There are occasions that call for fancy, over the top, loaded nachos - and then there’s the après ski version. Après nachos need to be delicious, warm, cheesy, and served with a sauce that is unbeatable. These are so easy and so perfect when your fingers are cold and your toes are numb.

There are three tips to making the perfect nacho:

1. You have to grate the cheese yourself. The pre-grated has potato starch on it and it won’t melt properly.

2. Make one thin layer on nachos on a baking sheet lined with parchment. When they come out, quickly layer the nachos on top of each other to serve.

3. You need the perfect sauce. Here is that perfect sauce. Serve with hot sauce + Cilantro Lime sauce.

Topping options are obviously endless. The toppings I used here are the ones I had on hand - and are the ones I basically always have on hand. Cans of beans and cans of olives go a long way to making nachos feel packed full of something.

If I have leftover chicken or steak - they are going on top too - but not before I toss them in some taco seasoning first. It’s dramatic the improvement to leftover meats when you toss them in a little seasoning before they head onto the top of the nachos.

Cilantro Lime Sauce

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

zest of one lime

juice of one lime (more or less)

Combine everything together. And drizzle over the top of the nachos when they are hot.

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Every year for my kids birthdays I make a coffee cake. A few years ago I started making a smaller and smaller cakes because my kids eat one slice and then they are done. Then I moved on to muffin sized coffee cakes and suddenly we can eat the entire batch!

These are perfect for a brunch, a weekday breakfast, or just for a snack. They cook super fast too - so you can whip them up anytime! I promise once you bite into these, you will never stop making these muffins. They are epic.

Coffee Cake Muffins

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 egg

2/3 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup vanilla yogurt (or sour cream)

topping

4 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

STEP 1

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a muffin tin with muffin liners or spray with non-stick spray.

In a small bowl (or measuring glass) whip together the oil, egg, milk and vanilla.

STEP 2

In a large bowl combine together the flour, sugar, and baking powder. Pour in half of the milk mixture and stir to combine. Then add the yogurt and blend together. Pour the last of the milk mixture and stir until combined. Don’t over stir. The mixture will be lumpy, it’s fine.

STEP 3

In a food processor or a bowl, mix together the topping ingredients until it’s sandy. I just use a fork or my fingers.

STEP 4

Fill muffin tins about 1/2 way and top each one with the topping mixture. Bake 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool a few minutes before serving.

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Need a brunch cocktail?

I can’t think of another drink that makes you think about a celebration like a margarita. We spend an unusual amount of time drinking or thinking about margaritas especially when we are in Palm Springs - which was quite often before COVID shut down our travel plans.

I used to think they were fairly complicated to make, but I think that’s because store bought margarita mix is so sweet and gross and when you get them at a restaurant, they are delish! I assumed I was doing something wrong until I figured out it was the store bought margarita mix that was all wrong. When we discovered Tommy’s Margarita Mix, our life changed. It made me realize we were over complicating things and I started a deep dive on the margarita.

As with all historied and popular beverages, the origins of the margarita are not definite. I’m so entertained by these stories. Every famous cocktails seems to have one and I can’t help but wonder if there was just a trend starting and the “original margarita” started in multiple places around the same time? If you’re curious what the stories are, they are pretty good.

One stays that the margarita was created in Galveston, Texas in 1948 for the singer Peggy Lee (Peggy being a nickname for Margaret and thus the “margarita”). The bartender created a riff on a current classic - The Daisy - using tequila instead of the gin or brandy it called for and named his “new cocktail” for her. I like this story but there’s no way it’s right. Mostly because there are rumors of the drink as early as 1937.

Here’s what I think. In the 1920’s and early 30’s prohibition was real and really reduced the amount of American booze on the market. Mexico did not have prohibition and continued making tequila through the era, which means it was readily available to bootleggers - especially those in California and Texas.

The Daisy was a popular cocktail - a shaken drink made with brandy or gin mixed with lemon juice and orange cordial. They would shake it over ice and serve it in a martini glass with sugar on the rim. If you were going to replace the gin or brandy with tequila you’d have to make a few adjustments. Tequila was commonly consumed with salt and lime, so switching the lemon for lime and the sugar for salt is a natural swap and suddenly you have a margarita.

The first published record of the margarita was in 1953 in Esquire Magazine. In that, they mix 1 ounce of tequila, a dash of triple sec, and the juice of 1/2 a lime. Then the drink is strained into a coupe glass where the edge has been rubbed with lime and dipped in salt.

In the name of research, I have spent the last few months thinking about margaritas, making margaritas and drinking margaritas. It was all so I could report to you on the best, most authentic way to consume this classic beverage. It was a tough job, but someone had to do it.

The most authentic margarita is ridiculously simple. Here’s how I make it:

Margarita

makes one drink

1 ounce blanco tequila

1 dash triple sec

juice of 1/2 a lime

lime wedges

coarse sea salt

STEP 1

Rub the ridge of one glass with the lime and dip half of the rim in salt. If you dip the whole thing, you can end up with a mouth full of salt and no one needs bloated fingers tomorrow. Fill the glass with ice and set aside.

STEP 2

In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, pour tequila, triple sec and lime. Shake aggressively for a few seconds. Strain the cocktail into the salted glass. Squeeze a lime wedge over the top and serve.

ALTERNATIVLY

I often will not fill the glass with ice in the beginning, but pour the ice the cocktail was shaken with into my glass. There’s a little melt that happens when you shake and I like to capture all of the flavors. But it’s not traditional, so you do you.

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