Only as wild as the vines in our back yard. Every year the wild black raspberry vines creep a little closer. It’s almost overwhelming to keep up with, but this time of year it’s all good. Because there is pie (made by our friend Dan) and wild black raspberry mojitos! The pie was gone from the 4th of July party before I got a picture, but the mojitos made their debut this evening.
See the recipe here. Just add a handful of black raspberries after the limes…and muddle them in as well. Cheers!
My lovely bride has published another book with her brother, the third installment in the José Picada series entitled Act of Abduction. During my private reading (yes, I am privileged), I learned that this book has a pivotal scene featuring the José Picada Margarita. Heather asked if I could come up with a recipe that would be appropriate for Chef Al. I did my best. I hope you enjoy the José Picada Margarita as much as I know you’ll enjoy the book. Salud!
The José Picada Margarita
Shake and pour over crushed ice. Garnish with jalapeño and lime.
You can find the José Picada, P.I. series on MuseItUp Publishing, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo.
The day is winding down, but with a margarita and guacamole for motivation I had to finish this very important Cinco De Mayo post.
We just hosted a Cinco De Mayo party and tequila tasting (see picture below). At some point you can expect to see a few tequila reviews sharing our favorites. But for now…I’ll just offer up a margarita….with a variation of the recipe from the link above. This recipe is slightly stronger to highlight the tequila; Espolón reposado tequila….currently our go to, and an excellent value. In a shaker with crushed ice add 2 ounces tequila, 1 1/4 ounces triple sec, 1 ounce fresh squeezed lime juice, and 1 ounce simple syrup. Shake and strain into a rocks glass. Garnish and serve. Be careful, these will go down easily (and as smooth as he is, Ramón (the Espólon mascot rooster) may bite).
Cheers!
I think we should call this the pirate taco. “Fish taco” just doesn’t have enough character, especially since I cooked it with spiced rum!
My brother in law dropped off a freshly caught rainbow trout for us on Friday night. (Thank you, Jamie!) We consulted Chef Mark on a cooking method and settled on baking it wrapped in parchment paper, while stuffed with thyme, lemon, garlic, onions and bay leaves. It was a great meal, but time (and hunger) did not allow for photos. Since the fish was huge, we had plenty left over for the next day. Thus the creation of the pirate taco!
I started by sautéing some onion slices and diced jalapenos in a touch of olive oil. Once browned, I threw in black beans, rice, diced tomatoes, the leftover fish, some chopped cilantro and cotija cheese. I then poured in a few ounces of spiced rum to steam it since I really only wanted to heat everything up quickly. Once warmed, I added some diced avocados, lime juice, seasoned with salt, and tossed before serving in lightly grilled flour tortillas topped off with salsa and sour cream. Enjoy with rum for a true pirate experience!
The pirate taco. Fire up the stove, Matey!
What would Cinco de Mayo be without guacamole?! Our marvelous friend Chef Mark (yup…he’s a chef!), prepared a Mexican feast for some friends 5 years ago on Cinco de Mayo . It was the 3rd date for Heather and I, and guacaomle and margaritas were a wonderful part of the memorable menu. This is my derivation of the recipes for both.
Chunky guacamole. Pit and scoop out 3 ripe avocados and chop into roughly 1/2″ to 3/4″ chunks. Place in a mixing bowl and squeeze the juice of 1 lime onto it to keep it from browning (and add some great flavor). Finely chop half of medium white onion and a large handful of fresh cilantro. Dice a small to medium tomato into 1/4-inch pieces. Mince 2 jalapeno peppers (OK..I like it HOT and chunky, but this won’t be too hot if you remove the seeds). Throw them all into the mixing bowl with some sea salt (to taste) and stir. This will break up most of the chunks a little, but some hardly at all. Thus…. creating your chunky guacamole.
The margarita. Ah, the margarita. It took me a while to perfect this recipe. I prefer to use a reposado tequila for the smooth smoky flavor. 1800 is a good value and generally my choice. In a shaker with crushed ice add 2 ounces tequila, 1 1/2 ounces triple sec, 1 1/4 ounces fresh squeezed lime juice and 1 1/4 ounces simple syrup. Shake and strain into a margarita glass. Garnish with a lime and orange twist to signify the blending of the 2 flavors. I prefer it up with no salt, but feel free to salt the rim and serve over ice (as I do for Heather 🙂 ).
PS. If you’re in the Rochester area, I highly suggest you take a class from Chef Mark at the Wegmans Pittsford cooking school. It’s very entertaining and informative!
(Chunky!) Guacamole, with hearty yellow corn chips.
The margarita. Up, no salt.
Guacamole ingredients.
NOLA. New Orleans, Louisiana. A place storied in history, but Heather & I had never been… until August of last year. We were just there for a long weekend, but got a great glimpse into its fabulous culinary and liquid culture. One place stood out above all… The Green Goddess. During both of our visits to this fabulous little restaurant (yes, it was so good the first night, we went back!), we got to sit at the bar and witness Scotty’s incredible craftsmanship as he made drinks for his guests. He passed along one of his secret ingredients: Steen’s Cane Syrup, the cooked down juice from ripened sugar cane. A dark brown, sticky, sweet, molasses-like goo… yum!
We decided to introduce the cane syrup into one of our favorite drinks, the margarita (which had played a small role in our third date, a Cinco De Mayo party). With the addition of cloves, it’s a wonderful new experience!
Start by letting the cloves marinate in your tequila overnight, one clove per ounce. I suggest 1800 Reposado for its nice, deep mellow character at a fantastic price. The clove-infused tequila will keep for a while, so it’s o.k. to be generous in the amount you make.
Over crushed ice in a rocks glass, pour 1 1/2 ounces of clove-infused tequila (strain out the cloves), 1 1/4 ounces triple sec, 1 ounce fresh squeezed lime juice, 1/2 ounce simple syrup, and 1/2 ounce Steen’s Cane Syrup. Stir thoroughly as the cane syrup is quite thick. Salt the rim as desired…..Heather’s with, mine without. Garnish with lime and orange wedges, sit back and enjoy!
1800 Reposado tequila, with cloves.
Fresh limes are a key ingredient.
The NOLA margarita!
Heather enjoying her NOLA margarita.
2eat2drink 