Oh hello, summer.

We had friends over for dinner a few weeks ago.  I'm not sure why this is such a rare occurrence.  No matter where we lived growing up, my parents belonged to a dinner club...my favorite was called "Grub Club." Our house was frequently filled with people, or were heading somewhere, to share a meal.  I'm convinced this is because it was in the days BEFORE Martha Stewart Living and Pinterest.

{Don't get me wrong, I love me some Martha and have spent approximately 192,000 hours of my life on Pinterest.}

OK...so, back to us actually having friends over.  I did not take pictures of the food.  Except for this one of margarita making in progress with my phone:

It looks really pretty on my phone, not so much on the computer.  I thought about waiting to post this recipe until I had "real" pictures, but then thought...you NEED margaritas.  Like, pronto!  There is no waiting.  It's summer!!!

Make-Ahead Margaritas for a Crowd

{serves 8-10}

2 cups water
2 cups sugar
2 cups freshly squeezed lime juice (approximately 74 limes, ha!)
2 cups tequila (100% agave)
1 cup Cointreau

sugar-salt rim:
1 TBSP granulated sugar
1 TBSP kosher salt
zest of one lime (preferably grated with a microplane)
lime wedges

Heat the water and sugar together in a small saucepan until the sugar has completely dissolved.  Set aside to cool.

In a large pitcher, combine the cooled sugar syrup, lime juice, tequila, and Cointreau.  Stir well.  Refrigerate.

Make the sugar-salt rim.  On a small plate, stir together the sugar, salt, and lime zest.

To make the margaritas, run a lime wedge along the edge of a glass.  Dip the glass into the sugar-salt mixture.  Fill the glass with ice.  Stir the margarita mix and pour over ice.

{recipe adapted from Martha Stewart & Food Network}


PS. You may want to double this recipe...we ran out!  
That's the sign of a good dinner party (not poor planning on my part), right?!?