The 4th of July holiday is only 1 week away now. We are having fun trying out new recipes in anticipation for the upcoming holiday weekend. My husband loves creating new cocktails; he is mostly a Whiskey drinker, especially in the winter months. However, in the summer months he loves his Tequila. There are so many different brands and types to try. You can find Tequila flavored with cinnamon or lime or even coconut. Some of his favorite Tequilas are the Blanco and Silver. With all the fresh fruit in season and since he loves Tequila I thought why not try some Margaritas. The margarita is a cocktail that typically consists of tequila, triple sec and either lime or lemon juice (fresh of course). Most margaritas are served with salt on the rim of the glass. The drink can be served shaken with ice and served on the rocks. You can also put all the ingredients into a blender with some ice to make a frozen margarita. The possibilities are endless with all the ingredients you can add to this drink.
Fresh Watermelon
The Watermelon Strawberry Margarita that we made has such a bright and beautiful color; it is perfect for the 4th of July holiday or any summer get together. It tastes pretty darn good too. Instead of rimming our glasses with salt we used sugar, which I especially loved. It was perfect with the fresh & fruity flavor of the drink. My glass had no sugar left on it by the time I was done with my Margarita! It is hard to only have 1 of these drinks. They are so good.
Do you have a favorite drink you like to make or drink for your summer parties? Feel free to share with us.
Watermelon Strawberry Margarita
Makes approx. 2-3 drinks
Ingredients
2 Cups, Watermelon, seedless
1 Cup, Fresh Strawberries, cleaned & hulled
3 Tablespoons, Simple Syrup *Sugar & Water (see instructions below)
2 1/2 ounces, Triple Sec
4 ounces, Blanco or Silver Tequila *or use your favorite kind
2, Fresh Limes, Juice
1 Lime, Juice (to rim glasses)
Garnish: Watermelon slice and Strawberry for each glass
Extra Sugar, to rim glasses *You can also use Salt in place of the sugar
Instructions
Make the simple syrup. Recipe is below. Make sure you make this first or ahead of time so it has time to cool down.
Prepare the glasses: Using 2 plates or bowls add the juice of 1 lime into 1 of the plates/bowls. In the 2nd bowl, add some sugar (just enough to cover the bottom of the plate/bowl). Turn your margarita glass upside down and first dip into the lime juice and then into the sugar. Set aside. Cut some watermelon wedges and cut a slit into the fruit so it will sit on the glass. Take a whole strawberry and cut a slit into it also. Place the fruit on the rim of the glass and set aside.
Cut the rind off of the watermelon. Cut into chunks and add to a blender. Clean and hull the strawberries and add them to blender. Add the simple syrup, lime juice, tequila and triple sec. Blend well until all ingredients are pureed and smooth. Fill a shaker with ice and pour the mixture through a stainer into your shaker. Shake the drink well and pour into your glasses.
Mangia! Enjoy!
Notes
Making Simple Syrup: Pour equal parts water and sugar in a saucepan. The sugar will dissolve into the water as it heats up. I used 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water which will yield about 1 ½ cups simple syrup once dissolved. You just simply heat over a medium heat and stir the ingredients until dissolved. Your liquid should look clear, not cloudy. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool. You can adjust the amounts as needed for the # of servings you need.
Infusing Simple Syrups: You can also infuse your simple syrups with many different flavors. Once you remove from the stove you can add anything you like, such as herbs to give it more flavor. Pour into jars or leave in the pot, add whatever you want to infuse it with and cover to let it steep. Once your syrup is cooled, remove the herbs or whatever you added to it.
Storing extra Simple Syrup: you can store any leftover simple syrup in an airtight container. Place the container in the fridge until ready to use. It will remain fresh in the fridge for approx. 4 weeks.