In the age of the 32-ounce (or larger) Big Gulps and the like, a small drink may not necessarily seem fashionable. But large quantity is not always related to good quality, as is attested by those mammoth margaritas, laced as they are with artificially flavored sweet-and-sour mix. This margarita is the real thing: purity and refreshing freshness that's strained into martini glasses after a vigorous rumble with ice cubes in a cocktail shaker. Just before your guests arrive, combine the tequila, orange liqueur, and lime juice in a pitcher, and you'll be poised for the shaking to begin.
The salsa can be prepared up to 12 hours ahead of time, covered and refrigerated. And it can be eaten with anything you want to try it with!
This is a summer essential: sticky, crispy barbecued chicken that comes together in less than 20 minutes. An ideal lazy-man’s recipe, here’s a technique that puts to rest once and for all the ornery side of grilling cutup chicken: one piece is raw at the center while another piece is turning to cinders. Instead, oven-roast the chicken ahead, so when it hits the grill all it needs is warming and anointing with a good BBQ sauce. While any will do, we recommend you give our Sweet-Tart BBQ Sauce a try. It is well worth the additional effort. Serve this chicken with Tijuana Cole Slaw and a pile of napkins.
Ingredients
This is Lynne’s favorite baked bean recipe. They’re unlike any baked beans we know. Sticky, sweet-tart and smoky, the beans are nearly candied as they bake with bacon, brown sugar, garlic and vinegar. A spoonful served alongside a Farmers’ Market Salad makes the perfect summer lunch.
I’d tell you to stick a Post-It right here because, once you try these, you’ll be making them often -- but they’re simple enough that after one time through, you’ll probably remember how to make them forever. These green beans are cooked to falling-apart-ness in what’s essentially a garlic-tomato confit. Every bite is imbued with flavor -- garlicky, a little hot, meltingly tender; the kind of good that, with your first bite, you close your eyes and grow silent.
My friends Pat and Denny have adopted this as a standard, but they put the cilantro on the side, and so can you if your family is polarized on the cilantro front. Pat and Denny also use low-sodium soy sauce, which is a great idea if you tend to have it around and handy. Even better is tamari sauce, which leaves the nuts sticky and shiny but not crusted to the pan (a drawback of soy); also, it's gluten-free. My friend Zarmik had this to say about the nuts: "Soy-glazed almonds were a revelation. I suspect I would think the same of soy-glazed cardboard. In fact, for the next few days, if it does not move, it stands a good change of getting soy-glazed."
Place 2-3 chicken balls on a small skewer or toothpick, then sprinkle on the Japanese red pepper powder, if using, and serve.
You can vary the amount of water in this recipe in accordance with whether you want a proper soup or a more stewlike consistency.
Although this dish calls for only a few ingredients, it delivers big, robust flavors and can be prepared almost completely in advance. The diced squash can be roasted several hours ahead so that at serving time all that is necessary is to arrange the cubes on a platter and sprinkle them with crumbled goat cheese, chopped walnuts, and minced parsley. My local supermarkets sell butternut squash that is already peeled and halved, and if you can find it in this convenient form, it will shave a good amount of time off the prep.