Jalapeno Margaritas

Jalapeno Margaritas, the adult equivalent to the childhood thrill of hopping back and forth between a hot tub and a cold swimming pool.

(Rachel)

When my little brother Gabe and I were pre-teens my parents would often take us to a timeshare resort in East Texas for the weekend. Most of the time, we’d each bring a friend along. My girlfriend and I would spend our afternoons lounging poolside or goofing off playing putt putt, while Gabe and his friends would spend the day fishing or schooling all the other kids in kickball.

At night, when the sun set and all the activities quieted down, we’d finally hull up on the cabin patio together with the tall pines towering above us and eat grilled burgers or barbeque chicken and fresh seasonal fruit. In the Spring months, the cool night air would drift in, and one of us inevitably would make the challenge.

“Let’s go jump in the pool.”

“It’s too cold,” another would whine.

“We can get in the hot tub afterwards. Come on it will be fun. Don’t be a wuss!”

To that, we’d all shimmy on our cold swim suits, still wet from the afternoon and chaise each other down to the pool. “Last one there has to jump in first,” the lead would holler back.

The older teenagers in the adjoining hot tub looked with disdain, as one by one we jumped in and splashed on their make-out parade. Our heads popping out of the water, screaming and laughing.

Covered in goosebumps, we’d jump straight from the cold pool into the steaming hot tub, ignoring the make-out couple’s grumbles as they climbed out and headed for some privacy on the lake shore. We’d stay in the hot tub until beads of sweat mingled with the chlorine water droplets on our face.

Then back into the cold water. This time, the cold shock was a welcome refreshment. And we’d swim around until our lips quivered and turned blue. Back and forth we’d go, until our parents hollered for us to come in, dry off, and get to bed.

These jalapeno margaritas are like an adult version of that childhood thrill. The first sip cools you off, then a punch of heat hits the back of your throat and you start to sweat just a little, but the lime zest sugar from the rim of the glass quickly counters the spice with a tangy sweet sensation. And back you go for another cooling sip, again and again…until your mom tells you you’ve had enough fun for the night. 🙂

Rachel’s Jalapeno Margarita’s

Makes 4 Margaritas

Ingredients

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
2 jalapenos (cut in half length wise, remove seeds if desired, but we like the thrill of the heat)
4 oz silver Tequila
juice of 6 limes
ice

Garnishes
3 T. sugar, lime zest, slices of lime & jalapeno

Directions

In a sauce pan, make infused simple syrup: combine sugar & water and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and add jalapenos. Simmer for 10 minutes. Strain the jalapenos and seeds (if used). Let cool in the refrigerator.

In a pitcher, combine lime juice, tequila, and simple syrup and stir. Garnish the glasses and either pour the jalapeno margarita over ice or shake it in a cocktail shaker with ice and strain into the glass.

Garnishes

Combine 3 T. sugar with the zest of a lime on a small plate. Run a slice of lime along the edge of the glass and dip the glass upside down into the lime sugar. Stick a slice of lime and a slice of seeded jalapeno on the edge of the glass.

This was printed from: We Laugh, We Cry, We Cook
The site URL: http://welaughwecrywecook.com
The Title: Jalapeno Margaritas
The URL: https://welaughwecrywecook.com/2012/05/22/jalapeno-margaritas/