Thirsty Thursday: Watermelon Margaritas with Sweet & Spicy Rims

Even though I used a mini watermelon for this salad, I had a TON left over. Coming up with a way to use up the extra wasn’t too difficult… when in doubt, margarita!. The very best part of these margs was the sweet, salty and spicy mix that I used to rim the glasses. The combination of sugar, kosher salt, and cayenne pepper was amazing. Every little taste was like a party for your taste buds. The rim paired amazingly with the watermelon in the drink. Just when the spice of the cayenne kicked in, the watermelon was there to cool everything down. This is a perfectly refreshing summertime drink.

Watermelon Margaritas with Sweet & Spicy Rims 

For the Rims:

• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar (I recommend ‘raw’/chunky sugar)

For the Margaritas:

• 4 cups seedless/seeded watermelon
• 5 limes, 4 juiced for blender, 1 juiced for garnish
• 1 cup silver tequila
• 1/2 cup Triple Sec
• Ice

1. In a shallow dish, combine the cayenne pepper, kosher salt, and sugar. In a second small plate, add the juice of one lime. Dip the rims of 4 margarita glasses in the lime juice, then coat them in the sweet and spicy mixture.
2. In a large blender, blend the watermelon, tequila, triple sec and ice. Blend until desired consistency is reached.
3. Divide the margarita between the 4 glasses and garnish each with a lime wedge.

Thirsty Thursday: Champagne Margaritas

This is one of those drinks/recipes (do drinks have recipes?) that I stumble across and got really excited about because it combines two of my favorite things (margaritas and something sparkling (champagne, water, prosecco, I’m not picky)), but then I get really disappointed in myself, because I didn’t think of it first… We have already established my lack of creativity earlier this week, so let’s just move on and talk about the booze.

Wait, before we talk about the booze, I have a public service announcement:  Please don’t use real champagne in these. I know the name says ‘champagne’, but if you use real champagne in these you are really just wasting a lot of money and delicious champagne. You shouldn’t do that. If I wanted to be totally accurate these should be called ‘sparkling wine margaritas’, but that didn’t have the same ring to it. You should use prosecco or cava or real any sparkling wine. There is no need to be fancy here.

All that being said, these are delicious. Absolutely delicious. Extremely drinkable. Maybe a bit too drinkable.

Champagne Margaritas
From Rick Bayless.

• The finely grated zest (colored part only) from 1 lime
• 1 cup fresh lime juice
• 1 cup Cointreau
• 1 cup 100% agave silver tequila
• Superfine sugar, if needed for adding sweetness
• A half lime for moistening the glass rims
• Coarse (kosher) salt
• 1 bottle chilled brut Champagne or other sparkling wine

1. In a pitcher, combine the lime zest, lime juice, Cointreau, tequila and sugar if you are using it. Cover and refrigerate until cold, at least 1 hour).
2. Just before serving, strain the mixture to remove the zest, and pour enough salt into a saucer to cover the bottom. Rub a lime half over the rim of each champagne glass and upend into the salt to crust it lightly. Pour about 3 ounces (about 1/3 cup) of the tequila mixture into each glass, fill the rest of the way with Champagne or sparkling wine and hand to one of your lucky guests.

Thirsty Thursday: Fresh Cherry Margaritas

It’s Fiesta time here in Santa Barbara (you might have noticed a subtle theme this week). This year I am planning on avoiding it like the plague. One day down, and 100% successful so far! I go through phases with Fiesta. It’s kind of a love-hate thing. Despite my avoidance of Fiesta, my love of all things Mexican will never diminish. Cherry margaritas might be the perfect combination of summer and Fiesta. It’s, tragically, the end of cherry season here, so I’m trying to use them in any form I can. Fresh cherry margs take it to a new level. Muddling the cherries creates an amazing juice (if only I could make it in mass quantities). If you live in an area where cherries are still available, I would highly recommend making these as soon as you can!

Fresh Cherry Margaritas

• 12 fresh sweet cherries, pitted
• 2½ tablespoons tequila
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1½ tablespoons (or more) simple syrup
• 1 tablespoon maraschino cherry liqueur (or maraschino juice)
• 1 fresh cherry with stem, for garnish

1. Put the cherries in a cocktail shaker. Mash them with a muddler or the end of a wooden spoon until well crushed, about 1 minute. Add the tequila, lime juice, simple syrup, and 8 large ice cubes. Cover the shaker and shake vigorously for 30 seconds. Immediately strain into an ice-filled glass. Garnish with the fresh cherry.

Thirsty Thursday: Blood Orange Margaritas

I love blood oranges. LOVE. Well more like borderline obsessed. For some reason they are super hard to find around here. When I was living in Budapest, I was going through nearly 2 kilos a week and every other fruit stall in the big market sold them. In Southern California, I have to hunt for them! And they are so expensive here, $4.99 for 3 pounds! They were way cheaper in Budapest.  (Another reason to move back!) I have been looking for blood oranges around here for over 2 months. Every time I have asked at farmers’ market or in grocery stores, they look at me like I am a crazy person. Considering how much citrus is grown in California, I didn’t think blood oranges would be too difficult to acquire, but apparently I am mistaken. I finally found a bag of them last week and promptly set about using them in any way imaginable; margaritas, salads, straight up, but mainly margs. Blood oranges are just meant to be consumed in margarita form.

My love of blood oranges is only rivaled by my love of margaritas. Margaritas trump just about everything in my book. I would totally be more than happy to consume nothing but blood orange margaritas for the rest of my life. That would be the best life ever. You see blood orange margs are superior to most margs. They are sweet and tart and perfect. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off in search of blood oranges to hoard.

Blood Orange Margaritas

• 3 ounces blood orange juice
• 2 ounces fresh lime juice
• .5 ounce simple syrup (optional)
• 3 ounces silver tequila
• 1.5 ounces triple sec

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker over ice. Shake, shake, shake, and then shake a little more. You can rim the serving glass with salt if you feel like it. Strain into a glass filled with ice. Serve and enjoy!

Thirsty Thursday: Cranberry Margaritas

I was determined to right last week’s margarita foul. This one is most definitely a winner!

I was a bit short on fresh limes and since there was a bottle of cranberry juice just sitting on my counter, it seemed like the perfect solution. Cranberry and lime just seem to go so well together. I don’t like my margaritas sweet, which was my major problem with last week’s, but this marg more than made up for it. It’s tart, tangy and refreshing. I used a bit of green sugar sprinkles on the rim to make it feel a bit more ‘festive’, which is probably as festive as it’s going to get in these parts (I relate to this guy on multiple levels). I will warn you the green sugar can ‘run’ when it gets wet, so you might end up with some stains on your hands/mouth/face/coaster/etc., so consider yourself warned.

Cranberry Margaritas
Yields 2 margaritas (or 1 if you’re me) 

• juice of 2 limes
• 4 ounces cranberry juice
• 4 ounces silver tequila
• 2 ounces triple sec

1. In a cocktail shaker, combine all the ingredients, add ice cubes, and shake like hell.
2. Strain into ice-filled glasses and serve

Thirsty Thursday: Apple Cider Margaritas

I was on the fence about trying this margarita from the beginning. I’m not a big fan of gold tequila or cinnamon, especially when combined (too many flashbacks to shots at Morrison’s in Budapest (yes, in Budapest they serve shots of gold tequila with cinnamon and a wedge of orange, kinda horrible, kinda great)) and I have always had an issue with apple juice ever since I was on a field trip in preschool and the kid next to me yacked up their juice box during a tour of a hospital. I went to a dirty, hippie parent-child ‘workshop’ (not a preschool, a workshop) and they were really big into broadening our horizons from an early age and took us on many field trips to hospitals, marine biology labs and the city jail, but in fact these attempts have left me with a lifelong fear of needles, apple juice and law enforcement officials (but that’s another story).

I digress, you all don’t need to hear about my issues that stem from early childhood, let’s get back to this marg. So, like I said, I was apprehensive from the get go. I was only able to get about 2 sips into this thing before I had to add some lemon juice. SWEET. So, so sweet. I do not like sweet margs, tart and tangy is how I roll. I added some fresh squeezed lemon juice and it helped improve the drink a lot, at least for me. I guess I can now say, I’ve finally met a margarita I don’t like, but if you are a fan of super sweet drinks or apple juice this would probably be right up your alley.

Apple Cider Margaritas (from How Sweet It Is)

• 1.5 ounce Grand Marnier/triple sec
• 1.5 ounce gold tequila
• 5 ounces apple cider/juice
• orange segments and apple slices
• cinnamon + cane sugar + coarse sugar for glass rimming
• cinnamon sticks for garnish

Thirsty Thursday: Tequila Italian Sipper

Tequila. Balsamic. Intrigued?

As was I.

It’s no secret I’m obsessed with tequila. It is also no secret that I am obsessed with balsamic. So, it should be no surprise that as soon as I saw this drink, I became obsessed with trying it.

When I took my first sip, I honestly had no idea what to expect. I was quite surprised to be met by such a savory flavor, which quickly turned quite sweet. It kind of reminded me of a lemonade type drink because of the contrast between sweet and tart. It was definitely very different than any cocktail I’ve tried before. It is probably not going to become my go to drink anytime soon, but I would definitely consider it again on a hot summer afternoon.

Tequila Italian Sipper (from this recipe)

• 1 ¼ oz. silver tequila
• 2 strawberries
• 1 sprigs of fresh basil
• 4 drops of balsamic
• 1 oz. Fresh lime juice
• 2 oz. distilled water
• 1 oz Agave Nectar

In a mixing glass muddle fresh strawberries and basil, add the rest of the ingredients with ice, shake 20 times and serve in a rocks glass with fresh ice. Garnish with a fresh spring of basil.

Thirsty Thursday! Watermelon Jalapeno Margaritas!!!

Aye! Aye! Aye!

So, as I was reading through Saveur’s ‘50 More Food Blogs You Should Be Reading‘ I stumbled upon The Sugar House Blog. The Sugar House is apparently a bar in Detroit, but their blog is amazing. The blog is full of tons of interesting and creative cocktails and as they label it themselves ‘a booze blog for the discerning drunk’. Well, obviously I was intrigued. A little more exploration and I found this cocktail recipe! Watermelon and Jalapeno Margarita! Sold!

The first time I had a spicy margarita was this past New Year’s Eve. New Year’s was a bust, but at least I got to know this delightful little drink.

 

After reading the Sugar House’s basic ingredients, I knew it would be best to adjust them to my own taste, which meant a lot more lime and a splash more juice to balance the extra tang just a smidge. I personally thought 3 jalapeno slices was perfect, but some of my drinking companions did not agree. I’ve got a bit more of an adventurous palate and I love spice and I love tangy, so I just went for it. The drink is not overwhelmingly sweet, which is good in my book, and if you have a super fresh watermelon, you definitely won’t need any extra agave unless you like sweet. I found that with each sip, you taste three primary flavors at three different times.  First the tangy lime, then the cool watermelon and then the spice sneaks up. It was amazing.

Even if jalapeno isn’t your thing, I would still suggest trying it. It’s a very unique and refreshing drink and can easily be adjusted to taste.

Watermelon-Jalapeno Margarita

• Silver Tequila
• Triple Sec
• Lime Juice
• Watermelon Juice
• A dash of Agave syrup
• 3 fresh jalapeno slices (seeded and cored unless you are really crazy)

Muddle jalapeno, juice and agave. Add alcohol and shake over ice. Double strain (pour from strainer through sieve, otherwise you will get jalapeno chucks in your marg!). Serve over ice and enjoy!