RECIPE: Rosemary, Apple Cider Margarita

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Rosemary, Apple Cider Margarita

This cocktail screams winter. It has the hearty rosemary, herbaceous notes carried by the sweetness in the apple, and finally balanced by the smokey, sexiness of Mezcal Amarás. You can make this in large batches, like a large batch of punch for a party, or make as single serve cocktails. ¡ Salud !

Ingredients:

• 2 ounces Mezcal Amarás

• 4 ounces unfiltered apple cider

• 1/2 ounce fresh squeezed lime juice

• 1/4 ounce simple syrup

• Dash of bitters, (Peychaud’s)

• 1 sprig fresh rosemary, charred on the comal

Method:

1. In a cocktail stirring glass combine all the liquid ingredients with ice.

2. On a preheated comal, toast the rosemary sprig until it smokes and becomes fragrant. Place it immediately in the cocktail stirring glass.

3. Stir the mixture and pour into a cocktail glass. Use the sprig as a garnish and stir stick.

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RECIPE: Paloma Cocktail

TORONJA

GRAPEFRUIT

Pink. Salty. Sweet. This is the perfect cocktail and is as common as the Margarita in Mexico. This recipe will cleanse your guest's palates and grapefruits are in season - so get squeezing! This is a lover's drink.

Ingredients:

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• 5.5 ounces fresh grapefruit juice
• 1 tablespoon sea salt
• 2 ounces Bahnez mezcal
• 1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• splash of sparkling soda

Method:

1. Prepare a highball glass by dipping the rim into 1/2 ounce grapefruit juice, and then dipping it into the salt. Fill the glass with crushed ice
2. Mix the remaining grapefruit juice, mezcal, lime juice, sugar in a shaker. Shake until combined.
3. Pour over the ice and pour a splash of sparkling soda. Garnish with a grapefruit or lime wedge.

RECIPE: Pozole

POZOLE

/po'sole/

Classical Nahuatl:

Noun

1. hominy, pozolli

Pozole is a dish served all over Mexico and has many variations. My family makes this nearly every Holiday season and the hearty stew is sure to bring warmth back to a cold winter day. My recipe takes the best parts from my aunt's version of pozole and has been refined using French cooking techniques. The double straining through a fine mesh strainer makes all the difference in the broth. You can use dried or canned hominy, but if you want more control over the texture of the corn, spend the extra effort in soaking the dried kernels over night.

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Pozole rojo

Serves 6

Ingredients:

FOR THE POZOLE

• 2 lbs pork shoulder, cut into 4 large pieces

• 2 bay leaves

• 1/2 white onion

• 5 garlic cloves

• 3 guajillo chiles

• 2 ancho chiles

• 3 puya chiles

• 1 tablespoon Mexican oregano

• 1 teaspoon ground cumin

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 cup dried hominy (presoaked overnight) OR 1 8oz can prepared

• salt to taste

FOR THE GARNISH:

• lime wedges

• shredded cabbage

• sliced radish

• cilantro

GARNISH!

radish / rabano

Method:

1. Place the pork, bay leaves, and 1/4 of the onion, and 3 cloves of garlic in a pot. Cover the meat with water (roughly 8 cups) and bring to a boil. Skim the impurities off the surface of the boiling water and reduce the heat to a steady simmer. Cook for 1 hour, 15 minutes or until the meat is able to pull apart.

2. While the meat cooks, toast the chiles on a comal for roughly 1 minute until fragrant and smoking, but not burnt. (The soup will be bitter if the chiles are burnt.) Soak the chiles in water, cover and allow the chiles to reconstitute for 15 minutes. Deseed and de-stem the chiles and place in blender with 1/4 onion, 2 garlic cloves, oregano, cumin, and 1 cup of water. Blend for three minutes and then pass through a mesh strainer. Heat the olive oil in a pot on low heat and cook the chile paste for roughly 15 minutes, stirring constantly, until the mixture is a dark shade of red.

3. Remove the meat from the stock and chop into bite size cubes. Strain the stock through a mesh strainer and then a second time through a fine mesh strainer. Add the stock to the chile mixture and stir to blend. Add the pork and hominy and heat on low until the oil seperates out. Salt to taste. Serve with garnishes and fresh tortillas.