Who knew that beer would go so well with lime and salt?

Original post: Micheladas in the Afternoon

Location: Tijuana, Baja California Norte

Y uno se las cree, digo, ¿por qué mentirían?

Jajaja, la neta es que estos weyes estudiantes* de la universidad son bastante creativos a la hora de ocultar habilmente sus vicios. Lástima que gracias a mi super intuición los descubrí, sí, sí.

(*sólo por decirles de alguna manera)

When cocktailians talk about “the sauce,” usually we’re referring to booze. But this is a blog dedicated to fiery cocktails, so let’s get literal and talk adding hot sauce to drinks.

Tabasco hot sauces (photo credit: Tabasco)

When I interviewed cocktail consultant Danny Valdez, then head bartender at Commander’s Palace in New Orleans and a fellow spicy-drinks fanatic for Chile Pepper magazine, he explained:  “Being in the South, we love spice and the majority of us douse anything edible with hot sauce. So having cocktails with hot sauce was inevitable.”

In fact, Danny describes hot sauce as “a common tool in the bartender’s tool box.” He uses hot sauce to select a specific heat level, taste profile, or aroma to drinks – and doesn’t shy away from using its vinegary twang to rev up flavors. One recent experiment:  a Roasted Tomato and Chipotle Bloody Mary, which incorporates Chipotle-flavored Tabasco, and subs in balsamic vinegar in place of the traditional Worcestershire sauce.

 There’s some precedent for dashing hot sauce into cocktails:  The Shrub, a classic cocktail that uses vinegar as a key component –also a key component in hot sauce. In his book, “How’s Your Drink,” Wall Street Journal drinks columnist Eric Felten discusses how colonial Americans enjoyed mixing rum with a style of syrup, called a shrub:  fruit (often raspberries), sugar and white wine vinegar. The finished cocktail now is often referred to as a Shrub. At the modern-day bar, the shrub has taken on new life as gastriques (caramelized sugar mixed with vinegar or citrus and flavorings).

Like lemon, lime or a vinegar-based gastrique, hot sauce’s role in a cocktail is to add that touch of acid and brightness that cuts through the sweetness of a drink, while also adding a touch of heat.

Here are three recipes for using hot sauce in cocktails, which I’ve categorized into “subtle” (just a touch of heat highlighting a drink with complex flavors), “classic” (moderate heat, and the hot sauce is an integral part of the cocktail), and “stunt spice” (this drink is ALL about the hot sauce!).

#1. SUBTLE:  The Gilded Splinter

Adapted from T. Cole Newton, Commander’s Palace, New Orleans.  This drink is a fine example of how the piquancy of hot sauce can add sizzle to the swizzle:  the lush fruit of Grand Marnier and Maraschino liqueur plays against a single  “healthy dash” of Tabasco; egg whites subdue the capsaicin burn to a pleasant simmer and create a rich, velvety texture.

3 tablespoons Grand Marnier

1 tablespoon Maraschino liquor

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 egg white

Healthy dash of Tabasco, or other favorite hot sauce

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake vigorously and strain into a coupe or cocktail glass.

#2: CLASSIC:  The Michelada

This beer-based cocktail is a new classic. Without the hot sauce, this drink is nothing special, just a gussied-up glass of beer. It’s the hot sauce that elevates it to cult status.

#3: STUNT SPICE:  The Bone

This drink was created about five years ago by cocktail historian Dave Wondrich for the now-closed Chickenbone Café in Brooklyn, where the food-friendly shot was often paired served on a plate, encircled by slices of beef – together called “Beef on The Bone.” With a 3 healthy dashes in a short drink, this is downright incendiary – you can’t miss the heat!

¼ cup 101 proof Wild Turkey rye

1 teaspoon fresh lime juice

1 teaspoon simple syrup

3 dashes Tabasco, or other favorite hot sauce

Mix all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice, and “don’t be timid” with the hot sauce, Wondrich says. Shake it “viciously” and strain into a shot glass.

It’s a sad week for those of us who loved Gourmet Magazine, as Conde Nast announced yesterday that it will shut down the monthly food-porn glossy. So how do I respond? By spending the afternoon at a beer tasting (see photo below).  

It’s not as random as it sounds — it was actually a test drive for the “Stone & Spice!” tasting I’ll be co-hosting at Whole Foods on Friday, November 13 (yes, Friday the 13th!) with Dennis from Stone Brewing. I think it’s going to be a great class with a high testosterone level — in other words, guys who like beer and spicy foods, and the single ladies who like guys who like beer and spicy foods.

Stone beer taste-testing

As part of the class, we’re including a Michelada recipe from the Spice & Ice book, made with a Stone IPA. But I’m not posting it here. Instead, I’m posting the dark-beer Michelada recipe that ran in the August 2007 issue of Gourmet Magazine. This is partly in tribute to the late, great publication. But it’s also in response to the hard-won lesson learned from the magazine’s demise:  don’t put everything on the Internet. So I’m not.

Adios, Gourmet, you’ll be missed.

Gourmet’s Michelada (aka “Not My Michelada”)

Stir together kosher salt and chile powder on a plate. Run a lime half around edge of a pint glass, then turn glass over onto plate and rotate to attach salt mixture.

Add lime juice, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce to glass, then top with beer.

You may have heard a lot of people use the phrase, but not many people know where this actually comes from. When you wake up hungover as often as I do, and you have a 0600 hours online meeting that has participants in four continents, the only way you are going to be able to make some sort of an impression in the meeting is by using the hair of the dog. And I was fairly regular in doing so, drinking warm beer was an age old solution, a bloody mary or a michelada was something of a revelation.
But I always did wonder why the hair of the dog, well, its the revenge philosophy, you find the dog that bit you, and then, well, then you bite it, and it cures the thing, you dont need to get those injections in the stomach that they always scared you of when a kid

Un buen video para aquellos que les gusta pistear borrachos aquí se las dejo

Para los que no sepan de donde sale la canción anterior es de una tal Danna Paola, que interpreta la canción llamada “Mundo de Caramelo” de la novela Patito Feo Mexicana Atrévete a soñar

Hot enough for you yet? We might have had a rainy June, but its muggy Summer now, no question about it. Try Chef Eric Simpson’s Sour Cherry Sangria to soothe those summer sunstrokes. He uses a light red wine base (Merlot or Grenache), oranges and lemons, dried sour cherries, and, the real unexpected kick, black pepper corn and thyme. It goes perfectly with some of the more savory things on the menu, especially the Fried Chicken & Waffles. Our suggestion is to alternate between the spicier Michelada and this tangy Sangria – Butcher Bay is best when you combine the savory with the sweet, a quality Chef Eric puts in every item.

Always trust those from the warmest climates to give advice on what is most refreshing for the hottest summer days. And while we aren’t in the direct scorch of summer quite yet (even though it’s mid-June), best to be prepared for the oncoming onslaught. So Chef Eric Simpson is reimagining the classic Mexican spiced beer, the Michelada, for the East Village set, because when its hot, a little spice goes a long way to refreshing our bodies. While the drink dates back to the 1940’s, its remained relatively unchanged since then. And we know better than to tamper with a good thing. So Eric added a simple Pickled Shrimp to the perfect refreshment to match Butcher Bay’s cuisine. Its a spicy but refreshing alternative to the Bloody Mary.

Este es uno de eso videos que encuentras en youtube cuando nadamas estas perdiendo el tiempo

La Banda Esta Borracha

Mundo de Micheladas*parodia*mundo de caramelo

Today’s posting on TastingTableLA, about micheladas, an iced beer-and-something cocktail in a salt-rimmed glass (and similar Mexi-food centered posts all over the web), got me thinking about the holiday that Americans have come to associate with my native country to the South, a holiday that here might be called National Mexico Day, or National Tortilla Chips and Frozen Margarita Day, but that should not be called or confused with Mexican Independence Day. That day, which unlike Cinco de Mayo, is an actual holiday celebrated by actual Mexicans in Mexico, is September 16, a day that few Americans even know about, maybe because el diez y seis de Septiembre doesn’t roll off the gringo tongue the way Cinco de Mayo evidently does.

For the record, Cinco de Mayo commemorates the Mexican victory over the French (yes, French!), who were attempting to advance toward nearby Mexico City, located about 70 miles to the northeast, in the Battle of Puebla in 1862. Neither the day nor the victory is much celebrated, probably because  the French proceeded to invade and occupy Mexico City anyway a year later.

Since it would be impossible to disassociate the fifth of May from the concept of Mexico in the minds of Americans, and since I welcome holidays and any excuse to eat Mexican food, I think it would be grand if we went on celebrating the holiday but for what it was, mostly because the foods of Puebla (not to mention the city itself, a UNESCO World Heritage Site with 200 square blocks of historically preserved architecture), are so rich and varied. My favorite Poblano dish to make, partly because it is infinitely quicker and easier than the better known mole Poblano, is tinga. A dish of pulled pork (or chicken) bound by a sauce of stewed onions and chipotle chile, tinga is basically the Mexican version of what’s known in the South simply as “barbecue.” It is slightly sweet, can be super spicy, and served, at least in my family, on a crisp corn tortilla with cool, tangy crema and maybe a slice of avocado. Mexican pork. Now that is something to celebrate.
Tinga de Puerco

Water (for boiling the meat)
1 kilo pork shoulder
1 whole small white onion
Salt
1 medium white onion, chopped fine
1 can of chile chipotle chiles en adobo, pureed in a blender or food processor
1/2 cup (possibly less) vinegar of sugar cane (the closest thing I’ve found to the smell and taste is apple cider vinegar)
1/3 cup corn oil
Corn tortillas
Tostadas
Mexican cream
Oaxacan cheese

1. Boil the meat in a big pot of water with the whole white onion and enough salt to flavor the broth.

2. While the meat is cooking, sauté the onions in a soup pot with una puñita (a small fistful) of salt. You want the onion bits to get very soft and translucent, almost melted. But you don’t want them to get crispy at all, so this is best done over a low flame. When the onion is very soft, add the pureed chipotle and continue to cook for a few minutes over a very low flame.

3. When the meat is cooked, remove it from the broth. Reserve some of the broth for later. Shred the meat in thin strands into the pan with the chipotle and onions. Mix thoroughly with the chipotle-onions while cooking over a low flame. Add a bit of vinegar and enough broth so that the meat is not dry. It should have enough sauce to bind it but not so much that the meat would drip if you put it in on a tostada, which is what you’re going to do. The vinegar is really just to add that bit of tang. It’s really something you have to do to taste, adding a bit, tasting, adding a bit more.

Tinga is eaten, at least by my family, on tostadas that have been slathered first with a nice little dollop of Mexico’s rich tangy crema. Or made into little quesadillas made of corn tortillas folded in half (so the finished product is a half-moon. This is different than the quesadillas served in the U.S. that are made with two flour tortillas on top of each other. In Mexico City, that would be called a sincronizada. Anyway you probably know all this. Take your corn tortilla, some Oaxacan cheese, some tinga. Put the tinga and the cheese on half the tortilla, fold it over, fry it on both sides in corn oil and boy are they delicious.

Last year the Dark N Stormy was the drink to be.  In their May issue, Esquire Magazine endorses the Michelada, a Mexican concoction of beer, lime juice, Worcestershire sauce, Maggi seasoning, and Mexican hot sauce (which from what Kristina tells me is quite refreshing.)  Crabapple, however has created something that’s a little bit Mojito, and a little bit Sangria, but with a Kosher twist.  I call is the Moshugana.

I created the Moshugana this past Sunday afternoon at a friend’s Easter party.  Being the token Jew I decided I would bring something true to my culture as well as Kosher for Passover – the one, the only ManischewitzConcord Grape Kosher Wine.  Now, I’d be a liar if I said I kept 100% Kosher for Passover.  I don’t.  If I did, I wouldn’t have been able to eat or drink anything at my friend’s Easter party.  I stick to the basics – no bread, pizza, pasta, beer, cookies, and other obvious things.  I just wanted to clear that up, ok?

Anyway, the Moshuganacame about when I decided that Manischewitz wine on its own is fine for a sip or two, but is not really a party drink.  So, I did what any creative person would do, and headed to the nearest bodega for extras.  I picked up limes, mint leaves, and seltzer (we Jews love seltzer.)  I started the cocktail by throwing a few mint leaves, three slices of lime, and two teaspoons of sugar into a 12 oz glass.  I muddled the three using a wooden pestle until the ingredients were nicely mixed.  I then filled the glass with ice.  My friends had some light rum, so I threw in a small shot of that (they only had a little left so I used it sparingly – I will probably use more in the future).  Next, I filled the glass with the wine until it was about 2/3 the way to the top.  Then I topped it off with the seltzer and gave it a good stir (a cocktail shaker would work nicely too).  I garnished it with more mint and a slice of lime. 

The reactions were rather positive.  Lots of oooh’s and ahhh’s from the room.  “Very summery,” said Andy.  “I love it!” said Annie.  “Can I get another one?” asked Matt.  “What should we call it?” asked Stuart.  We went back and forth with a few names.  We finally decided on Moshugana- Mo as in Mojito played off the Yiddish word Meshugana meaning crazy. 

My hope is that we can start a trend.  Next time you’re in a bar order one.  When they ask what it is, tell them.  Most bars have Manischewitz, and they should ALL know how to make a mojito.  If they don’t, get up and leave and find a new bar.  For quick reference, you can print this page and cut out the recipe to show them.  Let me know how that goes.

In other news, there is a new Kosher Tequila about to break into the market just in time for Cinco De Mayo.  If anyone gets their mitts on this, please let me know what you think.

~Sam

The Moshugana
3 parts Manischewitz Concord Grape Wine
1 part light rum
2 parts seltzer
4 small lime wedges
6-8 mint leaves
2 teaspoons of sugar
ice
Muddle lime, mint, and sugar in a 12oz tumbler. 
Add ice.  Add 1 jigger of light rum. 
Add wine until glass is 2/3 full.  Fill rest with seltzer. 
Shake or stir.  Add more mint and a lime wedge to garnish.
http://crabapplenyc.wordpress.com

In Mexico, it is popular to serve beer in a glass with lime juice a salted rim, often called a michelada.  It’s similar to a margarita back in the U.S., though, that I have yet to find a margarita in Mexico at a non-tourist establishment suggests to me that the origin for this American tradition might be this tasty, beer-bodied cousin.

There’s just something about a michelada in the afternoon… it’s not just the taste, crisp, light Mexican cerveza, citrus, and salt, but the way in which the amber beer, clouded with lime juice, catches the light in the afternoon sun.

Who knew that beer would go so well with lime and salt?

Of course, micheladas are known by other names, including cheladas (like the new canned InBev product) and cubanas, and with other ingredients, such as chile powder and salsa inglesa, or Worcester sauce(!).  Michelada usually refers to lime-and-salt only, though I’ve disastrously found that this standard isn’t as common as I’d like.

México, D.F.

El Paisa Grill2126 South 3200 W

Carne Asada Taco from El Paisa Grill (after a trip to the salsa bar)

Hello taco lovers, I am the new taco taster around here, and I simply want to persuade you to partake and enjoy all of the Mexican-American food dining experiences that are uniquely available to those of us in this part of the world. I grew up in the Salt Lake area, so I know a thing or two about where to get a good taco around here.

For my first outing I decided to go to one of my all-time favorite spots, El Paisa Grill. I have probably eaten here over 200 times in my lifetime, and it is always good!

It is open for lunch or dinner and also has a killer weekend brunch. Each of those time slots will make for different experiences with various menu offerings at this place. Good lunch specials, and it also has a secret discoteca switch that gets flipped on for Friday and Saturday nights, better than any Port ‘O Call party you’ve ever heard about. Did I say they have an awesome weekend breakfast/brunch?

¡La Original Casa Del Molcajete!

It is easy to find, just take the nearest route to the 201 and exit on 3200 West. The restaurant is directly to the south of the 201 freeway, so turn accordingly to the direction you face when exiting on 3200 West. (Click the address at the beginning of this post to view a Google map) It is on the west side of the street, almost directly across the  from Grinders 13, which (by the way) is a great lunch/sandwich place.

I went on a Sunday afternoon at about 3pm. I knew we would just miss the brunch crowd. The dinner shift was just beginning, but that is not to say the tables were not full. One the reasons for liking this place is the amount of activity, it is usually full, and there is usually some form of live music on stage, or walking around to tables. A band in cowboy hats was warming up, they even had an acordian player.

The mission of this trip was to order a molcajete dish. Which basically means that it is something served (and sometimes cooked) in a HOT stone bowl. I had been here plenty of times to have taken note of the popularity of the dish here, but I always stuck with ordering the various tacos and burritos they have available. I cheered about the new signs that now feature a bowl of molcajete for the logo.

mmm...michelada

The complimentary chips and salsa and my michelada arrived. Somewhat similar to what Budwiser is selling as “Chelada” in a tall can, it is a Mexican Beer (Tecate, Dos Equis, etc.) mixed with a bloody mary type mix. Sometimes with lime juice and salt. Usually it is about half beer/half tomato juice mix, but these are one of those items that will be different every time you order it. Some are really good, this one was good.

Supreme Grill Molcajete

We ordered the “Supreme Grill Molcajete” described as a beef, chicken and shrimps with a special green sauce, green nopales and cilantro and onions. Definitely a dish dominated by a lot of meat, the cost for this was around $20, but it could probably serve 3 belly-fulls just fine. I also ordered a carne asada taco for $1.50 and for no apparent reason.

Everything was extremely good as usual, the molcajete was brought in bubbling. We slowly just picked the hot stuff out of the molcajete bowl to put on tortillas, very much like rolling your own tacos or burritos. Adding various things found at the salsa bar to them was good too. The thing that made this molcajete bowl so tasty was definitely the green sauce, it is like a chili verde. I think there might be some queso mixed in it, because it is a bit creamy. I loved the roasted jalapenos too, but I like those anywhere.

Stay tuned, I’m planning on going to El Rodeo Market for lunch very soon.

I love Micheladas. It’s a spiced beer and it’s delicious.

Ingredients:

A few packets of lime salt

Tabasco sauce

Corona, or some other imported Mexican Beer

Lime juice

Put some lime juice in a bowl, and dip the rim of the glass into the juice to moisten it. Put the lime salt on a plate. Then dip the moist rim the lime salt.

Pour the beer into the glass, making sure to tip it towards the bottle so that it doesn’t foam too much. Drop in 3 tabasco drops, and add more to your desired taste. Squeeze some of the lime juice into the beer, as much as you desire. Stir gently until it’s well mixed.

Drink up!

Why not have the best of both worlds? The question is no longer “beer or cocktail?” The answer is beer and cocktail.

Several months ago, Aaron and I stumbled upon a Salvadorian restaurant one Sunday morning and of course perused the beverage section before ordering. This is when we discovered the Michelada, a refreshing mix between a beer and a cocktail. If you like Bloody Marys but want something a little bit less filling, this is the drink for you. It’s got flavor, it’s spicy, and it almost even feels like it may be remotely healthy for you.

Here’s how to make one. If you’re making one for a friend too, just double it:

Ingredients

• 12 oz. of Beer (Negra Modelo, Bohemia, or your choice)
• 1 Lemon
• Worcestershire Sauce
• Soy Sauce
• Hot Sauce (Cholula, Tapa Tio, or your choice)
• Pepper
• Salt
• Cracked Ice

Directions

1. Start by filling a mixer with about six ice cubes worth of cracked ice. If you don’t have cracked ice, you can always go the old fashioned route, using a plastic bag and a sturdy hammer.
2. Either squeeze an entire fresh lemon into the mixer, or pour in about 1 oz. of lemon juice.
3. Add 2 dashes of Worcestershire sauce.
4. Add a dash of soy sauce.
5. Add whatever mixture of hot sauce you prefer, taking into consideration your preference and tolerance for spicy drinks.
6. Add freshly-grated pepper.
7. Mix this concoction well until it is entirely cold.
8. Choose a glass (Margarita glasses work nicely for this drink), get the inside and outside of the rim wet, and put it face down into a plate of salt.
9. Pour 12 oz. of beer into the glass and stir in the concoction that is in the mixer, being sure to leave the strainer on so that none of the ice gets through.
10. Stir well, serve, and enjoy!

Chelada by Anheuser-Busch is Budweiser & Clamato w/ Salt & Lime.

Press release.

Here is michelada article on wikipedia.

Date drank: 11/15/08 @ 8 pm.

Place of Purchase: Vons in La Jolla, CA.

Cost: $2.59 + taxes for 24 oz can.

Style: Budweiser American Lager with Clamato (click this link for a sweet little reggaeton jam about Clamato on their homepage), salt & lime .

Hops: N/A.

ABV: 5%

Review: I thought I was going to absolutely hate this but I had to try it first before I could rant about it. After trying this concoction I can now proclaim: it’s not totally awful but damn near. It has a slight resemblance to a bloody mary in flavor. The second pour I put some Valentina Salsa Picante in and it was slightly better. It was not something I would ever drink again but did make me want to try a proper Michelada.

Rating: 1.5/10

Value: 0.5/10

Have a bad macro kicking around the fridge that you don’t want to give out and you don’t want to drink yourself? Well, you could do what I do: Make a michelada.

The michelada is a popular Mexican alcoholic beverage of a genre known in Spanish as cerveza preparada (prepared beer) and in Englishas a variety of cocktail. There are several variations. In some cases it is similar to a Bloody Mary but containing beer instead of vodka, although a less complicated concoction of Mexican beer with sauces and lime juice added (see recipe below) is also referred to as a Michelada.

In traveling to Mexico – which I tend to do often – I was at first disgusted by the mixure. In Monterrey, Mexico where my in-laws live they take lime juice (fresh), a little pepper, some hot sauce or maybe salsa, Worcestershire sauce, and Clamato and a light Mexican beer. Beers I have used include Negro Modelo, Sol, Tecate, Indio and some others. Corona is not allowed within city borders thank God.

Recently, major American beer producers have begun marketing cervezas preparada, illustrating the wide variety of recipes in the Chelada/ Michelada category. For example, Miller Brewing Company produces Miller Chill which is a “Chelada-style light lager with a hint of salt and lime”. Going a different route, Anheuser-Busch is manufacturing Bud Light Chelada as a combination of lager, clamato, lime juice, and salt.

I warn, you will not like this drink at first but after a bit it will take on the same appeal as margarita. You won’t want it everyday – maybe once a month – but it is a nice way to spice up a cheap macro.

Still on the quest for the perfect Michelada and getting ready to host Cindy and Sue for dinner tonight to recreate our La Olla Oaxaca experience in the humble environs of my kitchen, I ventured out yesterday on Labor Day to the bustling metropolis of downtown Pittsboro, North Carolina, wondering if anything would be open.  Perhaps Mexican immigrant shopkeepers don’t observe Labor Day, I hoped — just a normal Monday for them.  Indeed, Don Pablo Mexican Tienda had their OPEN sign prominently displayed and the few cars on the mostly empty street were parked near the door.

I love the small Mexican market shopping experience.  Indeed, there was the Maggi (pronounce it with a hard G), the secret ingredient for successful Micheladas.  I knew that somehow substituting soy sauce was just not going to make it.  The taste test at home later that afternoon proved me right.  I also found limes — big juicy ones — 7 for $1.00.  Compare that price with your local major supermarket.  Then, there were the ripe bananas, huge beautiful onions, avocados ready for guacamole that very day, and packages of 50 fresh tortillas for $1.25.  I picked up the last papaya (it must have weighed 7 lbs) and could smell its succulence.  I piled my goodies on the counter in handfulls.  There were no shopping carts.

You must like Mexican food, the proprietor commented.  Yes, I said.  I like Mexicans, too.  Oh, that’s great, he said.  Many people don’t want us here.  I smiled and answered.  Yes, I know.

Eight of us were sitting around the table upstairs at La Olla Restaurant on Reforma in Oaxaca City, and Emma orders a Michelada.  It’s yummy, she says.  She just came down from Mexico City where this is the beverage of choice.  Someone asks, What is it? Someone else asks, What’s in it? Tomato juice and dark beer and loads of spices, she says.  Four of us, say, Let’s go for it!  And, she’s right, IT IS YUMMY.  I wrote to Pilar Cabrera, proprietor of La Olla to see if she would share the recipe for the concoction.  I haven’t heard back from her yet, so I went on line, hankering for a Michelada and wanting to make one myself.  I even ordered it last week at a brew pup near Chapel Hill and they thought I was crazy.  No go, they said.  We only do beer straight up.  So, I discovered several recipes online.  Here’s one I adapted based on what I had in my cupboard (minus the Maggi and the Worcestershire sauce).  Beats a Bloody Mary any day.

Norma’s Michelada Knock-Off:

Trader Jose (that’s Trader Joe, y’all) Dark Beer (a real steal, authentic Mexican brew, at $5.95 a 6-pack)

Juice of a key lime (or juice of 1/2 conventional lime)

Good shake of Hot Red Pepper Sauce (like Tabasco)

Good shake of Low Sodium Soy Sauce (I used this instead of Worcestershire, quite good)

6 oz. Tomato Juice (or Veggie Juice Cocktail)

Fill 12 oz. glass with 3-4 ice cubes. Shake in the red pepper sauce and soy sauce.  Add the fresh squeezed lime juice. Add the tomato juice.  Stir.  Top off with dark beer.  (You’ll use about 1/2 bottle for this recipe — keep makin’ ‘em). 

Salud!

this one’s for you AT & MA. nothing like a silver bullet + the beach.

TO DO:

- Red Hook is back in action babies. The ball fields will be crowded with your favorite Mexican specialties. All hail Me-He-Co.

- It’s going to be nice out so why not take that gut to the park or the beach with a few close friends and a picnic basket? Don’t forget a crisp, dry white and a piece of man-candy.

- Out of ideas for this Sunday’s BBQ? Grill up some corn, Mexican style: top it off with queso fresco or cotija cheese, chili powder, cumin, salt and lime. It’s so easy and corn is the best this time of year. Another BBQ and all-time favorite of mine is the Michelada. It’s a bloody mary beer type of concoction:

In a cold glass add: a few shakes of Maggie Seasoning, Worcestershire sauce and Cholula hot sauce (this is my fave brand), then squeeze in the juice of half a lime, add Tecate (or other light Mexican beer) and ice and chug. So cool and refreshing.

That wraps my Mexican edition of Weekending…exxes and oooohs!

* Por Jordana Viotto

(Enchilada do El Paisa Grill, em Salt Lake City. Foto: JV*)

Pat Lisboa e eu tínhamos acabado de chegar a Salt Lake City para um evento. Eram 11h30 de um sábado e David, o motorista que foi nos buscar no aeroporto, disse que estaria à nossa disposição até as 15h, horário do check in do hotel. Depois de uma passadinha básica pelo Best Buy e pelo Wallgreen`s, decidimos comer.

David nos perguntou o que queríamos. Decidimos que depois de tanta comida de avião, era hora de botar um pouco de tempero na história e mandar comida mexicana.

Ele explicou que conhecia dois lugares – um mais arrumadinho, mais cara de americano, e outro bem simples e bem típico. Óbvio que ficamos com a segunda opção.

(Molcajete: carne, frango e camarão com molho de tomates. Foto: JV*)

Quando chegamos lá, a impressão é de que, por alguma mágica, não estávamos no meio das Montanhas Rochosas, mas nos arredores da Cidade do México. As paredes eram todas amarelas, com alguns detalhes em vermelho e verde e bandeirinhas do México aqui e ali. Os clientes e garçons eram todos mexicanos e o idioma oficial, claro, era o espanhol.

De cara, pedi uma enchilada de frango, que veio preciosamente temperada e servida com molho de creme de leite e queijo. Também dividimos a especialidade da casa – o Molcajete (mistura de carne assada, frango e camarão com molho de tomate).

Para encarar toda essa comilança, pedimos uma michelada (mistura de cerveja, gelo, limão e especiarias), mas ela estava mais picante do que esperávamos e acabamos não conseguindo tomar. Daí resolvi mandar uma água de horchata, bebida feita com água de arroz, açúcar, canela e gelo. Se você gosta de arroz doce, deve aprovar.

Não preciso dizer que saímos de lá quase rolando de tanto comer e prontas para uma bela siesta!

El Paisa Grill – 2126 South 3200 W – South Lake City, Utah (EUA). Tel: (866) 257-1030.

*Jordana Viotto é jornalista de tecnologia, cultura e sempre conta ao Braun Café suas descobertas sobre as delícias da vida.

Oh hey! It’s so good to see you. You look fantastic, did you get taller? I dig those shoes. So anyway, have you met the michelada? I think you two might really hit it off. Michelada’s kicky, but chill, too. And full of surprises!

In a cocktail party situation, I might introduce the delicious Mexican drink michelada thusly. Then I’d try to excuse myself subtly while you two chatted it up, and go hide my cell phone from myself in order to avoid drunk texting mistakes later, because I’d have had several beers by that point, and then I’d probably fall asleep somewhere because I’m a narcoleptic. But that’s another story! The point of this post is, micheladas are such a refreshing warm-weather beverage. And to enjoy them, all you need is cold beer, coarse salt, some limes, and–most importantly–Valentina Salsa Picante. (Wikipedia notes that there are as many different types of micheladas under the sun as there are Saved by the Bell spin-offs, the most popular of which also has tomato juice. This post just deals with the type I had last night, which makes for a lighter and less cocktail-y michelada alternative–more like beer getting bored and dying its hair than a Bloody Mary relative–but I’m sure they’re all worthy drinks.)

To mix a michelada of epicly tasty dimensions:

- Rub lime around the rim of the glass and dip in salt

- Add a few drops of Valentina hot sauce into the glass. If this is your first michelada and you’re not wild about spice, you might want to go a little easy; if you brush your teeth with Guatemalan insanity peppers, I’d say bring it on.

- Squeeze juice from about half a lime and mix.

- Add a bottle of beer. I had mine with Corona, but any light beer should do ya.

- Shake it. The beer should have little speckles of red floating around in it, like a beautiful flock of cardinals drifting in a golden sunset sky.

The end. You win! And what a prize, too. I drank two of these last night (adopting one orphaned michelada that was a little too zesty for its previous owner’s taste), and I miss the michelada already. It goes great with jalapeno potato chips, pretzels, guacamole, and probably everything else in the universe, too.

It’s possible that I’ll name my first-born child after this drink. But only if it’s a girl. If it’s a boy, I’ve already decided on French Fry.