yum!
A blog about food
Keep it Cool
As it is getting hotter and hotter (and hotter!), I look for ways to keep cool around my house and the Valley. Now I have had many people in this town ask me, bless their little hearts, “How did you stand the unbearable heat in Louisiana?” And as the temperatures rise to ABOVE ninety in Hailey, I finally have my answer—the air conditioner. In the South, one moves from a temperature-controlled house to a chilly car to a destination, all in quick order and with as few stops as possible. In Idaho, this mode of pod-living is not an option. My house was built pre-air-conditioning (thank goodness for my trusty Suburu and the Sun Valley Magazine’s brisk office air). But in the high-and-dry mountains, I love being outside and around town, 90-degree temps be damned.
As I was trolling Hailey this weekend, I noted an essential and glaring absence: chips, salsa, breeze, margaritas. It is a travesty that there is not one place in town (and I am talking Hailey–not Ketchum or Bellevue) where I can sit outside in the shade, enjoy the summer breezes, gorge myself on tortilla chips with dippables, and sip on one of my classic summer favs, the margarita.
I have shared my favorite fruit margarita before on yum!, but I recently learned a quick and easy recipe from one of my favorite books, The Sweet Potato Queens Book of Love. There is a place in Natchez, Mississippi that I feel everyone should know about if they ever fancied a Delta vacation—Fat Mama’s. The best tamales, great atmosphere, to-die-for chips and salsa, and margaritas that will “Knock-You-Naked.” Luckily, I have the recipe so I can sit on my back porch, sip a cool drink, close my eyes, and dream that I have a cabana boy at my beck-and-call, instead of my bulldog, Montgomery, drooling on my feet.
The Margarita
If they “knock ya nekkid,” don’t say I didn’t warn you! Grab frozen limeade, ice cubes, and a blender to get really chilly.
18 ounces limeade
18 ounces tequila (use good tequila)
24 ounces 7-up (or sprite)
24 ounces Dos Equis or Corona
Get a large picture and mix it all up. Pour over ice and garnish with an umbrella. Because everyone likes umbrellas in their drinks.
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Reader Comments:
MMMmmmmm- s'good, those knock-ya-nekkids, but they are true to their name, so be warned! Perhaps a mango version would be nice and refreshing, too?
I also like little plastic mermaids in my drinks as garnished at my favorite "retired surfer's bar" on Tchoupitoulas Street in NOLA, Lucy's.
As you well know, SVMFoodie Lillie, it's so humid down here that sometimes you feel like you're swimming through 100+ degree days. However, with that said, it does keep our skin from cracking and our hangovers from hurting quite so bad. I would caution anyone new to the Valley, or just visiting, that the effects of alcohol in SUN are WAAAAAAAY worse than the heat index in the Deep South. And these margaritas are lethal- they go down like a dream but they pack a punch. (I've seen more than one satisfied customer shaking thier tailfeathers at Fat Mama's after even one of these potent potables!!!) But thanks for the great link- I'm thinking Mexican tonight!!!
There is a great peach daiquiri recipe that will "knock you nekkid"
Limeade - frozen I can
2-3 cups fresh or frozen peaches
Ice cubes
Bacardi (white, not gold)
Blend, drink, take your clothes off.