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An average chick looking for a quick drink.
Enjoy more “50 Shades of Margarita” drinks at June’s First Friday!! Join me at MLB Designs & Boutique, 2020 Baltimore Ave, Suite #105, Kansas City, MO 64108 on June 7, 2013, from 7-9 p.m. for some of my latest, if not greatest, margarita recipes. Amazing artist Kristen Pluhacek will be also be at MLB Designs showing her new works! Hope to see you there — surely snow won’t keep you at home THIS time!
Today is Mother’s Day and many of you are out celebrating by going out to brunch. Personally, I’m a little worn down on Bloody Mary’s and Mimosas. Here are three great alternatives to your typical brunch fare. They aren’t Margaritas, I know, I know. But, they all have tequila and are a refreshing way to celebrate any Sunday morning. I’ll be having one and doing as much of the crossword as possible until my sweet-heart comes to my rescue (we are the Yin and the Yang of the crossword!). Cheers to you Mom!!!!
Bloody Maria
3-4 sprigs of cilantro
2 ounces of tequila
4 ounces of Bloody Mary mix (yes, I use a mix — LOVE Trader Joe’s and Zing Zang and Mr. & Mrs. T’s Spicy)
squeeze of lime juice
Muddle cilantro with lime juice in a high ball glass. Add ice, then tequila and Bloody Mary mix and stir. Garnish with what’s left in the fridge (olives, celery, jalapenos, bacon, etc.)
Paloma (THE drink in Mexico)
juice from 1/2 of lime
2 ounces tequila
4 ounces grapefruit soda (like Squirt or Jarritos for an authentic drink)
Add all of the ingredients to a high ball glass filled with ice. Stir gently.
Salty Chihuahua (my favorite airport breakfast drink because it is so simple and so tasty)
2 ounces tequila
4 ounces grapefruit juice
Add all of the ingredients to a high ball glass rimmed with salt and filled with ice. Stir.
A lot of people ask me about “skinny” drinks — how to make regular cocktails with less calories or whether I buy premixed lower calorie versions. I love to cook and I love to drink. I love butter and bacon and cream and sugar and all things that make rabbit food delicious. The same goes with my cocktails. The real deal is always better, by more than a long shot. That said, I am a very health conscious person. If I ate a fat filled meal every day and drank cocktails and wine every night, I’d be as big as a house! Instead, I run, swim, bike, do pushups and the like, and if you caught my Facebook post, my personal fitness goal is to do a “plank” for the entire Hall & Oates “Maneater” song. I eat LOTS of fresh fruits and vegetables (and not just in my cocktails!). So, you’d think I’d be all about “skinny” versions of everything. What I prefer is to load up on all of the good stuff, so that when I have a special meal or have a cocktail (only a few times a week, mind you), I can truly enjoy it. Having a glass of wine, beer, or cocktail is never about getting tipsy or drinking all night long for me, it is all about enjoying the marvelous flavors. But, if you do want to cut back on the calories, a few simple tips are:
Skinny Margarita
1 ounce tequila
1 ounce pomegranate juice
3 ounces Sprite Zero
Mix tequila and pomegranate juice in a shaker with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Top with Sprite Zero (or your favorite lemon-lime low calorie soda).
Think Cosmo, but use a silver tequila instead of the vodka. It livens up the taste and balances with the cranberry. If you have some extra money burning a hole in your pocket, try one of the citron flavored tequilas with this for more zip.
Cosmorita
2 ounces tequila
1 ounce cranberry juice cocktail
squeeze of lime wedge
Shake ingredients with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.
With 3 types of citrus juice and a beautiful red glow, this drink is as good as a sunrise. Remember, it’s 5 o’clock somewhere!
Good Morning Margarita
1 1/2 ounce tequila
1 ounce triple sec
1/2 ounce lime juice
1/2 ounce grapefruit juice
1/2 ounce orange juice
1 tsp. Chambord (or you can use grenadine to save money)
Shake all ingredients except Chambord with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Pour the Chambord (or grenadine) slowly into the center of the class and let it sink down.
We’ve already mixed a watermelon margarita using infused tequila, today’s recipe uses Midori melon liqueur to give your margarita a perfectly melonicious flavor and a gorgeous green color. I use a melon baller to make little cantaloupe balls for a garnish. Very cool looking.
Melon Margarita
1 1/2 ounce tequila
1 ounce Midori liqueur
1 ounce fresh lime juice
Shake with ice and serve straight up, or make on the rocks. Salt or no salt as you please.
When people find out that I write about cocktails for a living, they usually ask what’s my favorite drink. Asking me that is pretty much the same as asking your mom who is her favorite child. Like she’s really going to tell you it’s you?! Even if she does, what do you think she says when your sibling asks the same question? So, when people ask me what my favorite drink is, I stumble and stammer because it depends. What’s the season? The weather? My mood? The food? Drinking companions? But, there are definitely some top of the list concoctions and the Margarita is right up at the top. Why? Because it is so simple, so delicious, and has an almost infinite number of variations (50 of which I am sharing this month).
I’m also a sucker for a great story. If you’ve been following my blog, you know that there are about as many legends of the invention of the Margarita as there are recipes for one. If you haven’t been following my blog, then get caught up on Love and Fame and Whoopsi-Daisies. These are only a fraction of the stories, but I want to share one more, my favorite. The reason I love this final story is that if I close my eyes I can almost imagine myself as the creator of the Margarita or at least a guest at the hostess’ rocking Acapulco party.
Set your “WABAC” machine to 1948: Vacation home of Margaret Sames, Acapulco, Mexico. Sames was a wealthy socialite from Dallas, Texas. She wasn’t a professional bartender. Sames just enjoyed throwing a great party, not unlike Thirsty Jane! At some point, Sames got tired of the same old same old, and started experimenting with tequila for her guests. Again, sounds a lot like a Friday night at Thirsty Jane’s home bar! Eventually, she hit on her preferred ratio: 3 parts tequila, 1 part Cointreau, 1 part lime juice. She called it “The Drink” or “Margarita’s Drink.” With friends like Nick Hilton (yes, THAT Hilton) and Hollywood’s hottest, Margarita’s Drink traveled north to Southern California where it became the rage in the early 1950’s.
There’s plenty of evidence to suggest that Sames’ claim to Margarita fame doesn’t hold tequila, but I try not to let the truth get in the way of a good story. So, time to get back to the bar and start shaking because “Juanita’s Drink” is ready to be born and I’m ready to be just as famous as Margarita Sames!
Salud!
Today’s recipe:
Margarita’s Drink
3 ounces 100% blue agave tequila
1 ounce Cointreau
1 ounce fresh lime juice
Shake with ice and strain into a glass rimmed with salt. Sit back and enjoy with all of your famous and infamous friends, poolside if possible, or at least next to a picture of a pool.
Sometimes, something is wrong that it is right. That’s how it is with Beergaritas. Yesterday’s recipe for frozen margaritas also featured beer, but the Beergarita truly puts the trailer trash in your neighborhood margarita. Now, I’m not complaining. I’ve enjoyed my share of Beergaritas from the neighbors. Plus, I’ve had two separate people share this EXACT same recipe with me, and they live half-way across the country away and do not know each other. Then, I had another person ask me if I knew the recipe for this concoction. Why, YES I DO! The thing about Beergaritas is they are so easy and so good. You’re not going to win any bartending prizes with these babies and you wouldn’t dare to even suggest anything authentic about them. But, you will be the star of your neighbors trolling the streets on a hot summer evening looking for some refreshment. You are only allowed to mock this if you have never ever eaten and enjoyed some form of cellophane packaged snack cake. You know you have, too….. (I’m a coconut raspberry Zinger fan, myself).
Beergaritas
Combine in a pitcher with ice:
1 12 oz. can limeade concentrate
1 can of sprite
1 can of beer
1 empty limeade can filled up with tequila
It seems impossible to have an excess of margaritas, but I’ve got about a gallon of some liquid gold in the fridge. Fiesta anyone?
In honor of our recent May snow event, today’s recipe is my all-time favorite frozen margarita recipe. This was the very first margarita I ever had, I think. Way back in law school (yes, Thirsty Jane was formerly known as a lawyer), I experienced a summer internship from hell. I’ll spare you the details — there is nothing sexy at all about slave labor in a suit and pantyhose in 90 degree heat. Anyway, the guy in the cubie next to me and I shared a fondness that summer for copious amounts of morning coffee and afternoon “dust tea” (instant iced tea). On weekends, he often invited the rest of the law clerks to his house and spoiled us with his famous Killer Margs or sangria. Here’s to you, Andy, for introducing me to this great party beverage.
Andy’s Killer Marg (from the very stained 1/2 page ripped yellow legal pad)
Blend the following in a blender with ice:
6 oz. lemonade concentrate
6 oz. limeade concentrate
3 oz. triple sec
12 oz. tequila
6-12 oz. beer
