Cherry Limeade-rita

I'm not going to try to hide it. I enjoy tequila, and I especially like the combination of lime juice and tequila, better known as a margarita. I've tried various ready to drink mixes, and order one on occasion when we go out (the most recent experience resulted in a *clear* margarita, and was about 90% tequila...), but I have yet to find one that rivals my own!

I'm always looking for a new twist to something old, and while making tequila lime chicken tacos, I saw a jar of cherries in the fridge. Wheels: start turnin'!

3oz sour mix
1 lime, juiced, save one empty half
1/2oz maraschino cherry juice
1/2oz Cointreau
1-2oz tequila
1Tbsp granulated sugar

Select your glass, and rub the empty rind around the edge of the glass. Pour the sugar in a ring in a flat plate, then dip the wet edge of the glass into the sugar until well coated. If you wish, zest the lime into the sugar prior to coating the glass. In a bar shaker, combine ice, sour mix, Cointreau, and tequila, and shake to combine well. Add ice to your glass, then nearly fill it with the margarita. Pour in the cherry juice, which will mostly settle to the bottom, and serve! Stir before drinking of course. Hope you enjoy!

Arctic Char with sautéed White Swiss Chard and Mashed Potatoes

It's always fun to try new things, and even more so when you've never cooked the item before! Enter Arctic Char. Publix had several beautiful fillets recently, so I grabbed a couple!

Fish
2 6-8 oz fillets Arctic char
1 Tbsp shallots, minced
1 tsp fresh dill
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 lemon, juiced
2 Tbsp white wine
2 Tbsp flour
1 1/2 cups cream, or more if you prefer it to be more thin
Salt and pepper to taste

Potatoes
2 Lbs potatoes, quartered and boiled
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
3 Tbsp milk or cream
4 cloves garlic, roasted (peel garlic, place on foil, drizzle with olive oil, enclose in foil, bake at 350 until soft)
Salt and pepper to taste

Chard
1 bunch white Swiss chard, chopped to bite size chunks
1 clove garlic, sliced very thin
1 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Start by checking the fish for loose scales, bones, or any bits from the butchering. I steamed the fish in my new favorite bamboo steamer, but frankly and way you prefer to prepare it here is fine, short of drowning it in seasoning. To prepare the sauce, melt the butter in a sauce pan over medium low heat. Once melted, whisk in the flour and cook for a minute or two. Stir in the cream. Once thickened, add the lemon juice, dill, shallots, and wine, and combine well. Add more cream if you feel the sauce is still too thick. Allow to simmer for a few more minutes, taking care not to allow it to burn.

Meanwhile, place the boiled potatoes in a large bowl. Add the cream, butter, salt, pepper, and roasted garlic, then mash well with a potato masher. Don't over mash though, or they will become paste-like. No one likes pasty potatoes! Cover, and set aside.

The chard takes a short time. Start by heating the olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook very briefly to warm them, then add the chard. Toss often and cook until wilted and soft.

To plate, start with a bed of the Swiss chard, and place a fillet on top. Top with a helping of the wine sauce. Add a serving of potatoes (several options: piped, scooped, plopped... Piped looks prettiest.), and serve! Hope you enjoy!