Margaritas and homemade salsa

Written by Teresa J. Farney The Gazette/(MCT)

Mark Cinco de Mayo with margaritas, homemade salsa

To celebrate Cinco de Mayo, I'll be digging out salsa and margarita recipes from a class I took during spring break in Mazatlan, Mexico. The class _ taught by two Americans _ was called "Salsa, Salsa & Sunset."

Instructors Leonique Vandeveerdonk and Maureen Geraghty set up the class on the spacious patio of the Hotel Emporio just before sunset. Several round tables were set up like mini-kitchens, with cutting boards, knives, molcajetes (mortars and pestles made of volcanic rock), lime squeezers and baskets of salsa ingredients. When we arrived, we were each given chef hats and aprons, then seated at one of the tables.

To get into the party mood, Geraghty showed us how to make the perfect margarita.

"It's very simple," she said. "It's equal parts tequila and Controy Orange Liqueur."

Controy is the Mexican version of another orange liqueur, Cointreau. You can use that or Triple Sec in place of Controy.

In order to make a big batch for our group, she had a class member come up. As he started measuring the ingredients for the perfect drink into the blender, she asked us, "Do you know what makes a good bartender?"

Then, before anyone could reply, she gave us her answer: "a heavy hand."

As she said that, Vandeveerdonk wedged behind the man pouring tequila and bumped his arm several times to satisfy the "heavy hand" requirement. That makes the recipe hard to duplicate, so do your own thing when it comes to the heavy hand.

After the drinks, we made five salsas and guacamole at our tables: Salsa Rojo (traditional red salsa); Salsa Verde (green salsa); Pico de Gallo (colors of the Mexican flag); Salsa del Sol (mango salsa); Peppy Pina Salsa (pineapple salsa); and Ole-Guacamole, which used part of the Salsa Verde.

"We can make several recipes in the molcajete without washing it, and then it becomes the serving bowl," Geraghty said.

Molcajetes are sold at Hispanic markets and are also available at chefscatalog.com.

Serrano peppers were used in all the salsa recipes.

"We like to use the serrano pepper because it's hotter than jalapeno," Geraghty said. "Cut them in half lengthwise and remove the seeds and membranes. That will keep them from being way too hot. Start with just a fourth of a pepper and taste. If you want it hotter, add more."

As we finished making our salsas and snacking, Geraghty dumped the apron and put on her salsa skirt. Then she gave us all a lesson in the five basic steps of salsa dancing.

You'd have had to be there, but the funniest part of the dance experience was seeing men trying to do the "girly walk." It's actually called the knee march: You point your knees toward each other, swivel your hips and walk along. It's amazing what grown-ups will do after a couple of margaritas made by a heavy-handed bartender. Ole!

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SALSA ROJO (TRADITIONAL MEXICAN SALSA)

Yield: About 1 cup

1-3 cloves roasted garlic

¼ white onion, roasted and finely chopped

½-2 roasted jalapeno or serrano peppers, seeded (use poblano peppers for a milder salsa)

2 roasted Roma tomatoes

¼ cup fresh cilantro

Juice of 1 lime

Salt and pepper, to taste

Procedure:

1. Grind garlic in a molcajete. Add onion, peppers, tomatoes and cilantro, grinding until you have a nice, smooth sauce.

2. Add lime juice and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Source: "Salsa, Salsa & Sunset" cooking class

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SALSA VERDE

Yield: About 1 ½ cups

1-3 cloves roasted garlic

¼ white onion, roasted and finely chopped

½-2 roasted jalapeno or serrano peppers, seeded (use poblano peppers for a milder salsa)

3-4 roasted tomatillos

¼ cup fresh cilantro

Juice of 1 lime

Salt and pepper, to taste

Procedure:

1. Grind garlic in a molcajete. Add onion, peppers, tomatillos and cilantro, grinding until you have a nice, smooth sauce.

2. Add lime juice and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Source: "Salsa, Salsa & Sunset" cooking class

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OLE-GUACAMOLE

Yield: About 1 cup

¼-½ cup Salsa Verde (see recipe)

Juice of ½-1 lime

1 ripe avocado

Dash salt

Procedure:

Using a molcajete, grind and mix together all ingredients.

Source: "Salsa, Salsa & Sunset" cooking class

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PICO DE GALLO (MEXICAN FLAG SALSA)

Yield: About 1 cup

2 Roma tomatoes, finely chopped

1-2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped

1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 lime, ready for squeezing

Salt and pepper, to taste

Procedure:

1. Combine tomatoes, peppers and cilantro. Separate into two bowls.

2. Top one with a squeeze of lime and juice and salt and pepper, to taste. Peppy Pina Salsa variation: Add 1 cup chopped pineapple to the unsalted Pico de Gallo for a peppy, fresh-tasting salsa.

Source: "Salsa, Salsa & Sunset" cooking class

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SALSA DEL SOL (MANGO SALSA)

Yield: About 1 ½ cups

1 mango, diced

½ red pepper, diced

2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely diced

¼ cup chopped cilantro

Procedure:

Combine all ingredients. For a variation, substitute honeydew melon for mango.

Source: "Salsa, Salsa & Sunset" cooking class

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