Mixology Monday -- Food and Cocktail Pairings

First things first -- thanks to Natalie at The Liquid Muse for hosting MxMo this time around, and also to Paul at Cocktail Chronicles for getting me started on my first MxMo post. Cooking is every bit as satisfying to me as mixing drinks, so I was delighted with the theme of pairing food with cocktails.

I chose the meal, rather than the cocktail, as the starting point. Here in Northern Virginia, the weather was perfectly sunny and mild -- grilling was definitely in order. At the grocery store, a new shipment of beef had just arrived, and because the steaks were so beautiful and well-priced, the choice of meat was another no-brainer. The steaks needed a robust sauce, so I came up with a spicy spin an a sauce chausseur. The final menu: grilled strip steaks atop a jalapeno mushroom sauce, grilled corn on the cob and red-skinned potatoes grilled in packets with Vidalia onion, salt, pepper and olive oil. (The sauce recipe is on my new food blog, The Biased Cut -- still a work in process.)

Now the drink needed to stand up to the steak and its unctuous jalapeno sauce. Tequila's bold southwestern flavor was a good fit. I concocted a small, simple cocktail based on a margarita, featuring premium tequila and Grand Marnier to add layers of flavor. The drink was cool and citrusy, a great counterpoint to the rich, warm flavors on the plate. I also served a tall glass of ice water.

Mini Rita

1 1/2 oz premium tequila
1/2 oz Grand Marnier
Juice of 1/2 lime

Shake ingredients together with ice and strain into a small glass rimmed with salt.