Friday, June 24, 2011

Frozen Strawberry Margaritas
- serve without a straw

In my books, it’s firmly margarita time.
   I like my margaritas frozen and slushy, with the taste of good tequila present but not to a point that is overwhelming.
   Frozen Strawberry Margaritas (click for the recipe) from Cook’s Country magazine fits this order perfectly.
   My tip to make this drink its absolute best is to skip serving it with a straw.
   While margaritas, especially frozen ones, are often served with straws, in this case it takes away from the whole delicious experience of drinking the margarita.
   Putting your lips on the salted- and sugared-rim is a perfect way to start each lovely sip. Be sure, then, to put a salt and sugar mixture on the rims as the recipe directs!
   The recipe calls for silver tequila, which is generally considered the best grade of this spirit, but my husband and I have always been fans of Sauza brand Gold tequila.
   The margaritas are very easy to make. The recipe I linked to above is on a recipe-sharing site, but it’s the same one I used from Cook’s Country.
   Frozen strawberries, sugar, and salt are heated until the berries begin to release their juices (the recipe says this will take about five minutes, but it took barely two minutes for me.) The strawberries are mashed with a potato masher until the fruit breaks down, then the mixture is simmered until it is reduced and syrupy, about five minutes.
   Off heat, frozen limeade concentrate is stirred in, and the mixture is covered and refrigerated until well chilled, at least one hour (you can make this strawberry mixture up to one day in advance.)
   After chilling, the mixture is transferred to a blender. More frozen strawberries, some ice, tequila and Triple Sec are added and the whole thing is blended until it’s smooth (divide this up into batches if you have a less-than-awesome blender like I do.)
   Sugar and kosher salt are combined on a plate. The rims of serving glasses are dipped in water, then in the salt and sugar mixture.
  The strawberry margaritas are poured into the glasses and served.

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