National Margarita Day is February 22nd. Coincidentally, it’s the birthday of George Washington, who never had a tequila drink since Colonials didn’t know about tequila. (He drank beer and porter, which he brewed on his estate. He also liked Madeira, a fortified wine produced on the Portuguese island of Madeira. He also planted American grapes for wine. He had tried planting Madeira, but the grapes were not successful in the Virginia soil.)

The Margarita has become America’s favorite cocktail. Here’s the history of the Margarita.

According to The Nielsen CGA On-Premise Consumer Survey, a snapshot of America’s eating and drinking habits in restaurants and bars, the Margarita iw the preferred cocktail of 60% of Americans—thus, the most popular cocktail in the U.S.

Runners up are the Daiquiri, Piña Colada, Long Island Iced Tea and Mojito.

> 33+ Margarita recipes are below.

Also below, how to throw a Margarita cocktail party.
 
 
MARGARITA VS. NOT A MARGARITA

Is everything with tequila a Margarita? Of course not—although it might seem so, given the number of recipes sent to us called Margarita, but are other tequila cocktails.

It’s a [bad] marketing play: Mixologists know that something called Margarita will sell better. Here’s how to identify a Margarita vs. another tequila drink.

But there are acceptable variations on the Margarita. With only three ingredients (tequila, orange liqueur, lime juice) plus a salt rim, bartenders around the world have the creative license to add fruit purées, chiles, and herbs to make Margarita variations.

Here are some of them:
 
 
33+ MARGARITA RECIPES

 
 
MARGARITA COCKTAIL PARTY

[1] A classic Margarita with a twist: a smoked salt rim (photo © Casa Noble Tequila).

[2] Add some heat; here, a Thai Margarita with hibiscus, a Thai chile, and black lava salt rim (photo © Miro Kitchen).

[3] A black grape frozen Margarita. Here’s the recipe from the California Table Grape Commission.

[4] A Cherry Margarita. Here’s the recipe (photo © Created By Diane).

Any day is good for the party, although February 22nd (National Margarita Day), May 5th (Cinco de Mayo), and July 24th (National Tequila Day) are good candidates.

Here’s how to throw a Margarita party the easy way:

 
What more can we say than: Enjoy yourself but drink responsibly!
 
 
MARGARITA TRIVIA

Americans celebrate Cinco de Mayo, on May 6th; but September 16th is the real Mexican Independence Day. Here’s the scoop.

[1] The most popular use for marmalade: as a bread spread (photo courtesy Beth’s Farm Kitchen).

[2] Olive oil cake with a marmalade topping. The recipe is below. (photos 2 and 3 courtesy Lucero Olive Oil).

[3] Mandarin orange agrumato olive oil. Learn about agrumato below.

[4] Coconut shrimp with marmalade dipping sauce. Here’s the recipe from Binky’s Culinary Carnival.

Marmalade is a soft citrus-based jelly that includes the flesh and often the peel of the fruit, suspended throughout the jelly base. The sweetness of the jelly is offset by the bitterness of the peel.

Some products that are called marmalade—onion and tomato marmalades, for example—are actually misnamed jams and preserves. Here are the different types of jam, jelly and other sweet spreads.

Marmalade can be made from kumquats, lemons, limes, grapefruits, mandarins, oranges (bergamot, Seville, sweet oranges) and other citrus fruits. It can be made from a single fruit or a combination.

Here’s the history of marmalade, which dates back some 2,000 years.

Beyond bread, toast and other breakfast breads, there are many other uses for marmalade. In most applications, warm the marmalade first.
 
 
BEYOND BREAD: 30 MORE USES FOR MARMALADE

 
 
RECIPE: ORANGE OLIVE OIL CAKE WITH MARMALADE TOPPING

Here’s a cake recipe from Lucero Olive Oil that brightens any winter day. It tides us over before spring begins to bring local fresh fruit.
 
You’ll notice that one of the ingredients is Lucero’s Mandarin Orange Agrumato Olive Oil. Agrumato is a process developed in the Italian region of Abruzzo.

Oranges or lemons were crushed simultaneously with the olives to produce exceptionally flavored olive oils. Agrumi means citrus in Italian; to make a food “agrumato” is to make it citrusy.

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 350°F. Apply 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil liberally to a 9” cake pan.

2. BEAT the eggs and sugar in mixer until foamy, approximately 2 minutes. Add the salt, buttermilk, and orange agrumato olive oil, continuing to beat until combined (about 1 additional minute at medium speed).

3. COMBINE the flour, baking powder and baking soda in a separate bowl combine. Using the lowest mixing speed, add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and process until the mixture is only just combined. Avoid over-mixing.

4. TRANSFER the batter into the prepared pan and bake until the center of the cake comes out clean using a toothpick or cake tester, about 30 minutes.

5. COOL the cake in the pan for about ten minutes, then turn onto a rack to completely cool.

6. DECORATE by spooning warm marmalade over the top of the cake right before serving, or by sifting powdered sugar over the top.

If you cook fish frequently, a quick broiling, grilling, sauté or poaching may be your technique of choice.

But before you put a piece of plain fish on a plate with vegetables on the side, consider serving it en brodo: in broth with vegetables.

In Italy, not just fish (pesce) but tortellini and other pasta types are served en brodo.

The vegetables get cooked in the broth, which adds more flavor. And if you poach the fish, that takes on more flavor, too.

The purpose of the broth is not to serve as a bowl of soup, per se, but to provide a flavorful base for the dish (and yes, the “soup” at the bottom is eaten, so include a soup spoon as well as a fork).

You can use any fish-friendly broth you like; for example:

 
In the recipe below, we use vegetable or fish broth as the base. Both the vegetables and fish are cooked in the broth (i.e., poached fish).

The broth recipe below has a Thai accent. We’re passionate about Thai flavors, but if you don’t like them, just leave out the asterisked* ingredients.

Replace them with your choice of bok choy, celery, mushrooms, parsnips, zucchini and herbs of choice. Flavor the broth with salt and pepper instead of soy sauce and lime juice.

And include something green for a color accent (photos 1-4). You may not want to cook them in the broth, but steam them separately in the microwave. Add to the dish when plating.
 
 
RECIPE: FISH IN BROTH (PESCE EN BRODO)

Ingredients For 2 Servings

 
For The Broth

 
For The Garnish

-or –

[1] Sautéed black bass in vegetable-herb broth with droplets of basil olive oil (photo courtesy Empire Diner | NYC).

[2] Grilled cod in mushroom broth (photo courtesy Mihoko’s 21 Grams | NYC).

[3] Poached halibut in coconut broth (photo courtesy David Burke | Fishtail).

[4] Grilled snapper in tomato broth (photo courtesy Pakpao Thai | Dallas

 
Preparation

1. PLACE the stock, cilantro, chile, garlic and ginger in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer gently for 20 minutes.

2. STRAIN the stock, discarding the cilantro, chile, garlic and ginger. Return the broth to the heat and add the carrots, snow peas and scallions. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add the fish fillets and simmer for an additional 2-3 minutes. If using the clams/mussels garnish, add for a minute at the end,

3. SEASON to taste with a dash of soy sauce and lime juice. Divide the sprouts between 2 large bowls and pour over the soup. Garnish with coriander leaves and accompany with lime wedges.
 
 
WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A FILLET AND A FILET?

Just the language, which impacts spelling and pronunciation. Fillet (FILL-it) is English and filet (fee-LAY) is French.

This mac and cheese recipe uses both wagon wheels and cavatappi instead of elbows (photo courtesy Barilla Foodservice).

At Burtons Grill in Andover, Massachusetts, chef Scott Perry has fun with mac and cheese. It turns everyday mac and cheese into food art.

It’s easy to replicate at home.

 
 
MORE MAC & CHEESE

We love little bits of food trivia that help us make better choices.

Here are five tidbits from nutrition Madison Linek, RDN, LD, a clinical dietician with Kroger Health (Kroger is America’s largest supermarket chain).

[1] The top and middle eggplants male and sweeter. The bottom eggplant is female and more bitter (photo courtesy ItDelice.com).

[2] An apple will protect your potatoes from sprouting (photo courtesy Alberton Record).