Nacho & Margarita

[Bapopik at AOL.COM]

   Greetings from El Paso....Sorry for the typing mistakes from the TV
internet...Tomorrow I'll try for four libraries in two states.  I'll hit Las
Cruces, New Mexico, and El Paso, Texas.  Then, maybe, I'll have time for some
rest and a decent meal.

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NACHO

   OED cites June Trahey's A TASTE OF TEXAS.  That book has a nacho recipe
from the managing editor of the SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS.  So, of course, I
checked the EXPRESS.  I didn't find his hame under any column.  The food
columns were junk from commercial press releases.  Awful stuff.  Maybe
"nacho" is in the EXPRESS, but it's not indexed.  I read a few months and
gave up.
   I also read a few months of the SAN ANTONIO NEWS (now the NEW-EXPRESS) and
the SAN ANTONIO LIGHT before giving up.  I checked out LA PRENSA, plus some
Jewish newspapers and a German newspaper.

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MARGARITA

   From the SAN ANTONIO NEWS-EXPRESS, 5 January 1994, pg. B1, col. 2:

   _Famed cocktail celebrates 45 years_
   By Susan A. Markner
   When Margarita Sames was developing the original mixed drink later named
in her honor, her earliest experiments with tequila proved so unsuccessful
that her friends sought revenge.
   "I was pushed into the swimming pool quite a few times because some of
those first drinks were so bad," said the 81-year-old Sames, a San Antonio
resident since 1989.
   Tracing the origins of a drink can be difficult because inventors rarely
document their efforts.  But Sames is confident that her concoction,
developed in Acapulco 45 years ago, was the first incarnation of the
margarita.
   Sames grew up in a socially active Dallas family and traveled to Mexico
during her youth.  From an early age, she knew she wanted to live in Acapulco
someday, and her dream eventually became a reality.
   In December 1948, she and her husband, Bill, Invited some (Col. 3--ed.)
friends from Dallas to visit them in Acapulco, where they were having a house
built.  Since their house still was under construction, they borrowed a home
from a local friend and entertained their visitors there, taking advantage of
the luxurious grounds and a pool with a swimming bar.
   Sames wanted to make a refreshing drink that could be enjoyed poolside
before lunch.  "After all, a person can only drink so many beers or so many
Bloody Marys, or screwdrivers or whatever," she said.
   "I wanted to make up a new (Col. 4--ed.) drink.  I had traveled to Cuba
and had tasted rum drinks there, so initially I started out to make up a new
rum drink, but then I discovered I couldn't do a thing with rum.
   "Tequila is my favorite drink in the world--always has been.  And I had
tasted Cointreau (an orange-based liqueur imported from France) and liked the
taste of it, so I decided to combine the two.
   "My goal was to have fun.  That's been my goal all my life," Sames added
with a chuckle.
   At that time, she said, there were no mixed drinks using (Col. 5--ed.)
tequila.  Tequila typically was served in a shot glass, with a lick of salt
and a slice of lime.
   So Sames experimented with various combinations of tequila and Cointreau.
   "At first they were either too sweet or too sour.  And I squeezed all
those limes by hand."
   When her guests didn't like one of Sames' concoctions, they tossed her in
the swimming pool as a joke.
   Eventually she found a recipe thatsuited her, with lime juice used to
balance the alcohol and a light dusting of salt on the glass rim to add
pizzazz.
   Over the years, Bill and Margarita served the drink to their guests,
referring to it as "The Drink" or "Margarita's Drink."  After Bill gave
Margarita a set of champagne glasses etched with her name, the drink got its
name, too.
   The cocktail recipe was spread by some of the couple's (Pg. 4B, col.
1--ed.) friends and guests, who included Nick Hilton, founder of the Hilton
Hotel chain, Joseph Drown, owner of the Bel Air in Los Angeles, and other
world travelers who subsequently served the drink in their U.S. hotels and
restaurants.
   Although several tales have sprung up about the origin ofthe margarita,
Sames said her first major public recognition as the drink's inventor
followed publication of a magazine story on Acapulco and margaritas in the
November 1980 issue of Town and Country. (That late?--ed.)
   But among her family and close friends, Sames always has received credit.
Her 20 nieces and nephews, especially, "are all so proud of me," she noted.
   Sames said there are several secrets to making a good margarita.
   "First, you must use a good tequila--one that is authentic, made in
Jalisco, Mexico.  I prefer a white tequila, not any of this gold stuff.  My
favorite brand is Sauza: it's the best.
   "Never use a blender.  You should shake it or stir it in a pitcher.
   "Serve it over ice cubes--big pieces of ice, notthose little chips.
   "Most people over-salt their magarita glasses.  I take a piece of lime and
go all around the rim of the glass with it.  Then I put regular kitchen salt
on a paper towel.  Just put the glass down into the salt and then pick it
straight up.
(Col. 2--ed.)
   You don't need to be twisting it around in the salt."
   In the past 45 years, several varieties of margaritas have evolved.  Some
incorporate fruit; others are frozen.  Sames reaction?
   "It's unbelievable, that's all I can say.  If I want a strawberry drink,
I'll have one, but not mixed with the good Cointreau."
   Now she leads a quiet life in San Antonio where, she said, not many people
know her.
   Sames travels frequently but seldom drinks margaritas in restaurants.
When she does, she orders one made with Cointreau, which typically costs more
than one made with Triple Sec, which Sames considers a cheap imitation.
(Col. 3--ed.)
   Sensitive to the need for moderation in alcohol consumption, and a firm
believer in the use of quality ingredients, Sames summed up her philosophy:
   "I'd rather have one of something good than half a dozen bad ones."
   Here is Margarita Sames' recipe.
      _Original Margarita_
Salt
1 part Cointreau
3 parts white tequila
1 part fresh lime juice
   Lightly dust the rim of each cold cocktail glass with salt.  Stir together
all liquid ingredients in pitcher.  Pour over ice cubes in glasses.

(A picture in the article--from the 1940s?--is reproduced in Al Lucero's
popular margarita books--ed.)