Lies, I’ll tell you! I’m looking outside my studio window at the peacefully falling snow. We were bracing ourselves here in Denver for well over a foot of snow, and all we received was a scant eight inches. I was actually looking forward to a serious dumping of the stuff. I want to be snowed in, denied from even getting into my car. I want a work-free day, complete with movies, cozy blankets, lots of baking, and no obligations. I suppose I still need the electricity and the water to work, so nothing too drastic.

I always associate ice-cold, salt-rimmed margaritas with balmy, summer days, but all of my citrus surplus has pushed my creativity to serious lengths. Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve made orange marmalade, blood orange and bourbon cocktails, and even some Campari-spiked orange sherbet, so tangerine margaritas were only a natural progression.

You know how you just want to pour yourself a cocktail, shut out all of the busyness, and enjoy the peace around you? That is how I am feeling morning, except I can’t enjoy a wintry cocktail {or any  kind of cocktail, for that matter}. I am working this evening, and there are well over 500 reservations on the books; that’s about three times our normal count for a Sunday. So, I’ll be heavily hitting the coffee, instead. Sigh.

You see, each February, almost all of Denver’s restaurants host “Restaurant Week.” For the guests, it is a wonderful opportunity to enjoy the cuisine of their favorite dining spots or restaurants they’ve always wanted to visit, at an incredibly discounted price. For the employees of the restaurants, however, the hours are longer, the workload is heavier, the tickets are decreased by about half the normal price, and the guest-count more than triples. It is exhausting.

So, instead of having one of these right now, I’ll most likely make one for myself later on this evening. And it will be delicious.

I absolutely love classic margaritas. Who doesn’t? They are the perfect balance of sweet, sour, salty, and citrus. I also love creating twists on the original recipe and mixing mine with different fruit juices and various liqueurs. This past week, I bought a large bag of organic tangerines, juiced them, and made the most refreshing citrus margaritas.

For a unique garnish, I made citrus salt for the rims of the cocktail glasses. I crushed up some navel oranges I had dehydrated several weeks ago and added some sea salt to the mix. I was super pleased with the results, and I plan doing the same thing with dehydrated limes and lemons. The best part about this added special touch is that it is so simple to make. You just need a few hours to dry the fruit.

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how to make citrus salt

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1. Slice the oranges about 1/4 of an inch thick and remove their seeds.
2. Arrange slices on the trays of a food dehydrator and set the temperature to 115 degrees Fahrenheit.
3. Allow the slices to dehydrate for 6-12 hours or until crisp and brittle.
4. Store them in an airtight container, away from direct sunlight, until you’re ready to use them.
5. For the citrus salt, coarsely grind the centers of the oranges, removing the tough rims. I used my Le Creuset mortar and pestle, one of my favorite and most-used kitchen splurges, but you could also pulse in a food processor. I saved the tough rims for a future salt scrub project!
6. Add an equal amount of sea salt, or a little less, depending upon your taste.
7. Store the citrus salt in an airtight container.

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citrus salt-rimmed tangerine margaritas

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• 2 ounces Casa Noble Crystal Tequila
• 1 ounce Solerno Blood Orange Liqueur
• 2 ounces freshly squeezed tangerine juice {about 3 small tangerines}
• 1/2 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice {about 1 lime}
• 1/4 ounce agave nectar {optional}

1. Juice the tangerines and lime{s}. Don’t settle for the bland, bottled, pasteurized stuff.
2. Sprinkle the citrus salt on a plate. Run a  lime wedge along the rim of the cocktail glass and carefully press the edge of the glass into the citrus salt.
3. Carefully fill the cocktail glass with fresh ice.
4. Fill a cocktail mixing glass with ice and add the tequila, blood orange liqueur, the juices, and, optionally, the agave nectar.
5. Shake the mixture well, strain, and pour into the prepared glass.
6. Garnish with a lime {or tangerine} wedge or wheel.

• Always choose organic citrus and thoroughly scrub the exteriors, even if you are simply juicing the fruit. Again, take the time and “effort” to juice fresh fruit. The flavor is incomparable.
  
• The Solerno Blood Orange Liqueur tastes delicious and gives this cocktail great balance; however, if you are unable to find this, feel free to substitute another orange liqueur.

Did you know that today is actually National Margarita Day? Well, go out and get some tangerines and limes and do some celebrating! 😉 It’s a great excuse to rebel against the chilly, snowy weather 0r celebrate the warm, sunny weather you are experiencing. And if you need any further inspiration, check out this beautiful blood orange margarita at Design Love Fest, this Meyer lemon margarita by White on Rice Couple, or this gorgeous French Kiss margarita over at Bakers Royale.

Cheers to us all enjoying a happy Sunday and to my surviving the night. Steve just came back from running errands {thank you!} and said the roads were terrible. Luckily, we live less than five minutes from work, so our commute will be painful but quick. I’m already anticipating coming home to a cozy house and settling in with a movie tonight. And maybe a margarita.

XO,

Jayme