I have a friend that makes the best jalapeño jelly, some heat a little sweet, an awesome combination. The best part about it is that she always gives me a couple jars for Christmas. My friends know me, food and wine, you can’t go wrong. I shared some of the jelly with another friend that likes spicy too. Now he makes me jalapeño hamburgers and they are so delicious. G caramelizes onions and jalapeños, grills the burgers to perfection, adds pepper cheese and smears the jelly on the bun. A juicy burger that has just enough heat for the zing and a just enough sweet to keep your mouth from burning.

Last night we went over for burgers, G and I eat the jalapeño burgers, S and Mitch aren’t into hot and spicy so G makes them bacon cheeseburgers. Add to this sautéed brussel sprouts and potatoes, yum. To start the meal S made fresh guacamole and we opened a bottle of Cline 2012, Cashmere, a red blend from California. You can find the website at http://www.clinecellars.com. The wine was dry and smooth, with a little smoky flavor, and very full bodied. It was a nice start to the evening.

When the burgers came off the grill we opened a bottle of William Hill Estate 2012, Cabernet Sauvignon from California. The website is http://www.williamhillestate.com. The color was a very dark red almost purple in the glass. It was a big bold cab, dry a bit smoky with a nice bite. It had a nice finish that left my mouth a touch dry wanting to drink some more. I don’t know about the bacon cheeseburgers, but it went very nicely with jalapeño burgers.

For dessert we had a cherry cobbler with vanilla ice cream. To accompany the dessert I brought a bottle of Harry and David White Chocolate martini mix and a bottle of Pinnacle vodka. Since I’m not a big hard liquor drinker anymore, I didn’t know which vodka would be good, so I made I selection the way anyone that knows nothing about something would, price and pretty label. Luckily it worked out. The vodka was very smooth. A coworker had given me the bottle of Harry and David White Chocolate and said that it was very good. He was right. Two parts white chocolate mix to one part vodka, and it went down so smooth. S and I even poured some of the white chocolate mix over our cobbler, very tasty.

All in all the food was outstanding and the wines were definitely keepers and as always the company was the best part.