The Best Margarita Recipe

 

Margarita Recipe

The best margaritas are the simplest.  No sweet and sour mix required!

Recipe

2 oz Tequila

1 oz Triple Sec

1/2 oz Lime Juice

Shake in a cocktail shaker with a large piece of ice.  Garnish with lime.

 

Margarita or Classic Whiskey Sour?

This has been the Sunday Summer afternoon dilemma. Cocktails in the garden on a Sunday afternoon are fantastic, but not if you're fraught with decisions.

I've been making Margaritas lately with tequila, a bit of lime juice, and a splash of triple sec. That's it. And let me tell you they are great!

But I also recently discovered that classic Whiskey Sours were originally made with a bit of egg white to froth up the cocktail. Whiskey, lemon juice, simple syrup, and a teaspoon of egg white shaken in a cocktail shaker transforms into a silky and delicious Summer cocktail.

Now all I have to do is decide which to have.

White Wine "Affogato" with Blood Orange Sorbet

While having a glass of white on a recent Sunday afternoon a blast of genius wafted over my ice cold glass of Pinot Grigio. The pint of blood orange sorbet I'd bought the day before had been taunting me all day but my glass of Pinot was truly hitting the spot---what to do, what to do?

My brilliant idea of course was to scoop the sorbet right into my glass. Mike looked at me like I was crazy (or a lush. or both.) but I knew that it would be delicious, and it certainly was.

An Affogato is traditionally made with espresso, but since "Affogato" technically translates to "drowned" I felt like I had creative liberty to change it up. A nice dry table wine works great here---the citrus undertones of the white works great with the blood orange and the sweetness of the sorbet melds well with a dry white.

Scoop, pour, and dip your spoon in the Summer goodness!

Perfecting My Bloody Mary Recipe

For years now I've been the designated bloody mary maker at brunch and vacation weekends.  I've always used the Barefoot Contessa recipe as my base and have always freely amended it to my liking.  A dash of this, a sprinkling of that, and a couple of minutes later we would have a pitcher of the most divine bloody marys.

The problem with this of course, is that when I'm on vacation sometimes I want to, you know, rest.  But because I never wrote down all my additions to the recipe, no one could recreate it quite like I could.

This past holiday weekend I decided to write it all down and finally produce the very best bloody mary recipe.  This recipe is full of body and richness, a hearty brunch cocktail sure to please any bloody mary fan.

Ingredients
This recipe makes a large pitcher, about 8 - 10 cocktails

1 quart of tomato juice
2 1/2 cups vodka
1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon horseradish
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon tabasco
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons lime juice
1/4 teaspoon celery salt
1 teaspoon grated fresh onion

Mix all ingredients in a large pitcher and pour over ice in a cocktail glass.  Add a stick of celery, slice of jalapeno, and/or olives to garnish.

Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: Holiday Tree Trimming Party

Every year Michael and myself host a Christmas tree trimming party in which we invite our closest friends over to help us decorate our Christmas tree. Every guest brings one appetizer to share and we provide the cocktails and dessert! Our annual party happened last night and Foodbuzz was nice enough to select our party as part of their 24, 24, 24 promotion. Thanks Foodbuzz!

Since this was an appetizer potluck, I have tons of great holiday appetizer ideas perfect for your holiday party!



Christmas is Michael’s favorite holiday, so our tiny apartment gets a radical make-over during this time of year. Vintage Christmas decorations flood every inch of wall space as the infamous video yuletide log flickers on the t.v. screen---it’s quite a sight! The only thing NOT decorated is the Christmas tree. At the beginning of the party the tree is bare and naked, and as guests begin to arrive they each dig into the giant boxes of vintage ornaments that Michael has collected and they begin to slowly decorate the tree. It’s a communal effort, and by the end of the night the tree is shimmering and beautiful!

Almonds Toasted With Garlic-Rosemary Olive Oil

Toasted almonds are one of my favorite snacks. I made this delicious version using garlic-rosemary infused olive oil and they came out really good. I've been trying to incorporate more small, healthy snacks into my diet and these almonds really fit the bill. After making them I realized that they would also make great party snacks! I mean, who doesn't like flavored toasted almonds?!


Recipe...

Ingredients

4 cups raw almonds
2 whole garlic cloves, slightly crushed
1 tablespoon roughly chopped rosemary
1/2 cayenne pepper
1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup olive oil

Directions

Place the garlic, rosemary, cayenne pepper and oil in a sauce pan and heat on low/medium heat for five minutes. Strain oil into bowl removing all left over garlic and rosemary. Add raw almonds and salt to the bowl and toss with oil. With a slotted spoon remove almonds and place on a sheet pan in a single layer, straining most of the oil. Sprinkle with a tad bit more salt and place in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 10 minutes or until the house starts to smell like yummy garlic almonds.

How To Make A Classic Tom Collins Cocktail

Classic Cocktail Recipe

If you're looking for a classic and refreshing Summer cocktail, stop right here, because I have just the thing for you. A Tom Collins is a classic Gin based cocktail that is simple and refreshing and super easy to make.

What's not to like about Gin, lemon, and simple syrup?

Tom Collins Recipe

2 oz of Gin
1 oz of lemon juice
1 tsp of simple syrup
3 oz of club soda
lemon twist

Directions

Fill a cocktail glass with ice and place all of the ingredients in the glass. Give it a stir and enjoy!

How To Make The Quintessential Mint Julep

Mint Julep's are so delicious!  I like to pretend I'm wearing a big white hat while I drink mine.

How To Make the Quintessential Mint Julep: bonappetit.com

The Perfect Margarita

Great article on what makes the perfect Margarita. I'm not sure about the 1:1:1 ratio, but I like the explanations of all of the ingredients.



Chris Hall: The Perfect Margarita - Huffington Post

Tequila Sunrise with Homemade Grenadine

Classic Cocktail

I'm a huge fan of old fashioned cocktails and this tequila sunrise is no exception. Only three ingredients make up this delicious libation...how simple is that?! The homemade grenadine makes all the difference, so don't even think about using that bottled stuff.

Tequila Sunrise recipe in second part of post...

Recipe makes one cocktail

Ingredients

3 ounces of good Tequila (Patron, Heradura, or Cazadores)
6 ounces orange juice
1 ounce homemade grenadine

Directions

Fill a highball glass with ice. Pour tequila and orange juice into glass. Lastly, add grenadine but DO NOT stir. The grenadine will fall to the bottom and create the "sunrise" effect. Enjoy!

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Homemade Grenadine

Classic Cocktails

Many old fashioned and classic cocktails call for grenadine. Grenadine was once a delicious pomegranate based syrup that is now sadly nothing but colored sugar water. I hate fake substitutes in ingredients so making my own made tons of sense.

I recently received a case of POM Wonderful Pomegranate juice from the fine people at POM, and I've been itching to make something fun with it. Grenadine seemed perfect, especially since the weather has been warming up which usually means switching from wine to drinking cocktails! Grenadine can be used to make a number of classic cocktails but is probably most widely known in a Tequila Sunrise.

Grenadine recipe in second part of post

Ingredients

4 cups POM Wonderful Pomegranate juice
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons lemon juice

Directions

Place all of the ingredients in a sauce pan. Bring juice to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 45 minutes, or until it reduces by half. Let cool and place in a glass jar and refrigerate until ready to use. Use the Grenadine to make Pomegranate Mimosas, Singapore Slings, or a Tequila Sunrise.

Best Bloody Mary Recipe

**UPDATE - I've recently perfected my bloody mary recipe.  The new bloody mary recipe can be found here. (1/04/2011)

Brunch this past weekend was made all the better by these fantastic Bloody Mary's! This is the all-time best bloody mary recipe I've ever tried. It's a perfect combination of hearty ingredients, spice, and tartness. Try some this weekend! Oh, and yes, this is yet again, a successful Barefoot Contessa recipe. 
 

Ingredients

3 large stalks celery from the heart, including leaves, plus extra for serving
36 ounces tomato juice (recommended: Sacramento)
2 teaspoons prepared horseradish
1 teaspoon grated yellow onion
1 lemon, juiced
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
12 dashes hot sauce (recommended: Tabasco), or to taste
1 1/2 cups vodka

Directions

Cut the celery in large dice, including the leaves, and puree in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Process until finely minced. In a large pitcher, combine the rest of the ingredients except the vodka. With the food processor running, pour 1/4 of the tomato juice mixture into the food processor through the feed tube. Then pour the contents of the food processor into the pitcher with the remaining tomato juice mixture. Add the vodka and chill. Serve in tall glasses over ice with a stick of celery.

Easy Simple Syrup Recipe

Classic and Simple

There's nothing more simple and classic than simple syrup. It's such a basic, yet essential ingredient. Simple syrup is used when making cocktails that call for a sweetener. You know how sometimes, when you add sugar to cold liquid, it doesn't really dissolve? THAT'S when simple syrup comes in handy. You see, simple syrup is nothing but dissolved sugar. Mix it with lemon juice and you have home made sweet and sour mix which is perfect for WHISKEY SOURS! Try using lime juice instead of lemons and mix it with cointreau and tequila for a perfect Margarita! I make a batch and keep it in a plastic squeeze bottle!

Simple Syrup Recipe

1 part sugar
1 part water

Place water and sugar in a sauce pan and heat over medium heat until all the sugar is dissolved. It usually takes a couple of minutes and you can tell when it's done because the liquid turns crystal clear! Once it dissolves let it cool and it's ready to use!

Making Spanish Sangria!

By Danny

Best Sangria Recipe

WELCOME TO ALL OUR NEW STUMBLE UPON READERS! IF YOU LIKE THIS RECIPE PLEASE CHECK OUT SOME OF OUR OTHER RECIPES!



I'm usually not a huge sangria fan. I tend to find that most sangria recipes call for way too much sugar for my taste. So when Michael suggested we make sangria for our recent cocktail party, I wasn't too excited. Boy was I wrong! Michael found this great recipe and it was really excellent. Not too sweet, and just the right amount of tartness. This is perfect for a party because you can make it a day before...it actually gets better with time!

Red Wine Sangria Recipe

* 2 bottles red Spanish table wine
* 1 cup brandy
* 1/2 cup triple sec
* 1 cup orange juice
* 1 cup pomegranate juice
* 1/2 cup simple syrup, or more to taste (equal parts sugar and water, heated until sugar dissolves, cooled)
* Orange slices
* Apple slices
* Blackberries
* Pomegranate seeds

Directions

Mix all ingredients together and let stand in a tightly sealed container or pitcher for at least 24 hours in the refrigerator before serving.

Recipe found on Food network tv.com

How to Make a Whiskey Sour...The Right Way!

How To Make Whiskey Sours

A couple of Summers ago, I fell in love with whiskey. Bourbon to be exact. I was in Maine at an artists retreat, camping in the forest. We had no access to a fridge, which meant no ice. Which meant no cocktails! Our only options for alcoholic libations where red wine---which is sort of gross in the humid Maine Summers---or liquor. Hence, my love of whiskey! Whiskey Sours soon became my favorite cocktail.

I never order them at bars however. Most bars use that disgusting sweet and sour mix to make their whiskey sours, which is gross. I did a bit of research and found the best recipe!

The right way to make a whiskey sour after the jump...

Ingredients

• 2 Oz of Whiskey Bourbon (You could use Scotch if you prefer)
• 1 Lemon, all of the juice
• 2 Tsp Simple Syrup

Directions

Place all of the ingredients plus a hunk of ice into a cocktail shaker. Shake the crap out of it and pour into a glass. garnish with a cherry. Enjoy!

Using Cucumber in Cocktails!

I'm really into using cucumber as a flavor component in cocktails right now. I love the subtle flavors that a cucumber gives. Plus, it almost always makes an extremely refreshing cocktail.

Here is a recipe for a little cocktail I just made up while on vacation. I'm in Provincetown, MA for a week and I thought this cocktail would be perfect for a Cape Cod vacation!

P-Town Cooler

1 part vodka
2 parts Triple Sec
3 cucumber slices
Club Soda
1 lime

Take a cocktail glass and place the cucumber at the bottom of the glass. Add the ice and vodka, then muddle the cucumber. Add the triple sec, top with club soda and finish off with a squeeze of fresh lime juice.

Bringing Gin Back

I never understood how gin got a bad rap. Gin always reminds me of summer, and for whatever reason, of New England. I imagine fancy ladies on the cape having cocktails at tea time. Gin and Tonic comes to mind when imagining these fancy ladies, so in an attempt to bring gin back, me and Simone made some gin cocktails last night. I made a variation on a Gin and Tonic while Simone made a classic Gin Rickey. My variation on the Gin and Tonic strays from the classic recipe by adding sliced cucumbers and a sprig of rosemary. The cucumber adds a subtle flavor that blends perfectly with the juniper berry flavor of the gin. The rosemary sprig adds an amazing bouquet of aromas that I'm sure those fancy ladies on the cape would thoroughly enjoy! This cocktail is amazingly smooth and refreshing...perfect for summer!

Not-So-Classic Gin and Tonic

2 oz of Gin
5 oz of Tonic Water
3 cucumber slices
1 sprig of rosemary
1 wedge of lime
Soda Water

Place the cucumber slices at the bottom of the highball glass. Squeeze lime juice into glass and slightly muddle the cucumber. Add sprig of rosemary and fill highball glass with ice. Add Gin, tonic, and finish off with a splash of soda water. If you prefer a less sweet cocktail, add less tonic water and more soda water. Enjoy!

Bubbly: Seltzer Water v. Club Soda

Have you ever wondered about the difference between seltzer water and club soda?
Well, I have not. Usually I choose Pellegrino. But I couldn’t find the Pellegrino at Von’s the other day. All they had was the Safeway brand Club soda and Seltzer Water…
So I bought them both! And after a taste test, I choose Seltzer Water! It has way more bubbles and they are a lot busier bubbling all around than those in the Club Soda…. And according to the label, Club Soda has salt in it, boo!

I've got cheap grapefruits. Now what?: Recipe idea

On Sunday I went over to my friend Jake’s house to watch the Lakers game. He mixed some delicious drinks using those grapefruits from the Super King…


Hemingway’s Daiquiri (San Fernando Rd style)
Juice from ½ grapefruit
Juice from 2 limes
2 jiggers Rum
3 sour cherries

1. Using vintage Sunbeam mixer/juicer, juice the grapefruit and limes.
2. Add Bacardi, shake it up good with some cracked ice, pour into a couple of cocktail glasses and garnish with the cherries.
3. Enjoy the most sensational Sunday afternoon pre-Lakers game cocktails on the planet!

Weekends Are For Amateurs - El Prado Bar, Echo Park

The OTHAOAR team likes to booze it up every once in a while. What we don't like are loud, crowded bars. Early Thursday evenings are perfect times for barflies like ourselves. When Simone and I first moved to the city we hatched a plan to hit one new bar a week. It was our own way of getting to know Los Angeles. Unfortunately, our plan only lasted about a week.


Now that our blog is us up and running, we decided to revive our plan. Our first hit was El Prado, in Echo Park. We hands-down loved this bar! They specialize in micro-brewed beers, and let me tell you, they were delicious! Imagine walking in to a dark, quiet bar...Bob Dylan playing on a small record player...friendly bartenders...wood paneled walls...that is exactly what El Prado is like! Don't bother going on the weekends though, although they've only been open for a month, the weekends are filled to the rim with eager beer drinkers. Definitely not our scene. Weekends are totally for amateurs!

El Prado Bar - Echo Park