[1] We love the pineapple and heat in this drink (photo © Hornitos Tequila).

[2] Lime wedge (photo by Hannah Kaminsky | THE NIBBLE).

For your consideration: a sweet, spicy and smooth tequila drink called the Pico de Plata (“silver beak”).

The recipe was created by mixologist Jason Littrell for Hornitos Tequila, using sweet pineapple juice and hot jalapeño purée. Jalapeño is used in two forms: the seeds infuse the vodka, and the flesh is puréed as a mixer.

Why the horn-shaped shot glass used by Hornitos?

In some regions of the world, unique glass shapes have been specially designed for the local wines and spirits.

After a long day’s work, Mexican farmers used to enjoy shots of tequila from a real bull’s horn to celebrate the day’s end.

Thus, the first tequila-specific shot glass was designed in the shape of a bull’s horn.
 
 
COCKTAIL RECIPE: PICO DE PLATA

Ingredients For One Drink

1. MIX equal parts of salt and pepper. Place in a saucer. Moisten the rim of a rocks glass or martini glass with water and dip and twist in the salt and pepper.

2. SHAKE the other ingredients with ice and strain the ingredients over ice. Serve.
 
 
> CHECK OUT THE HISTORY OF TEQUILA <

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*Cut the skin off the jalapeño. Soak the seeds and pith (the hot part) of three jalapeños per 750ml bottle of silver tequila for 30 minutes, or to taste. Save the flesh for the purée.

**Remove stems, seeds and veins from a red jalapeño, leaving only the flesh. Toss into a blender or spice grinder and purée until smooth.

Or, use other vegetable garnishes, from dilly beans to pickled asparagus.

And how about a glass rimmer, from celery salt to cracked black pepper?

There are so many ways to garnish your Bloody Mary that the garnishes become a mini-snack, as shown in the photo.

Check out our list.

Then, share your own favorites.

Moist, fudgy and fabulous. Photo courtesy
Williams-Sonoma.

All you need are Baked brownie mixes.

Made exclusively for Williams-Sonoma by the famous New York City bakery, the mixes use Callebaut and Guittard chocolate and cocoa powder. All you need to do is add butter and eggs to turn out three varieties of delectable baked goods:

 
Don’t take your pick, because you’ll want to try all three. Read the full review.

The history of brownies.

More of our favorite brownies and brownie recipes.

The different types of brownies.

Brownie trivia quiz.

Combine the ever-popular Margarita with luscious blood orange juice. This recipe includes the traditional lime juice via the sour mix and layers it with the flavor of blood orange.

Thanks to Tequila Avión for this recipe.

The recipe does not use a salted rim, in order to enjoy the delicate flavors of the blood orange juice.

> The history of the Margarita.

> The history of blood oranges.
 
 
RECIPE: BLOOD ORANGE MARGARITA

Ingredients Per Cocktail

 
Preparation

1. ADD all ingredients to a cocktail shaker.

2. SHAKE and strain; serve over fresh ice. Garnish with an orange twist.
 
 
> More Margarita recipes.

> More about Tequila Avión.

> More blood orange recipes.

[1] A Blood Orange Margarita is another way to enjoy luscious blood oranges (photo © Grain & Cane).

[2] Blood orange juice from Mongibello (photo © Mongibello Juice).

Grow your own! Photo by Chrissi Nerantzi |
SXC.

In a survey conducted by Garden-Share.com, vegetable gardening is the most popular gardening trend (20.6%), followed by small-space gardening (17.1%) and organic gardening (16.3%). To tie these all together, you can grow your own organic tomatoes or other veggies in a small space.

The economy, the price of gas and consumers’ concerns about the origins of the food they eat are spurring home gardening.

And then there‘s the personal satisfaction of growing your own food. While 43.6% of survey participants responded that “Yes, you can save money by vegetable, fruit and herb gardening,” another 28.2% said, “It doesn’t matter, it’s enjoyable.”

Tomatoes, though technically a fruit, are by far the favorite vegetable to grow. Peppers took second place with 8.1%.