The Mother of Invention (Saturday)

If you check the web, you’ll see that there’s no truly ‘official’ original margarita recipe, instead there are a number of contenders. For this trip, we decided to do Margaritas one of those ways, my favorite way – with Tequila, Cointreau and limes (picture of these are in other posts).

An Option for Official Margarita Recipe
Servings depend on the basic unit used

3 parts tequila
2 parts cointreau
1 part freshly squeezed lime (best if you use Mexican limes, which some web sites say are the same as key limes, but I don’t guarantee that)

1. Mix ingredients with ice.
2. Wet the edge of the glass with a ‘used’ lime, place upside down on to a plate of salt to create the salt rim.
3. Pour and enjoy!

But today we had a problem. We’ve used a phenomenal number of limes on this trip. L has citrus trees, so he brought a bunch of lemons, limes, grapefruit and oranges. But the limes got used the fastest (not just for margaritas, guacamole is a big user, plus the steak marinade, etc.). And so tonight as I was preparing to make margaritas, I had a crisis. We had no limes. Not one. And I wasn’t in the mood to run out for limes or mix (and mix would have been an unacceptable compromise anyway). I wanted my margarita then (just as the sun was setting). And so I squeezed a half of a grapefruit and a half of a lemon into a cup and then measured my 1 part citrus out of that. They were awesome, the lemon made them tart, but the grapefruit added a depth of sweetness that I really liked (and squeezing 2 halves of those was tons easier than squeezing a million little limes). And so,

Bee’s Necessity Margarita Recipe

3 parts tequila
2 parts cointreau
1 part freshly squeezed mixed lemon and grapefruit juice (proportion based on 1 half grapefruit and 1 half lemon (so not really 1 to 1 as the grapefruit is bigger))

1. Mix ingredients with ice.
2. Wet the edge of the glass with a ‘used’ grapefruit, place upside down on to a plate of salt to create the salt rim.
3. Pour and enjoy!

It might not become our standard, but it’s really good, so it might.

These margaritas were a terrific lead in to our dinner. We made up another batch of guacamole (I think that that’s my annual share of avocados that I managed to consume in a week – man was it good), some salsa fresca, green papaya salad (sounded strange with the Mexican flavors, but it worked really well) and leftover chicken (from Super Pollo) on tortillas with L’s Ranchera Sauce.


I’ve mentioned L’s Ranchera and Mole sauces before (the ranchera is the mole without the cocoa). This is a chile sauce, not necessarily a spicy sauce (depending on the number of seeds left in, you can up the heat – but the foundation is really the taste of chile, it can be more of a roasted flavor than what people traditionally think of as a spicy chile flavor).

L’s Ranchera/Mole Sauce
1 quart of sauce
All ingredients can be varied according to taste

12-15 Dried chiles (can use any type of dried chiles, some that we have used include: Chile Negro, Chile New Mexicano, Chile Pasilla)
10 Red Onions
Salt
Olive oil

2 teaspoons Oregano (optional)
2 teaspoons Marjoram (optional)
2 teaspoons Cinnamon (optional – for mole)
2 teaspoons Cocoa (optional – for mole)

1. De-seed and de-stem chiles (again, if you want it spicier, leave in a few seeds)
2. Soak chiles over-night in water
3. Chop and sauté red onions for 5-10 minutes, add garlic and continue to sauté until tender
4. Add spices
5. Put chiles, onions, garlic and spices in a blender and blend until smooth (add water or oil to thin (use the chile water if you want a spicier sauce)
6. Serve & Enjoy!