Recapping this week — the highlight was book club on Thursday night which you can read about here. Kathy Hepinstall was a delight! I wanted to make a special cocktail to celebrate the book’s main character, Polly, and I found the perfect sip from The Cocktail Club by Maureen Petrosky. It’s a “year of recipes and tips for spirited tasting parties.” It just so happened that during the month of June, margaritas are the featured drink. Strawberry-Basil Margaritas sounded perfect.
I bought huge containers of basil and strawberries from Trader Joe’s (I plan to make pesto with the leftover basil).
Recipe:
One cup of sugar
zest of one lime
10-12 strawberries, hulled and sliced
8 fresh basil leaves
2-2 1/2 cups of silver tequila
1- 1 1/2 cups freshly squeezed lime juice (about 10 limes)
Ice cubes
In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and zest with 1 cup of water. Simmer over medium-high heat until the sugar is dissolved and strain the syrup into a clean container. Let it cool completely.
Add the strawberries to a large pitcher. Bruise or gently squeeze the basil leaves and add them to the pitcher.
Add the tequila, lime-flavored simple syrup, and 1 cup of the lime juice and stir.
I only used 2 cups of tequila and one cup of lime juice, but taste it to adjust to your preference. I also took a potato masher and crushed the strawberries more. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Serve in glasses filled with ice.
It was refreshing and a perfect twist on the traditional margarita.
For next week’s breeze, I will have fun details to share from our neighborhood fish fry — including a fried shrimp recipe from my hero — Helen Corbitt!
Have a splendid Saturday!