Top secret recipes_ sodas, smoothies, sp - Todd Wilbur [43]
1½ ounces amaretto liqueur
2 scoops vanilla ice cream
2 ounces (¼ cup) milk
2 ounces (¼ cup) frozen
sweetened sliced strawberries,
thawed
½ cup ice
GARNISH
whipped cream
1 fresh strawberry
1. Put all ingredients in a blender and blend on high speed until smooth. You may have to stop the blender to stir the drink with a spoon to help it blend better.
2. Pour drink into a 14-ounce glass. Add a dollop of whipped cream on top of the drink, then add a fresh strawberry to the edge of the glass. Serve with a straw.
• MAKES 1 DRINK.
Z’TEJAS Z’ BIG STICK MARGARITA
In the southwestern cities where Z’Tejas serves these incredible margaritas, they are truly legendary. The secret mixture is made fresh every day in a freezing dispenser machine with a dirt-cheap brand of tequila and custom-made sweet & sour mix. Perhaps that’s the beauty of this drink. It’s one of the most potent margaritas around, but with the addition of sweet liqueurs, its strength is well hidden. Even though the chain uses a special machine to make this one, preparing your own clone doesn’t require any special equipment. It does take patience, however. Most good things do. But before long you’ll be enjoying either a clone of Z’ Big Stick with three layers of liqueurs, or a copy of the Famous Chambord Raspberry Margarita, the drink that earns “Best Margarita in Town” awards for the chain on a regular basis.That recipe follows this one.
You can, of course, drink the basic margarita base without the liqueurs, but the added liqueurs give the drink its charm. To create the margarita, you just mix all the ingredients in a pitcher and put it in the freezer for at least 4 hours, even overnight if you can.The cocktail won’t freeze solid since there’s tequila in there. When it’s frozen, you take it out, and give it a little stir until it’s the perfect slushy consistency.
This recipe clones the tall, 14-ounce drink served in a pilsner glass with layers of Chambord, Midori, and blue curaçao. The restaurant limits customers to just two of these drinks per visit. Try it and you’ll find out why.
2 cups warm water
½ cup granulated sugar
cup fresh lime juice
cup fresh lemon juice
5 ounces Montezuma gold tequila
2½ ounces triple sec liqueur
1 ounce Midori liqueur
1 ounce Chambord liqueur
1 ounce blue curaçao liqueur
GARNISH
2 lime wedges
1. Combine sugar with warm water in a pitcher and stir or shake until sugar is dissolved. Add lime juice, lemon juice, tequila, and triple sec and put pitcher in the freezer for several hours, until drink is frozen.
2. When drink is frozen, use a long spoon to mix up the drink so that it is slushy and smooth.The alcohol in the drink will prevent it from freezing solid so that you can easily break it up by stirring.
3. To make the drink, pour ½ ounce of Midori into the bottom of 2 14-ounce pilsner glasses. Add about ¼ cup of the frozen margarita on top of the liqueur. Pour ½ ounce of Chambord into each glass, then add another ¼ cup of frozen margarita. Add ½ ounce blue curaçao to each glass and top off the drink with the remaining frozen margarita.
4. Add a straw and lime wedge to each drink and serve.
• MAKES 2 14-OUNCE DRINKS.
Z’TEJAS FAMOUS CHAMBORD RASPBERRY MARGARITA
At only 10½ ounces per serving you might think this drink a bit wee. But I assure you, just one of these packs a wallop, and two will get you speaking in haiku. This delicious raspberry margarita, along with an incredible southwestern cuisine, is making this small chain a growing success story.
2 cups warm water
½ cup granulated sugar
cup fresh lime juice
cup fresh lemon juice
5 ounces Montezuma gold tequila
2½ ounces triple sec liqueur
1½ ounces Chambord raspberry
liqueur
GARNISH
3 lime wedges
1. Combine sugar with warm water in a pitcher and stir or shake until sugar is dissolved. Add lime juice, lemon juice, tequila, and triple sec