Brazil's Sexy Cocktail

Just pronouncing Brazil’s most famous drink can be daunting (Kai-pee-reen-Yah), but I guarantee that it is well worth the linguistic effort.  I am currently at a glitzy two-floor penthouse on Copacabana with a group of foodies, all of whom are clients of Wine-Knows.  Our week here is coming to a close, and you can rest assured that the ten of us have made a major dent in "Caipirinhas" over the last seven days.

The Caipirinha cocktail is a distant cousin of Mexico’s margarita, but the Brazilian rendition is made with the country’s flavorful sugar cane "rum."  (Sugar cane was brought in the mid-16^th century from Madeira to Brazil by Portuguese immigrants, and is this rum is now the most popular distilled spirit in Brazil).  If you think Caipirinha is hard to pronounce wait until you try to say the name of the rum: Cachaça (Ka-SHAH-suh).

A huge amount of Cachaça is consumed in Brazil in the form of Caipirinhas.  These perfect girl-from-Impanema drinks are made from muddled lime, superfine sugar (which dissolves completely), and Cachaça.   This yummy elixir ironically began in the early 1900’s as a medicinal cure for the flu.  Today it is still used in Brazil as a home remedy for the common cold. 

Cachaça is available at most liquor stores in the US, including BevMo.  There is no substitution for Cachaça, so if you can't find it move on to something else.  Here’s a recipe to begin.  Like most recipes, however, you can tweak it to adjust to your taste.  A word of caution:  remember that Cachaça is high octane…a little goes a long way.

Ingredients:

• ½ of a juicy lime, cut into small piece
• 1 teaspoon of super fine sugar (don’t even think of using regular granulated                       sugar as it will not dissolve)
• 2 oz of Cachaça

Directions:  Put lime and sugar in a hard-bottomed rocks glass.  Smash them with a wooden spoon to release as much juice as possible, as well as the flavors from the rind.  Add ice and Cachaça, stir and serve.

Caipirinha is hard to pronounce, but easy to make and fun to drink.  Move over Margaritas and Mojitos.

Viva Rio!

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!