Just nuts

I've decided that the perfect snack to take to the Super Bowl Party next week is bar nuts. Of course they will be coated with lots of Sal del Mar. I found the recipe in the "Genius Recipes" cookbook. The flavor is not sugary or spicy .. and it is simple to make. You won't want to buy the already salted nuts again. 

Recipe from "Genius Recipes" and the Union Square Cafe

1/4 pound peeled peanuts, cashews, Brazil nuts, hazelnuts, walnuts, pecans, and whole unpeeled almonds or 1 1/4 pound unsalted assorted nuts

2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh rosemary

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 teaspoons dark brown sugar

2 teaspoons Sal del Mar

1 tablespoon butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350. Toss the nuts in a large bowl to combine and spread them out on a cookie sheet. Toast in the oven until they become light golden brown, about 10 minutes. In a large bowl combine the rosemary, cayenne, brown sugar, Sal del Mar and melted butter. Thoroughly toss the warm toasted nuts with the spiced butter, adjust seasoning to taste and serve warm.

Tweaking a Bloody Mary

There are all kinds of recipes for making a Bloody Mary, but don't forget the salt. Salting the rim makes the flavors pop. Without it, you can produce a tasty creation... but salting the rim will make it drop-dead delicious.

There are many things to learn about using salt to enhance your drink, but one of the most important considerations is the texture. Sal del Mar's coarse crystals let the flavor linger on the tongue and also add a little crunch. The crystals also have a dampness that allows them to cling to the rim of the glass so that you don't get the salt sliding down the edge of the glass as with some of the refined salts.

SALTY TIPS:

To tweak the classic Bloody Mary, mix a medium-grind of pepper with Sal del Mar sea salt. Spread the mixture on a small plate.

Moisten the edge of the glass just half way around the top edge by running a lime slice around the rim.

Press the rim of the glass into the Sal del Mar/pepper mixture to crust the rim. Shake off any access.

Allow the salt/pepper to air dry a few minutes before filling to ensure that the salt mixture lightly flakes off with each sip.

Everything's coming of cranberries

There is something so thrilling about seeing the harvesting of this cranberry bog on a drive on Cape Cod.. It made me want to make everything cranberry. Muffins. Scones, Sauces. Chutney. But, instead, I settled for a Cranberry Margarita.

Seems as though Marilyn had the same idea.  I shot this photo from a large mural at the Chatham Orpheum Theater in Chatham, Massachusetts. I think you'll like the recipe (see below). It's not too tart or too sweet.

Cranberry Margarita  

This recipe is great for a crowd, but is easily reduced to serve just one.

2 cups of Tequila blanco
2 1/3 cups of cranberry juice
2/3 cups fresh lime juice
1 cup of triple sec or any orange-flavored liqueur
Sal de Margarita sea salt

First, rub a lime over the edge of a martini glass, covering just half the glass edge. On a plate, add a thin layer of Sal del Margarita sea salt and dip the edge of the glass into it. If possible, let it dry out a bit.

Combine the tequila, cranberry juice, orange liqueur, and lime juice in a large pitcher. Add in small portions to a cocktail shaker filled with ice.Shake and serve in a Sal del Mar rimmed martini glass.

Fall Margarita

We believe Fall is for Margaritas too. Sometimes it seems that it is such a summer cocktail but tequila is right for any season. It's fun too to use different ingredients.  For our Fall Margarita, we put together grapefruit juice, tequila and lime. We chose a "highball" glass to serve it in instead of a martini glass to add to the Fall look. And of course, Sal de Margarita rims the edge to enhance the flavors of the tequila and lime.

A Fall Margarita
Freshly squeezed grapefruit is one of my favorites because it cuts through the flavor of tequila.

2 oz of Tequila blanco
2 oz. fresh squeezed grapefruit juice
1 oz. fresh lime juice
1/2 oz. triple sec
1/2 oz. agave nectar
Sal de Margarita sea salt

Fill a small cocktail shaker with ice. Pour in the tequila, freshly squeezed grapefruit juice, lime juice, triple sec and agave nectar. Put on the lid and shake. Strain the cocktail into your Sal de Margarita rimmed glass and garnish with a slice of grapefruit.
Pour a layer of Sal de Margarita onto a small plate. With a slice of lime, wet half of the rim of the glass.(Rimming just half the edge with salt, lets you control how much salt you taste with each sip.) Dip the glass into the salt at a 45-degree angle and roll it from side to side. Be careful to not let any of the salt drip into the glass. 
TIP:  Take the grapefruit and lime out of the refrigerator and let them come to room temperature.
It is easier to squeeze citrus when it isn't cold.

It’s a Burro... not a Mule

We are showing off our version of Moscow Mule. We call it a “Mexican Burro.” We learned this version from a fellow customer, when shopping at Rumrunners in Tucson, Arizona, who told us how she substitutes the traditional vodka for tequila or mezcal to make her favorite drink.  

After experimenting ourselves, we like the mezcal, a smokier agave-based cousin of tequila.

Mexican Burro

2 oz. tequila or mezcal
1 oz. fresh lime juice
4 oz. ginger beer

Rim a cocktail glass with a lime and crust the rim with Sal del Mar by dipping into a plate sprinkled with Sal del Mar.

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice then add the mezcal and lime juice and shake until chilled. Pour into your prepared glass and finish with the ginger beer.  Garnish with lime.

Adjust the ingredients to your taste... more lime... more tequila.

And if you do have copper mugs, make sure to use them in place of a glass!

Summer shrimp night

This is a recipe I have been saving to post. It was photographed in "the winter" (note: winter in Tucson is not a snowy day) but somehow it didn't feel like a winter recipe.  

The flavors say summer to me so here it is. It is also very easy and the ingredients are so yummy, you can just dip the shrimp in additional sauce as you enjoy.

Coconut Shrimp (as told to me by Paula Hamilton)

Clean shrimp but leave on the tail. Marinate in a sauce made with:

1 cup of coconut milk
1 tsp of curry
squeeze of a couple of limes (adjust to your taste)
Sal del Mar
pepper
red pepper flakes
add some coconut flakes, too

Skewer the marinated shrimp and grill.  Keep aside some of the sauce to dip in for extra flavor. 

Serve over rice.

Stylizing The Dish

There is an expression that says, "You eat with your eyes first."  We love this gold and orange cloth and how it compliments the shrimp dish. It is a simple addition to the plate of shrimp but it is strong on feasting the eyes. We added just a sprinkle of chives too.

A memorable margarita

Margaritas are by far at the top of the list of everyone’s favorite drink. And with Memorial Day around the corner, I thought I’d post my favorite recipe... my old, standby... the Classic Margarita.  I like it because it isn’t the sweet, slushy concoction that some bars serve in that big bulbous margarita glass you can have to drink with a straw because you can’t lift it. 

Classic Margarita

2 oz. Silver Tequila
2 oz. Cointreau
2 oz. fresh lime juice
1 oz. fresh orange juice

Place ingredients in a cocktail shaker.  Add ice and cover. Shake thoroughly to chill the mixture. Strain into into your prepared glass with or without ice.

Garnish with lime slices and a float of 1/2 oz. Grand Mariner

To Prepare Glasses:

Moisten the rim of a martini glass with a cut lime
Spread Sal del Mar on a small plate
Dip the moistened rim of the glass into the salt until evenly crusted

There are a couple of secrets too:  

Make sure to use 100% silver agave tequila, use Cointreau instead of Triple Sec, because even though it is more expensive it has the necessary sweetness but a more elegant flavor; always use fresh lime and orange juices (adding the fresh orange juice and a float of Grand Mariner tempers the sharpness while adding character to its natural flavor.) And always shake in a cocktail shaker allowing the ice to melt giving your cocktail the right degree of frostiness. 

Simply Cinco de Mayo

This is a simple tapa to serve for Cinco de Mayo. The trick is to make your own tostada chips. You may never want to buy them again!

Use a cookie cutter to cut them out of store-bought corn tortillas and then fry them in hot corn oil. Watch them because they'll turn from brown to burn in seconds.  As they come out of the oil.... sprinkle Sal del Mar on them.

I couldn't resist this one!