Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Five O'Clock Friday: Special Cinco de Mayo Wednesday Edition...oh, and some cookies

Today is a special day for our neighbors to the south. Its Cinco de Mayo, or Battle of Puebla day. As the northern neighbors, we Americans feel like it is our duty to celebrate another nation's holiday, probably because it gives us an excuse to eat massive amounts of chips and salsa and drink margaritas.

None-the-less, it is a holiday that even we in Mississippi like to celebrate. I mean, I can understand celebrating in Texas. There are lots of Mexican immigrants that live there. But, in Mississippi, the only folks I know celebrating Cinco de Mayo have no Mexican heritage what-so-ever. But that doesn't matter. We still get to drink tequila!

In honor of Cinco de Mayo, I made sugar cookies with a lime glaze last night. Talk about yummy! (I also made Joy the Baker's oatmeal pecan chocolate chip cookies. Find the recipe here - http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/2010/04/oatmeal-pecan-chocolate-chip-cookies/.)

I also wanted to post a make-shift recipe for a drink that one of my coworkers introduced me to - the margaveza. They used to serve these at The Grill, but last time I asked, it was off the menu. Basically its just a half and half mix of margaritas on the rocks and Dos Equis beer. Its worth trying!

Happy Cinco de Mayo! Have a great May 5!

Margaveza

How to make the margarita:
According to Tyler Florence, the basic margarita is a 3:2:1 ratio of tequila, triple sec and lime juice, respectively. That seems a big strong, but here are some different ways to mix your pitcher of margaritas.

Method 1: Pour 3 cups of white tequila, 3/4 cup of triple sec, and fresh squeezed juice from about 14 limes in a pitcher. Stir well.

Method 2: Mix 1 cup of white tequila, 1 cup of triple sec, 1/2 cup each of fresh squeezed lime and lemon juice in a pitcher. Add zest of 1 lemon and 1 lime, and mix with 1/3 cup of simple syrup (see below). Stir well! You may need to strain it as you pour into each individual glass.

For the simple syrup: Mix 1/2 cup of sugar with 1/2 cup of water. Boil until sugar is dissolved. Chill before you add to margarita mix.

Method 3: (The 3:2:1 method) Pour 3 cups of tequila, 2 cups of triple sec, and 1 cup of fresh squeezed lime juice in a pitcher. Add simple syrup and mix well.

To make a margaveza:
Fill glass halfway with Dos Equis beer. Top off with the margarita mix. Stir and serve with a lime wedge for garnish.

Sugar Cookies with Lime Glaze:
Adapted from recipes by Paula Deen and Rachael Ray

Cookie Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
2 sticks of softened butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon pure almond extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon of cinnamon

Directions: In a bowl, cream together the sugar and butter, then mix in the egg and vanilla and almond extracts. In another bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, cream of tarter and cinnamon. Mix the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture, then cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Spoon out a quarter to half dollar sized piece of dough, roll into a ball, and flatten to about 1/4 of an inch thick. Place on cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 9-12 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool on cookie sheet for about 5 minutes. Transfer to wire racks and cool completely.

Lime Glaze Ingredients:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon (or so) milk
grated peel of 1 lime
juice of 1 lime (or so)

Directions: Whisk all ingredients together in a bowl until sugar is dissolved and glaze is smooth. I had to add a splash more of milk and lime juice to get the right consistency for drizzling.

Once cookies are cooled, drizzle glaze over top of cookies with a spoon or spatula. Let the glaze dry/set before serving.

Happy cooking!

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