I am SO excited to have a guest writer for What’s Cookin’ Wednesday! Kelly is my Chi Omega (X and a horseshoe!) sister who lives in LA with her chef husband and super cute dog. She is a musician, a bartender and a huge foodie! I drool over everything she posts on her blog, The Key of Kels. Today she’s sharing her Blackberry Compote… YUM! I hope y’all enjoy!

Well, hey there SuperNoVa Mom readers!  My name is Kelly and I eat, drink, and write over at The Key of Kels.  Nikki and I were sorority sisters back in college, and have since reunited over our love of writing about all things delicious (I am a bartender and my husband is a chef — which means I’m also really, really well-fed).  I am an East Coast girl as well, hailing from Maryland, and I have semi-recently relocated to sunny Los Angeles.  Being a food lover, I recognize that here in California we are so lucky to have year round access to fresh, local produce that my husband and I get to eat, cook and create with.  This makes for some super delicious meals around my house, and I thought today I’d share one of my recent recipes with you all!

See?  Mixology is pretty awesome.  You’re gonna be hooked.

I have recently been incredibly inspired by our Wednesday trips to the local Santa Monica Farmer’s Market, which is just starting to pop with the flavors and colors of spring.  I know, I know, the groundhog said 6 more weeks… but don’t give in!  I bet even you all back east have some spring produce slowly creeping back into your grocery stores.  So go out and grab a couple quarts of whatever fresh berries you can get your hands on and whip up some of this super easy compote – a fancy word for puree that my husband just taught me today…

Blackberry Compote

3 quarts of berries (I used 2 qts Blackberries & 1qt Blueberries.  You could also use Strawberries, Raspberries, or whatever berries are ripe and flavorful in your area.)

1/4 cup sugar (more or less to taste)

1/4 cup water

1 Lemon (juiced)

Combine the Berries, Sugar, Water, and Lemon Juice in a saucepan.

Bring to a simmer.

Let simmer for about 15 minutes.  Smash the berries with a spoon, muddler or potato masher.

Once cooled, use an immersion blender to get a smooth and easily pourable consistency.

Viola!

Now for the boozy part.  Want a killer Valentine’s Day Martini?  Try this:

Berry-Tini

1 ounce Blackberry Compote

2 ounces Charbay Pomegranate Vodka

1/2 ounce Chambord Liqueur

Pour all ingredients into a tumbler over ice.

Shake well then strain into a martini glass.

Garnish with a fresh berry skewer.

This Compote would also be amazing simply mixed into a glass of Prosecco or shaken with vodka and mint leaves then topped with soda water over ice.

Yep.  I may have tried all three.  And they were all delicious.

But I do also have to keep in mind that many people (including my lovely husband) don’t drink alcohol and may still want to partake in my experiments, so I have also found plenty of tasty non-alcoholic uses for this Blackberry Compote of mine.

My husband mixed the compote into soda water for a homemade “Italian Soda”.  Then he literally said, “Oh my God, this is good.”

I love when I can make a chef say that.  Success!

For breakfast this morning, I swirled it into a bit of Vanilla Greek Yogurt for a little bit of a fruity twist.  Beautiful and delicious.

Last night, I drizzled it like syrup over chocolate pudding (ice cream would also be awesome) for a decadent dessert.

I also swirled it on top of my super secret, passed-down, incredible brownie recipe, which I didn’t think could get any better.

It did get better.  Oh. My. Gosh.

Anyway, the point here is that the possibilities are endless with this stuff.  Reduce it with some Balsamic Vinegar for a killer sauce for a Pork Tenderloin.  Swirl it into a poundcake batter to give it a blackberry twist.  Mix it with vinegar, oil, salt and pepper and maybe a touch of dijon mustard for a berry-fied salad dressing.

All this from a little martini fun.

So get creative!  Have fun while you’re at it, and eat deliciously.  Thank you so much for having me, Nikki!!  And come on over and visit me at The Key of Kels for more of all things delicious anytime!

OMG. I want all of those delicious goodies, especially those brownies. Kelly posted them on Instagr.am last night and I was legit ready to buy a flight out to LA. I wish we lived closer!