Happy Cinco de Mayo! err, I mean Seis de Mayo!
**Warning: This post is all over the place**
Like any good SoCal girl, I am unequivocally addicted to good, authentic Mexican food (Taco Bell does not qualify as good Mex). And that often means I am dining solo at a hole in the wall, no air conditioning, non-English speaking, shanty of a “restaurant”. I use the term “restaurant” loosely as I have discovered that sometimes, the best food comes from the trunk of a car. I eat in places Jason is afraid to even go into - shady places - of questionable safety, in undesirable parts of the valley. Home of Tasty. Elusive. Authentic. Fresh. Mexican food.
And this post is about good Mexican food and drinks and celebration so for those who don’t know, here is the 411 on Cinco de Mayo and after we can meet for a drink…
Update: this is a really long post - we will talk food next time.
Cinco de Mayo (5th of May) is often thought of as the Mexican Independence Day, but it is not (Mexican Independence Day is on Sept 16). Cinco de Mayo is actually a celebration of a great battle resulting in the unlikely defeat of the French Army in the Battle of Puebla in 1862 (thank you Wiki). And is a commercial celebration or a celebration concentrated (with some exception) in commercialized areas (ie; the US, the border towns in Mexico and other tourist towns South of the Border) and of course in Puebla. Not so much in non-commercial areas (ie; everywhere else in Mexico, everywhere in the US that is not near the border and the rest of the World). Class dismissed. Now lets go have a drink.
We will celebrate with Margaritas, slow cooked pork pozole, Mexican street corn, fried tortilla chips, guacamole and salsa. Ole! Let’s start with the good stuff first, coz your gonna need one of these while you make everything else…
Blondie’s Real Margaritas and Tequila 101
- 2 1/2 ounces Tequila Blanco (aka silver or white tequila)
- 2 1/2 ounces Orange Liqueur (Triple Sec or Cointreau)
- 2 1/2 ounces Fresh Citrus (Lime or Lemon)
- 1 wedge of Orange
- Organic Blue Agave sweetner, to taste
- Ice
- Salt - optional
Place tequila, triple sec, citrus juice and Blue Agave sweetner in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake, shake, shake baby! Strain into a martini glass, squeeze a bit of orange and float that wedge right in there. Salute!
I typically like my margaritas straight up (no ice) and with no salt on the rim - you know ”diet” margaritas *wink* coz there is alot less bloating going on! But these are equally good on the rocks with or without salt.
Now go get a margarita and meet me back here for Tequila 101 (I’ll wait)
A word about tequila… I only drink silver tequila and I only drink margaritas (no shots for me thank you) and when I drink gold tequila (even reposado or anejo) I get a headache! After much research, yes all those margaritas are research Mom, I have come to realize a few things about tequila. These realizations will be forever be referred to as Tequila 101.
The first first (yes I wrote that twice, no it’s not coz of the margaritas). The first first is that if you buy cheap tequila you will most likely be rewarded with… a cheap headache. Now you don’t have to buy a super-premium tequila (though you really can’t go wrong with Patron Silver or AsomBroso) just a good quality tequila (like Sauza Blanco or Jose Cuervo Especial). But please, I beg of you, do not use crap tequila here or dare I say - mezcal.
The second first; speaking of mezcal… it is not tequila people. And if there is a worm in your tequila… it is not tequila either. And you don’t want to drink that. Put it down and step away from the bottle. Unless your in college, then by all means…
The third first; well this is where I reveal the different types of tequila and how there aged (note taking not required).
Did you know that when tequila is first distilled it is silver or blanco? Then it is placed in oak barrels (much like wine) and aged. That’s were the color comes from. So depending on how complex you like your tequila, an aged tequila may be the way to go. Okay? Okay.
Some tequila is “rested” but not “aged” (silver or blanco tequila), some is aged for a few months to no more than a year (reposado) some is aged 1 -3 years (anejo) and some longer (super anejo), some tequila is a mix of a reposado and blanco/silver to produce a light carmel or gold colored tequila (oro). All different in flavor and dare I say bouquet?
*the sound of wine snobs everywhere falling over*
To complicate things even more Also contributing to the bouquet (ha ha) is the fact that the oak barrels do not have to be new. Sometimes the casks had a previous life over at the Jack Daniel’s plant, okay maybe not Jack’s place specifically, but some barrels have previously held other alcohol, some barrels have been charred (for a smoky background) and some anejo and super anejo barrels were previously reposado barrels. All these things contribute to the overall complexity of your tequila. And while you may want a smoky quality or a certain complexity in your sipping tequila, Blondie don’t want that in her margarita (third person, nice). I want a clean tequila taste with a hit of sour citrus, some sweet from the orange liqueur and if I am feeling particularlly scrawny (um, that hasn’t happened in a long time), a little salt on the rim.
A footnote on the second first… it’s not a worm, it’s a larval form of a moth. Why would you swallow that? I mean unless your in college. And not smart enough to know better.
Now, I can not drink wine either - especially the red oaky ones. Do you see where I am going with this? I think it’s a tannin thingy from the barrels - but clearly I need to conduct more research.
To recap: Good tequila = no nasty headaches. For me, good tequila means silver tequila.
A footnote to the recap (coz I can): This is only one of 10 million margarita recipes that I make here in my little slice of paradise, so another version is likely to be posted soon (my Mom must be so proud).
Do you have one of these? You need one of these. Go get one of these. Today. Like right now!
Adios!
Blondie
