now that was a long weekend! a little bit of rain early on saturday, but hot, breezy and sunshine-y every other second. i spent the entire weekend with family and so many friends: dinners, a movie, antique market shopping, lunch with my parents, sipping iced teas, drinks on a busy patio–and the first al fresco dining in our backyard this year!
and it was at yesterday’s backyard hang-out with two friends (who dropped by from allllll the way over on the west-side), that i got to try out 3 new things:
- a spiced, fried okra snack recipe i’m working on (it turned out well–tasty, but maybe needs a dredge in spiced flour to make them crispier…)
- sweet cordial glasses picked up at the antique market this weekend. i love them…
- …in which i served my tequila tarragon cocktail. i got the idea to use tarragon from a recipe i saw online. i thought it was a surprising combination but then i found many marinade recipes that include both tarragon and tequila. the two taste wonderful together. with a quick simple syrup and lots of lime, this was the perfect thing to sip, chilled, on a hot afternoon in the shade.
tequila tarragon apéritif
1/4 c sugar (i used brown sugar)
1/4 c water
1 tbs fresh tarragon leaves
the juice of 2 limes
3/4 c tequila
first, make the simple syrup: add the sugar and water to a small saucepan and set it over low heat. stir occasionally until all of the sugar is dissolved. remove from heat and allow the simple syrup to cool.
set aside a pinch of whole tarragon leaves. in a bowl, add the lime juice and the rest of the tarragon leaves, and muddle gently with a pestle or a wooden spoon. add the mixture to a (preferably chilled) pitcher. add the cooled simple syrup, the tequila and stir. chill the drink or add ice if serving immediately. before serving, stir well and add the remaining tarragon leaves.
makes 6 apéritifs.