Friday Happy Hour... at Home!

Nobody said that all of the recipes that I posted had to be food, right?? Another big part of balancing out the gluten free lifestyle is finding the right "adult beverages" that I can safely consume. I tend to be very safe with the types of alcohol that I consume. I usually stick to wine as the safest bet, but I will also have drinks with rum and tequila when out, since they are alcohols that are made by fermenting sugars of some type and not grain.  At home, I always stock up on Chopin potato vodka (mostly for straight up dirty martinis - hands down the smoothest martini vodka out there) and Smirnoff vodka (many people don't know that the grain used to make this vodka is corn, which is gluten free).

Happy hour at home on Friday evenings in the Summer is something that I look forward to each week.  This summer we've been growing mint out on the deck, so rum & vodka mojitos have been in heavy rotation.  But last Friday I had a craving for a nice, strong, tart margarita.  I know a margarita is not a highly unusual drink, but I took some liberties with the ratios of ingredients and added some fresh squeezed orange juice to sweeten it up.  And no salt!  I hate salt on my margaritas :)

Margaritas
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (4-5 limes depending on size)
3/4 cup tequila (I used Jose Cuervo Gold)
1/4 cup orange liqueur (I used Cointreau)
1/4 cup simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water, heated and dissolved)
1 T agave nectar
1 orange (slice off some for garnish and juice the rest)

When playing bartender/mixologist at home, I usually start in a large liquid measuring cup and layer in one ingredient to the next counting to the next ingredient level.  In other words, I squeeze 1/2 cup of lime juice then add tequila up to the 1 1/4 cup mark then Cointreau up to the 1 1/2 cup mark.... and so on and so forth - until everything that needs to be measured is measured.  Once everything is added I stir it with a large spoon until the agave is dissolved.  I fill up two pretty little margarita glasses with ice and fill up the glass with the margarita mixture.  Garnish with a fresh orange sliced into a half moon and a straw - then stir and enjoy!  Makes 2 'healthy' margaritas.