One of My Most Requested Recipes

                                             Homemade margaritas are worth the effort

Just this last week cookbook author, restaurant-owner and chef extraordinaire Donna Nordin of Tucson was in my home conducting Southwestern cooking classes to a sell-out crowd.  While Donna was putting the finishing touches on her Tortilla Soup, Grilled Duck in Mole and her Chocolate Mousse Pie featured on the cover of Bon Appetit,  I served margaritas.  Out of  the many requests I receive for recipes, my margaritas are one of the most frequent.  There are a couple of reasons I believe they are especially good.  

The first secret is I use a combination of freshly squeezed citrus.  While limes are the brass section in this orchestra, lemons provide support with percussion.  Oranges add not only some natural sweetness, but also interesting notes to the concert.  

The second important factor is good liquor.  While expensive, aged tequila should never be used in margaritas, a respectable tequila is vital.   I always use one made from 100% agave.   Suggestions include Milagro, El Jimador, Azul or  Espolon---all are moderate in cost.  A good quality liquor also includes the orange liquor.  Forget the supermarket’s insipid Triple Sec…in fact, forget Triple Sec from any store!    Instead, opt for Cointreau or Gran Marnier---very little is used per drink so the 10-fold price does not translate to much per serving.    

My recipe below, honed after >50 trips to Mexico, does not make super strong margaritas, so if you want something with a real punch, increase the Tequila (but keep the Cointreau or Gran Marnier the same).

• Step 1:  Citrus mélange:   squeeze  a ratio of 10 : 2 :1 citrus (e.g. 20 limes, 2 lemons, and 1 medium orange).    For 2 margaritas, squeeze 1 cup of citrus juice.

• Step 2:  Make a simple syrup from a 1:1 ratio of sugar and water.  (e.g. 1 cup of sugar + 1 cup of water----place in a pan and cook for a few minutes until sugar dissolves well).

• Step 3:  Make a “citrus-ade” using a ratio of 1:1 of combined citrus juice and the simple syrup.  (Save any left over simple syrup in the frig for   another batch of margaritas---it keeps for months).

• Step 4:  Rim a glass with a wedge of lime, dip the rim in kosher salt.

• Step 5:  Add ice cubes.

• Step 6.  Pour in 1 cup of the citrus-ade.

• Step 7:  Add ¾ cup of Tequila and ¼ cup of Cointreau or Gran Marnier and stir well.

• Step 8:  Stir well and top with a lime slice.

Viva Mexico!

Southwestern Cooking Class: September 19 or 20

Twenty-five years ago I visited my favorite cousin who had just relocated to Tucson for a new job.  A real bon vivant, he was always up on the latest foodie meccas.  It was my cousin who introduced me to Café Terra Cotta in Tucson.   I instantly became a raving fan and returned every chance I could for this inspiring, unique cuisine.  Terra Cotta was such a success that the chef opened a second restaurant in a swanky Scottsdale location…now I had an option in the Phoenix area, a quick non-stop flight from the Bay Area.

The owner of Café Terra Cotta, also the chef, was a woman named Donna Nordin.  A classically trained French chef (both the Cordon Bleu and Lenotre in Paris), Donna was one of the pioneers of the Southwest cuisine movement.  Her new interpretation of Southwest cooking soon catapulted her to rock-star status.  She was nominated for the James Beard Award and appeared on PBS’ television series the Great Chefs of the West.   Adoring fans demanded a cookbook and she complied with the esteemed Contemporary Southwest:  The Café Terra Cotta Cookbook.

The New York Times and Condé Nast Traveler magazine named Café Terra Cotta “one of America’s 50 best restaurants.”  However, it was another magazine in which Donna scored some major kudos.  Bon Appetit asked Donna to appear in their Christmas issue---she was told that Julia Child would also be featured in the same edition.  In the end, it was Donna’s ethereal chocolate torte that was chosen for the magazine’s coveted yuletide cover.

Now that you have been properly introduced to Donna Nordin, I have great pleasure in announcing that I have persuaded her to come to our home for cooking classes on September 19 and 20 (Saturday and Sunday evening).  The menu is still being finalized, however, it will definitely include Café Terra Cotta’s revered signature dish, tortilla soup.  Possible contenders for the entrée will be lamb with a cherry-chipotle sauce, or sea bass with pumpkin seed salsa, or perhaps a grilled duck breast with mole sauce a mango salsa.  Dessert may be her famous cover-recipe chocolate torte, however, since she is a classically trained Parisian pastry chef, it could be an interesting fusion of France meets the Southwest.

The cost of the cooking class, dinner and wines is $110 per person.  Reservations will be taken on a first-come-first-served basis.  The final menu will be posted on our website in March, but for more information in the meanwhile contact me at dunn@wineknowstravel.com, or 760.842.8812.