cool completely.

For 1:
Muddle 4-5 fresh or frozen blackberries and 4-5 torn mint leaves in a shaker with an ounce of simple syrup, crushing the berries and bruising the mint.  (I allow to sit for a while to absorb- but you don't have to)

Add 1 1/2 ounces bourbon- we used Buffalo Trace for this recipe.

Shake well. Taste. You may want a bit more simple syrup depending on how sweet the berries are.

Pour over crushed ice and top with a float of chilled Prosecco.

RECIPE: CHRIS LILLY'S GRILLED PEACH SANGRIA

Here’s the Grilled Sangria recipe from Chris’ Lilly's new book, Fire & Smoke. If you buy the book from the Big Bob Gibson’s website, Chris will sign it for you and ship it directly from the restaurant.

GRILLED PEACH SANGRIA

FROM: CHEF CHRIS LILLY

FIRE & SMOKE: A PITMASTER’S SECRETS (Clarkson Potter) 

Serves: 8 to 10

Cooking method: Direct heat

Cooking time: 2 minutes

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup sugar

2 peaches, peeled and cut into quarters

1 lemon, sliced

1 orange, sliced

1/2 cup peach brandy or schnapps

1/2 cup frozen lemonade concentrate

1/2 cup Triple Sec

1/3 cup orange juice

1 (750 ml) bottle dry red wine

2 cups club soda

DIRECTIONS:

Build a charcoal fire for direct grilling and preheat it to 450°F.

In a medium bowl, combine the sugar, peaches, lemons, and oranges.

Immediately put the fruit on the grill over direct heat and grill until the sugar caramelizes, about 1 minute on each side. Remove the fruit from the grill and set aside.

In a blender, combine the peach brandy, frozen lemonade, Triple Sec, orange juice, and the grilled peaches. Blend until smooth. Pour the mixture into a large pitcher, add the red wine, and stir well. Add the grilled lemon and orange slices and refrigerate until served.

To serve, add the club soda to the pitcher and mix well. Serve over ice.

GET GRILLING TIPS FROM MEMPHIS IN MAY GRAND CHAMPION CHRIS LILLY

BBQ TIPS FROM WORLD CHAMPION BBQ PITMASTER CHRIS LILLY plus RECIPE

I’ve been grilling since I was a kid… duh, I’m from the South. We all think our sauce is the best and we all think even if we can’t beat those television chefs in the kitchen, we would smoke them on the grill. J We want our bark just right, the perfect degree of doneness, and those highly prized grill marks. As much as I know about grilling, I recently got some higher education. I got the chance to attend The Q, a gigantic beachside grilling event at the South Beach Wine and Food Festival where 40 teams from across the country competed for annual BBQ bragging rights. This is one of the biggest and certainly one of the most fun barbecue events of the year. While there, I got a chance to pick up some tips from meat masters Chris Santos, Michael Symon, and one of the most celebrated BBQ chefs in the country, Chris Lilly, just in time for opening day of grilling season.

Chef Chris Lilly of Big Bob Gibson’s BBQ in Decatur, Alabama has won every major BBQ championship there is. Chef Lilly won Grand Champion three times and is a seven time category champion at Memphis in May World Championship BBQ Cookoff, Reserve Grand Champion at the legendary Jack Daniel’s World Championship BBQ Invitational, Grand Champion at the American Royal Invitational Barbecue Championship and many prestigious barbeque titles. I watched Chris create his magic during the Bubble Q event going as far as to meet him out at the pit at 4:00 AM to help him prep. I quizzed him on his technique, which he’s shared in his new book, Fire & Smoke: A Pitmaster’s Secrets. (Clarkson Potter)  Between the two of us, we’ve got you covered for all of your backyard barbeques and parties this summer.

Here are our top tips for firing up the grill for the first barbecue of the season:

CLEAN. For your first cook-out of the season, clean your grill really well. According to Chris, it is essential to also use a wire brush to clean and then oil the grill grates no matter what kind of grill you’re using. Chris also recommends starting the grill several days before you plan to cook to make sure it is working properly.

PREP. Make sauces, rubs, condiments, or side dishes in the days leading up to the party. The more you have prepped in advance, the more you can relax and enjoy the fun.

ZONE OUT. Chris says to set up two zones for cooking, no matter what grilling method you are using: gas, wood, or charcoal. Create one zone for direct cooking and one for indirect cooking, says our pro. Use the direct zone to sear and seal in the juices and then move it to the indirect heat to finish cooking.

PUT THE TOP DOWN. Chris says when you close the lid on your grill, you are also baking the food so you are able to grill faster without burning. For thin cuts of meat, you won’t need to close the grill lid, according to Chris but for a thick filet, he recommends this technique: Sear the meat over direct heat for about four minutes per side. Move it to indirect heat and close the lid. Use a meat thermometer to check for the perfect degree of doneness.

TAKE THE TEMP. Chris recommends always using a meat thermometer. His favorite is a digital instant-read thermometer like Therma-Pen. Get a good thermometer and go by the recommended internal temperature for the cut you are grilling. This is a foolproof way to achieve the most consistent results. Remember that the internal temperature of your food will increase even after you remove it from the grill.

TOOLS. Other grilling essentials include a pair of extra-long tongs, a fire extinguisher and a spray bottle of water. A cutting board is essential. Transfer grilled meat to a clean one to rest before carving or slicing. Be careful not to cross-contaminate and clean your cutting board thoroughly if you used it to prep raw meat.

WOOD YOU? Chris uses a lot of wood when he’s at the restaurant or in a competition but when he’s grilling at home, he uses a combination of Kingsford charcoal and hickory chips. Make sure to soak the chips before you use them so they don’t burn up immediately. 

BE CREATIVE. “Don’t think you can just grill steaks; grill anything you would cook in your indoor kitchen. My new book has recipes for everything from okra to dessert. I even have a chapter dedicated to cocktails. Grilled fruit makes incredible cocktails like sangria, margaritas, mojitos, and wait until you try grilled lemonade or grilled apple cider” says the BBQ Guru.

ASK FOR HELP. Chris always asks his family and friends to help him with grilling duties on party day; that way they feel more involved.

Get Chris' Grilled Peach Sangria recipe from Fire and Smoke...