Tag Archives: margarita

A book-inspired cocktail

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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!

JosePicadaMargarita

The José Picada Margarita

  • 2 oz. Casamigos reposado tequila
  • 1 oz. fresh squeezed lime juice
  • 1/2 oz. Ancho Reyes liqueur
  • 1/2 oz. Grand Marnier
  • 1/2 oz. agave nectar

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.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

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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!

2eat2drink-margaritacinco de mayo party_wtype

I like it chunky: Guacamole!

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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.


the NOLA Margarita

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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.