Sunday, November 16, 2014

Tropical Jalapeño Margaritas


I recently bought and moved into my first house (yay!) and I have a friend who was kind enough to come help me pack.  That's true friendship!  To help ease the pain of packing, we decided to make some fun margaritas.  She told me about a recipe her friend used that involved watermelons and jalapeño-infused tequila and I knew we had to make it!  Margaritas always involve a bit more work than other drinks, but a good margarita can be delicious, fun, and relaxing.  Since we are well past watermelon season, I bought a couple bags of frozen fruit which are perfect for when you're craving margaritas outside of summer!  I'm not normally a big tequila drinker so I upgraded and got some top shelf tequila to make it a bit smoother and it really makes a big difference!

The jalapeño-infused tequila adds a bit of kick to the drink which my friend and I love, but if spice in drinks isn't your thing, then just use regular tequila and leave out the jalapeños.  But there's something about the spicy and sweet combination in these drinks that was so good that it made packing a painless breeze...well kinda.

Servings: 4 drinks

Ingredients:
ounces tequila
jalapeño, sliced
8 ounces pureed fruit, strained (I used a frozen tropical mix with pineapple, mango, and strawberry)
4 ounces orange liqueur
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 cup fresh squeezed lime juice (approximately 8-12 limes)
Salt, for rimming
Lime wedges, for garnish

Instructions:
  • Make the jalapeño-infused tequila by placing 6 oz of tequila and 1 sliced jalapeño in a jar in the fridge for at least one hour (I did two hours one time and three hours another), but no more than several hours.  The longer you let it sit, the spicier it will get!  If you don't want spicy, then just omit this step and use regular tequila.
  • In a small saucepan or pot, heat over low heat 1 cup water and 1/2 cup sugar until the sugar is completely dissolved.  Set aside and let cool.
  • Puree your favorite fruit until you have about 8 oz.  
    • I used my immersion blender because I don't have a real blender.  That worked fine, but if you do that I'd recommend defrosting the fruit first.  Sometimes I got impatient and blended the frozen fruit, but it took more time and I had to be more careful with fruit chunk splatter.
  • In a pitcher, mix the fruit puree, the cooled sugar-water mixture, 1 cup lime juice, and 4 oz orange liqueur together.  Strain the mixture and discard the solid bits.
  • Remove the jalapeño slices from the tequila and stir in the jalapeño-infused tequila to the margarita mixture (or if you don't want spice, just add regular tequila).
  • For serving, cut lime wedges and use them to wet the glass rim and then dip the rims in coarse salt.  Pour the margarita into the glass over ice and garnish the glass with a lime wedge and/or jalapeno slices.
Now time for the photos!  These were taken pre-move.  I think this might be my last Grubbin Pugs post taking place in my old apartment!  (Unless I find old ones I forgot to post before.)

The dishtowel behind the glass is to hide all the packing supplies and clutter!
Even though there are watermelon slices on the cup, sadly there are no watermelons in the drink. But the pineapple, mango, and strawberry frozen fruit mix I got from Target was delicious!
Cheers Sunny and Rosy!  Let's toast to the new house and to not moving again for a very very very long time!
The pugs were all confused and anxious with all the packing at the time I took these photos.  Poor Suns Buns and Rose Pose.