Margarita of the Month: April

Margarita of the Month: April

Yes, once again, I’ve been quite remiss in getting you your monthly ‘rita fix… so with Cinco de Mayo looming I’ll try and catch up some…

This is inspired by a recipe circulated for use with 901 brand tequila (and credited to Sean Kenyon of the Williams & Graham bar in Denver, CO), and considering strawberries are really good now, let’s make a drink…

Double-Strawberry Mashed Margarita

For each drink:

1/2 Fresh Lime, sliced into four pieces

2 Fresh Strawberries, cut into chunks (you can slice off and reserve a piece for garnish if you like)

1 oz  Simple Syrup (1 cup water and 1/2 to 1 cup sugar dissolved over low heat – stir frequently until the sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat and cool. Depending on how sweet your berries are, you may want to add a tad more depending on your tastes.)

1/2 oz  Cointreau (or other good orange liquor)

2 oz  Strawberry Infused Tequila (okay, rather than repeat the process here, I’m gonna make you go back to a prior post for the info on how to make this)

Toss the strawberry and lime pieces into your shaker and add the simple syrup…

muddle until you have a pulpy mess…

add the orange liquor and the infused tequila.

Add a big handful of ice cubes, put the lid on your shaker, and shake away!

Strain into a pretty glass, garnish as desired, and bottoms up!

Now back to the bar for round two! See you soon!

Margarita of the Month: December

Margarita of the Month: December

When it comes to the winter holidays, two colors are always associated with this celebratory time of year: red and green. And of course, I always think of tequila… so let’s combine some red and green with it and see what we get, shall we?

Our red is coming from the strawberry infused tequila we made for last month’s margarita, so if you don’t already have some of that good stuff on hand, go back and take a look… I’ll wait now while you make some… (insert the “Jeopardy” theme here… now it’s stuck in your head, isn’t it?).

Okay, we can move on now…

Sweet & Spicy Holiday Margarita

For each drink:

1 oz  Simple Syrup

1 oz  Fresh Lime Juice

2 oz  Strawberry Infused Tequila

1 oz  Cointreau (or other good orange liquor)

2-3  thin slices of fresh Jalapeno Pepper

3-4  leaves of  fresh Basil (heck, if you’ve got some mint around, add a couple of leave of that too)

The red and the green(s)

Muddle the jalapeno and basil in your drink shaker to release their juices. Add the rest of the ingredients and some ice and shake away.

Take a glass (you may salt or sugar the rim if you desire) and strain the drink in (straight up or over ice, as you prefer) – garnish as desired, and drink away!

Happy Holidays!

Enjoy your holidays! Best wishes to all of you from Eating (and Drinking) Around the World!

Back to the kitchen, and the bar… see you soon!

Margarita of the Month: November

Margarita of the Month: November

Cabana's Strawberry Infused Margarita

For this month, I’m sharing a recipe that we learned at the Modern Mixology seminar at this years’ Swan and Dolphin Food and Wine Classic (and yes, before you start whining, I know I’m quite remiss in giving you posts on the Classic from this year… will get to it… now let’s move on, shall we?). The first thing we were served was this refreshing (and pretty!) drink, and it’s one well worth trying!

Now you will have to be a bit patient, as we have to first prepare the infused tequila. You’ll need a pound package of frozen strawberries (and we were told that frozen berries works much better than fresh for this application) and a 750 ml bottle of decent silver tequila (at the Cabana they use Hornitos Plata).

Put the strawberries in a plastic or glass container and pour the tequila over.

Cover and let sit at room temperature for about three days.

The strawberries have now given up their color, and of course their flavor as well – with their duty done you can now strain them out and summarily dispose of them. You can now return the pretty infused tequila to it’s original home if you’d like.

So now that we have the major ingredient, let’s do some mixing….

Cabana’s Strawberry Infused Margarita

For each drink:

0.25 oz  Agave Nectar (you can find in most groceries now, if you can’t find don’t sweat it, sub simple syrup or maybe even honey)

1 oz  Fresh Lime Juice

2 oz  Strawberry Infused Tequila

1 oz  Cointreau (or other good orange liquor)

Shake all together with ice and strain into glassware of your choice over fresh ice.

If desired garnish with the obligatory lime wheel and take a sip…

This is  a good one – a refreshing, summery drink (even if it’s November now) – give it  a try and let us know what you think! Keep this one around and try it also during those sweltering days at the beach or lake…

I think it might be good just a bit sweeter – try doubling the agave and see…

Back to the kitchen… and the bar… see you soon!

Margarita of the Month: October

Margarita of the Month: October

Just three ingredients… tequila and lime of course… and a French Ginger Liqueur???

Having been tempted by the Facebook page and website of Domaine de Canton, I finally broke down and purchased one of the very cool-looking bottles…

Who's been drinking my Ginger Likker???

The aroma and taste are fantastic, so let’s make a margarita!

 

Domaine de Canton Ginger Margarita

For each drink:

1/2 oz  Fresh Lime Juice

1 oz  Silver Tequila (the best quality you have)

2 oz  Domaine de Canton Ginger Liquior

 

Shake with ice and strain into a pretty glass (straight up or over the rocks, your choice) – garnish with a slice of lime if you’d like…

now drink the darn thing!

 

Depending on your tastes, you may want to cut the ginger liquor down a little, maybe 1 1/2 oz.

The Domaine de Canton Ginger Liquior is mighty tasty, even just sipped on it’s own… I’m looking forward to trying it in other concoctions… I’m thinking just a splash over some good vanilla ice cream wouldn’t be horrible… maybe some chopped candied ginger on top too…

 

Back to the kitchen… and the bar…

 

 

Margarita of the Month: August

Margarita of the Month: August

This coming week marks the second anniversary of the Happiest Place in the Happiest Place on Earth: La Cava del Tequila.

So unless you’re just really new around here, you’re well aware of our affection for La Cava – the tequila bar in the Mexico pavilion at Epcot…

Not too long ago, the Facebook page for La Cava featured a drink recipe that sounded quite tasty: a Key Lime Pie Margarita.

In the multitudes of visits we at Eating (and Drinking) Around the World have made there, we’ve never actually seen this libation actually offered there, but that didn’t deter us from giving the recipe a shot… or two…

So now, let’s make, and drink, some sweet, tasty, ‘ritas!

Key Lime Pie Margaruta

4 oz Tequila

4 oz Key Lime Juice (you’ll likely have to use a bottled product unless you’re real lucky – look for Nellie & Joe’s brand)

4 oz Lime Juice (fresh preferred, of course)

4 oz Sweetened Condensed Milk (the stuff in the can)

1-2 Graham Crackers

1 Tbl Sugar (1 Tbl per Graham Cracker)

First crush the Graham Crackers into a fine crumb and mix with the sugar.

Use a slice of lime to wet the rim of your glasses and dip into the cracker/sugar mixture to rim the glass.

In a drink shaker, combine the rest of the ingredients with some ice and shake your little heart out until well mixed. Strain the mixture into the rimmed glass (over more ice if desired) and stick a slice of line on the rim for a lovely garnish… now drink the darn thing…

This is a sweet, thick, desserty-tasting beverage (as you might suspect from the name of the darn thing…) – Miss Bonnie and her BFF Laura gave it two thumbs up, and suggest dipping extra Graham Crackers in the drink as you imbibe… I can’t argue…

The recipe makes about 2 drinks – depending on if you have a normal-sized glass, or an Eating (and Drinking) Around the World sized one…

Back to the bar…

Margarita of the Month: June

Margarita of the Month: June

Yes, I admit I’ve been a bit remiss in getting you your monthly Margarita fix… it’s not that I haven’t been drinking them… wait, maybe that’s the issue… oh well…

So to get you a new recipe, I’m going to take the lazy way out (and I’m nothing if not lazy) by sending to a recipe on another blog (which in turn, will send you back here, clever huh?).

My great friend Bill the Dolphin (who I introduced you to in the “Vietnamese Vittles in Virginia” post) has decided somewhat well into his mid-life that in addition to enjoying his food, that he also wants to prepare it as well, and has become somewhat of a “foodie”, hence his blog: “Emerging Foodie”.

His recent cocktail post features a great looking Spicy Ginger Basil Margarita:

So go on over now to the recipe and give it a shot (or two)!

While there, check out some of his other posts – Bill has a fun writing style and a great (and usually a bit off-kilter) sense of humor – if you at all enjoy my ramblings I’ll give you a money-back guarantee that you’ll enjoy his as well… so join him as he recounts the efforts of a relative neophyte in the kitchen with some recipes and thoughts on food and cooking… enjoy!

Now we’re back to the kitchen… and maybe (okay probably) the bar as well…

Margarita of the Month: April

Margarita of the Month: April

With the Easter holiday weekend fast approaching, I figured my three Dedicated Readers could use a special libation for the celebratory day… so here we have:

Peep-a-rita

Make your favorite Margarita recipe. Stick a Peep on the rim. Eat the Peep. Drink the Margarita. Repeat as desired.

Okay, I know, pretty lame… I did try & work on some marshmallow-based margaritas, but to no avail… get over it…

And actually the combo of Peeps and Margaritas is pretty darn good…

Enjoy the upcoming weekend… have a cocktail… back to the kitchen…

Margarita of the Month: March

Margarita of the Month: March

Yet again we waited until the tail end of the month, but if you’re a chilie-head, this is one worth waiting for!

Now a bit back I instructed you to make some pepper-infused tequila, and now we’re going to put it to good use. If you’ve been a slacker (or just now joining us), you can go back and make it then return to the recipe when ready (here it is you lazy bastard…).

Hot & Sweet ‘Rita

3 oz Pepper-Infused Tequila (we used some nice Habanero Tequila)

1 1/2 oz Triple Sec

1 1/2 oz Simple Syrup (1 cup water and 1/2 to 1 cup sugar dissolved over low heat – stir frequently until the sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat and cool. Haven’t tried it, but I’m thinking the Ginger Syrup from the Ginger Basil Margarita recipe would be great here…)

1 oz Lime Juice

Ice

Sugar or Salt for rimming the glass (optional)

Lime Wedge (optional)

Pepper Slices, etc for garnish (optional)

Rub the rim of a glass (chilled preferred) with the lime wedge and dip in sugar or salt to coat (if desired).

Fill a cocktail shaker half full of ice and then add the first four ingredients and shake until well chilled…  strain into a glass (or on the rocks if you prefer).

If you like, garnish with a slice of fresh hot pepper or if you have some nice, pretty small habs just drop them whole into the drink – just be sure your guests know not to bite into them (unless they are really crazy, or if you’re not too fond of someone… well…)!

Makes a couple of spicy drinks… or…

I chose to serve this as shooters: I took shot glasses and rimmed one side with some Habanero Sugar (yeah baby!) that I just happened to have on hand and strained the Hot & Sweet ‘Rita mixture into them… shoot away!

If you like spice and tequila (and the majority of my three Dedicated Readers do) you’ll really like this! Give it a try and post you’re thoughts!

Time to stagger back to the kitchen…

Margarita of the Month: January

Margarita of the Month: January

Like the coaster?

Okay, I guess technically it’s February… well, not even technically… but we’re gonna pretend it’s still January as far as Margarita of the Month goes… (anyway, give me a break, January was damn busy: Marathon weekend at Disney, a birthday weekend at Disney and attending a Disney wedding at, well, Disney…)

Here is another “Classic” version of our beloved margarita, this time from Southern Living magazine.

 

Classic Margarita (Southern Living)

3/4 Cup Tequila (we used silver)

1/2 Cup Powdered (Confectioners) Sugar

1/2 Cup Lime Juice

1/4 Cup Orange Liqueur (such as Cointreau or Grand Marnier)

Salt

Lime Wedge

 

Rub the rim of a glass (chilled preferred) with the lime wedge and dip in salt to coat (if desired, we like).

Stir the first four ingredients until the sugar is dissolved.

Fill a cocktail shaker half full of ice and then pour about half the mixture in and shake like crazy until well chilled…  strain into a glass (or on the rocks if you prefer).

If you like, garnish with a slice of fresh lime.

Makes a couple of generous drinks for most normal people, or just the start of an evening for one reader of Eating (and Drinking) around the World…

This is a pretty good version, and not as sweet as one might think considering the powdered sugar… give it a try & let us know what you think!

Okay, now February can begin…

Margarita of the Month: November

Margarita of the Month: November

Once again we waited until the tail end of the month, but this is one worth waiting for!

Here is my version of the Controlado Cocktail from the Patron Cocktail Lab (ain’t science a great thing?)… I made a couple of tweaks and I think it turned out pretty darn good…

Ginger/Jalapeno Margarita

2 Oz Silver Tequila

3/4 Oz Lemon Juice

3/4 Oz Agave Nectar

3/4 Oz Honey

1 to 4   1/8” or so thick slices fresh Jalapeno (if you’re not sure, make the first drink with 2 slices and adjust from there to your liking)

2 quarter-size slices fresh Ginger

Put the ginger and jalapeno in a cocktail shaker and muddle to release their tasty goodness – you can add a little of the tequila while doing so if you like to ease the process…

Add all the rest of the ingredients and some ice and shake like crazy…  strain into a glass (or on the rocks if you prefer). A salted rim is up to you.

If you like, garnish with a slice of fresh jalapeno… or what would really be great is a slice of sweet pickled jalapeno (Terra Verde Farms makes a great version called Spicy O’s). Even a bit of fresh basil would make a nice garnish as well…

Makes one drink… yes, I said one… didn’t say you had to stop there…