Margarita weather

With the temperature near 80 and the weather more like summer than spring we mixed the first margaritas of the season on Friday. Using the last of the Cointreau (hard to go back to Triple Sec after you've had the real thing) and the Stirrings mix I picked up last week, we had our margaritas with Whole Foods made-in-store guacamole and chips.

To complete the theme and to take advantage of the beautiful grilling weather, we had some Southwest chicken kebabs from Cheryl and Bill Jamison's The Big Book of Outdoor Cooking. I've never done too much with skewers, I guess because it's more work, but they have some good recipes and I'm willing to try some more.

This has the colors of the Mexican flag and makes for a very nice presentation. The actual skewers consist of the marinated chicken chunks alternating with orange bell pepper, red bell pepper, lime slices and chunks of orange.

The 1-inch chunks of boneless skinless chicken thigh get marinated just for an hour in a paste made up 1/3 c. tequila, 1/3 c. fresh lime juice, 1/3 c. pickled jalapenos w. 2 Tbl of liquid from the jar, 3 Tbl. vegetable oil, 4 scallions white and green parts coarsely chopped, 2 or 3 peeled garlic cloves, and 1 tsp salt, all purreed together into a paste. You stir in 1/4 c. fresh orange juice and/or 2 Tbl Triple Sec (I used just OJ). Pour in with chicken in a ziploc bag and refrigerate.

For the skewers, you cut 3/4-in. dice of the red and orange bell peppers, 1/4-in. rounds of 2 limes, and 1 big orange cut into chunks, each with skin on it. I actually alternated 2 chicken chunks with the other stuff, and ended up with one skewer that had no fruit and leftover bell pepper. Brush the skewers with melted butter and grill on medium heat (4 to 5 second hand test) for 8 to 10 min., turning to cook all sides (I actually took 12). Optionally, you can brush again with melted butter after you take them off the grill (skipped this, too).

We ate with warm flour tortillas and the kebabs were delicious. Chicken thighs have lots of flavor anyway and the marinade added to it. I used mild jalapenos; hot or a mix of hot and mild would kick up the heat. They were good as is but if you dressed up with sour cream and salsa they would be a big hit with company.