I realize that these recipes would have been much better suited closer to Cinqo de Mayo, but here we are. I have no issues indulging in margaritas and chips+salsa year-round, so I’m not about to hold onto these until next year so they can be posted at an “appropriate” time.

Appropriate schmrappropriate. Let’s all just live our lives, shall we? I did actually make this cocktail for the first time over Cinqo de Mayo weekend. There’s a Cali-Mex restaurant near us that has the best (let’s use that term loosely) Mexican food round these parts, but what I really come back for over and over again is this one cocktail — the Rosarito. It’s basically just a spicy margarita, so given that I figured it couldn’t be too hard to make, I decided to recreate it. If you like a margarita, this version with a little kick might be right up your alley:

The Rosarito
makes one large or two small cocktails

• 1 hot pepper, sliced into coins
• 1/2  oz agave syrup
• 1/2 oz orange liquer
• 3 oz tequila
• 2 oz fresh-squeezed lime juice
• ice
• salt for rim (optional)

1. Optional: sprinkle salt onto a plate, rub lime wedge across the rim of your glass, then dip into salt to create salted rim.
2. Place 2-3 pepper coins into cocktail shaker with agave syrup. Muddle together with a wooden spoon or muddler (the more you muddle, the spicier it gets).
3. Add orange liquer, tequila, lime juice and ice. Shake until very cold (at least 60 shakes). Strain into glass over ice. Garnish with lime wedge and/or additional pepper coins.

Notes: I have tried this with multiple types of hot peppers now. Jalapeños worked fine but were not my favorite, flavor-wise. My preferred peppers for this are Thai red chilis (also called Bird’s eye chilis). They have a solid kick to them, so keep that in mind while you’re muddling (it doesn’t take much to make this drink spicy!) I haven’t tried habanero chilis yet because I’m not a complete masochist.

In case you’re wondering why there’s a picture of a cheese board above this recipe, it’s because I realized I don’t have a picture of my finished salsa, aside from that picture above where it is very much not the star. Oh well, you guys know what salsa looks like, right?

Chipotle Roasted Salsa
makes a large cereal-sized bowl

• 200g / 1/2(ish) lb tomatoes, quartered
• Large handful mild peppers
• 2 small to medium white onions, peeled and quartered
• 4 cloves garlic, whole, peeled
• 1-2 chipotle peppers in adobo (2 makes it spicy!)
• cilantro
• fresh lime juice

1. Preheat oven to 425°f / 220°c
2. Toss tomatoes, mild peppers, onions, and garlic in olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread onto a sheet pan and roast for 20-25 minutes, until just a little charred.
3. Add roasted veggies and their juice to a food processor fitted with a steel blade, along with chipotle peppers, and blend together. Add cilantro and pulse to combine.
4. Add lime juice and additional salt and pepper to taste.

Notes: I usually use 5-6 Roma or vine tomatoes, but any ripe tomatoes will work here. I use Padrón peppers for the mild pepper because that’s what is available here. Anaheim chiles, shishito peppers, or poblanos would all work. Bell peppers would do fine in a pinch, but don’t overdo it or your salsa will be overly sweet/mild. If you don’t have or can’t find chipotle peppers in adobo, add a few hot peppers to the mix before roasting (jalapenos, thai chilis, or habaneros if you dare) — remove ribs and seeds to lessen the heat.