Have a drink with us! (video)
After the week is over, the work week has finish, and the chores are done, we like to spend some time on Sunday afternoon to just relax with a drink on the patio while we watch for birds and wildlife in the hills behind our house...this is our "cocktail hour."
This will be a new feature on the blog, occasionally showing you what we're drinking this week and how to make it yourself. We'll start off with one of the classics - the margarita.
There are a few stories of how the margarita was invented. Myself, I like to think this is the true story...Rita Hayworth, who originally went by the name of Margarita Cansino, was drinking with friends down in Mexico at the Halfway House bar. It is called the Halfway House because it is halfway between Tijuana and Ensenada. She asked the bartender to make her something with tequila so she wouldn't have to put up with the harshness of the shot so he made up the drink with lime juice, triple sec, and tequila with salt on the rim of the glass and named the drink after her. We used to have drinks at the Halfway House and hear the bartender tell us the story (another local invention is the Cesar Salad, created at the Hotel Cesar in Tijuana) but we haven't been there in over 25 years. The restaurant dates back to the beginning of the 20th century and is still there, still serving margaritas and more.
Here is our version of this classic drink. Note that we serve it on the rocks...as intended. This is not the travesty that is a blended (or frozen) margarita.
CLASSIC MARGARITA RECIPE
Ingredients (for two drinks)
2 oz. Tequlia (get a good tequila that's labeled "100% puro de agave")
1 oz. Grand Marnier, Cointreau, or triple sec (the first two will have a very positive effect on the taste)
splash of brandy or cognac
1 lime
4-5 oz. sweet and sour mix (our two favorite brands are Tavern and Finest Call)
kosher salt.
Put salt in shallow bowl or spread out on plate. Slice the lime into two halves. Run the open lime around the rim of the glass so that there is a fine sheen of lime juice on it (use a margarita glass, a cocktail glass, or an old fashioned glass if you have nothing else). Fill a cocktail shaker about 1/3 full with ice, crushed would be preferable. We use half liter glass shaker. Take one of the lime halves and squeeze the juice into the shaker. Put in the rest of your liquid ingredients, putting in the sweet and sour last and filling to the top. Put the lid on the shaker and shake. Fill the glasses about 2/3 full with ice and strain the drink into them.
Cheers!
-Darryl
