Italian Margarita

It is hot and humid out there! Nothing better to fight off the weather than with a nice cold margarita. I really enjoy any type of margarita. In fact, I am pretty sure I haven't meet a margarita I didn't like - swirl, traditional, watermelon, mango. But, when I am making them at home I prefer to have a sweet flavor instead of the tart taste of a traditional lime and tequila margarita. This is called an Italian Margarita because of the addition of the amaretto and the use of lemon instead of lime.

Ingredients:

Lemons - to garnish

Sugar - to garnish

3 shots tequila

1 shot triple sec

heaping 1/4 c. frozen lemonade concentrate

3 c. crushed ice

1 shot amaretto

First, cut the lemon. I know you can get lemons for like 5 for a dollar but, to get the most use out of your lemon, start by cutting it in half. Cut one half into slices. Cut the other half into wedges.

Next, we are going to rim the glass with sugar. Begin by wetting the rim of the glass with the lemon wedge. Then invert the glass into a dish - ahem, salad plate - filled with sugar.

And there you go! Sugar on the rim of your glass. Salt could also be a great substitute to rim the glass with, but I have a major sugar tooth so I am sticking with sugar!

By the way, isn't that a great glass! My sister, baby maker turned baby doctor, gave me a set of these glasses as a birthday present on my 21st birthday. Wasn't that such a thoughtful gift? I love them!

Now its time to get serious. Combine the crushed ice and tequila in the blender.

Everyone, well at least everyone in Texas, knows that Tequila is made from the agave plant, which is a succulent. But, did you know that mezcal is also made from the agave plant? I saw this as a question on "Who Wants to Be A Millionaire" and didn't know the answer.

Tequila, as well as mezcal, doesn't need to age. The alcohol is fermented from the agave heart that is rich in the sugar inulin. Humans do not have an enzyme for inulin so it cannot be digested. Because of this, the heart of the agave plant must be cooked down for several hours in order to break the inulin sugar down into fructose. After cooking the mixture is fermented and then goes through the distillation process.

Add the triple sec - this is a sweet margarita, remember?

Also add one heaping 1/4c of frozen lemonade concentrate.

Puree in the blender until nice and slushy. It will be a mixture somewhere between and frozen and on the rocks margarita.

Pour the mixture into a glass and pour the shot of amaretto over the top. My glasses are on the smaller side so I had enough of the mixture to pour into two glasses. I didn't split the shot of amaretto.

Garnish with a lemon slice and serve! This drink is really nice, sweet and refreshing. It works great to battle the heat and humidity, to serve along side a Mexican dish, or to share with your husband after a long week at work.

Snake Bite

Happy St. Patrick's Day. This is Mr. T's favorite holiday - ever! He is really only 1/32nd Irish, or something ridiculously small like that, but still really enjoys the tradition. It probably has something to do with all the beer. Even with his hazy heritage, that doesn't keep him from celebrating the holiday with the most Irish of Irish.

I don't know how to cook anything Irish, nor do I care to because who really wants to eat cabbage and corned beef anyway? I did know something that I could get for him that would make this special day a little bit better - a snake bite!

A snake bite is a beer cocktail. It is made by mixing a cider with a lager beer. In our case we used Ace Pear as the cider and Guinness as the lager beer. It is also sometimes mistakenly called a black and tan, although that is not the correct name because the "tan" in that is Harp beer. Harp and Guinness is also sometimes called a half and half.

To make a snake bite, simply pour the cider beer first. While holding the glass at an angle pour the cider down the side, trying to get as little foam as possible.
Next, pour the lager beer in the same manner. You should see a separation of the liquids.

Enjoy!

There is some interesting chemistry behind the drink, as you should have guessed. Density is defined as the mass per unit volume. In the case of a snake bite, the beers have a different density which causes the separation of the liquids. The more dense liquid is on bottom while the less dense liquid will remain on the top. The same phenomenon occurs with oil and water.

I hope you are all having a great St. Patrick's Day. Enjoy it even more with a snake bite!