Foodie Friday - Cinco de Mayo edition - Margarita

Happy Cinco de Mayo, the 5th of May!
 {FOODIE FRIDAY}

Greetings everyone and happy Friday! 

As you may know, tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo. As you may not know, this is one of my favorite holidays of the year because it involves one of my favorite cuisines. So this week we are posting some past recipes AND fantastic Margarita recipe that I spent the afternoon creating. It took a few times before I got it right. My wife says this is a pretty tasty rendition of one of her favorite drinks.  

There are 3 parts to mixing this drink.

1. Rim Salt
2. Piloncillo Syrup
3. This tasty margarita

Let's start!  The rim salt is extremely easy.

RIM SALT

1/4 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup table sugar
1 teaspoon of chili powder
~mix all ingredients in a bowl until evenly incorporated.

Next we will prepare the piloncillo syrup.

4 piloncillo cones or 1# turbanado sugar (see note at the end)
2 cups of water
~Place all ingredients in medium sauce pot and boil until sugar is disintegrated, this takes about 10 minutes.

Remember to cool off before using, this has about a 2 week shelf life in the refrigerator.

Now let's make that margarita.

This will make about four 8-ounce margaritas or two 16-ouncer's if you are a lush!

Here is what you need:

MARGARITA

4 ounces white or silver tequila
2 ounces of gran gala or triple sec
2 ounces lime juice concentrate
1 ounce orange juice concentrate
2 ounces piloncillo syrup/turbanado simple syrup
1/2 teaspoon rim salt
ice

~In a blender combine the following ingredients and blend on high until smooth.
Before pouring...

Dip glass in frozen mixture

Dip glass into rim salt

Pour frozen mix into glass, garnish and serve. (I garnished with key lime slices and a little pinch of rim salt.) 

Note:  Piloncillo is sold in most grocery stores in the Mexican herb/spice section where all the dried chilis are located. It is a very raw unrefined form of cane sugar and it is what gives Mexican coca cola that awesome flavor.  It has a distinct caramel flavor and sweet aroma. 

When you mix the essence of the chili powder from the rim salt with the aroma of the piloncillo syrup it makes a truly unique and one of a kind margarita that your friends will keep coming back for.   Please enjoy this and my other recipes and have a safe and festive Cinco de Mayo.   ~James

MAKE IT A MEAL!

Here are some delicious recipes from James that would go great with this margarita and is perfect for Cinco de Mayo or any other festive night!

CARNE ASADA TACOS

POSOLE



What is your favorite thing about Cinco de Mayo?  Do you have a favorite margarita you would like to share?  We would love to see it! 

As always we would love to hear what you want James to cook next.  Suggestions are needed!

(Be sure to check out other great recipes by James.  You can find them on the Foodie Friday tab at the top of the page or look for the label "foodie friday" in the blog posts.)

Linking up to:

Foodie Friday! - Posole

Introducing my very first

FOODIE FRIDAY!

James Wood, Resident Chef will be cooking up recipes and bringing them here each Friday for you to make. 

Here is a recipe for one of my favorite things - Posole.

Pork Posole 

4 lbs. pork shoulder (cut into 1" cubes)
1-29oz can white hominy
4-8 Dried Guajillo chiles
1 yellow onion (diced)
6 cloves garlic (chopped)

1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 qt chicken broth
1 qt water

1 small green cabbage (sliced thin)
5 radishes (sliced thin)
1 bunch of cilantro (picked)
1 bunch green onions (chopped)

2 tablespoon achiote
3 tablespoons cumin
5 tablespoons masa harina
3 Goya spice packets
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
2 teaspoons Mexican oregano
salt and pepper to taste

Step 1: In a medium sauce pot steep the dried chilies and achiote in 1 qt of water until soft (about 20 minutes).

Step 2
In large mixing bowl combine cumin, masa, Goya spice, garlic powder, onion powder and Mexican oregano and mix

Step 3
Dice onion and mince garlic (you can use a food processor I won't judge you ;-)


Step 4
Toss the pork into the bowl of spices and mix until evenly coated thoroughly

Step 5
Brown the pork in about 1/4 cup canola oil in a large skillet (small batches will help brown evenly) then transfer to cooking vessel (crock pot or pressure cooker). In the same pan sauté the onions and garlic and deglaze with vinegar and
transfer to cooking vessel.

Step 6
Place chilies (liquid too) into a blender and blend until smooth and add this, hominy and the chicken broth to vessel (don't forget to check seasoning... Add salt and pepper if needed)

If using pressure cooker bring to simmer then place lid on and let pressurize and cook for 30-40 minutes)

*if using crock pot....  Set it and forget it! 6-8 hours on low or until pork is tender.

Serve this savory soup in a large shallow bowl garnished with sliced cabbage, radishes, cilantro and green onions.
Serves 8-10 for under $20

Have a question for James, or want to see a recipe with a favorite ingredient?  Please leave a comment.  Thank you!