FEBRUARY 22, 2014 – NATIONAL MARGARITA DAY – NATIONAL COOK A SWEET POTATO DAY

          NATIONAL MARGARITA DAY

February 22nd annually celebrates one of Americas favorite drinks, the Margarita.
Usually served in a salted rim glass and known to be the most common tequila-based cocktail served in the United States, the margarita is a cocktail that consists of tequila, triple sec and lime or lemon juice.   A key ingredient is the freshly squeezed lime juice.  In the United States, the most common lime is the thick-skinned Persian lime.  When margaritas are made with lemons, they have a much softer taste.

Margaritas can be served on the rocks (shaken with ice),
frozen (blended with ice),
or straight up (without ice).   

There are many different stories and myths, beginning as early as 1938, as to how and when the margarita was created.

In the December 1953 issue of Esquire magazine, the margarita cocktail was the “Drink of the Month”.  It was listed as such:

1 ounce tequila

Dash of Triple Sec

Juice of 1/2 lime or lemon

Pour over crushed ice, stir. Rub the rim of a stem glass with rind of lemon or lime, spin in salt—pour, and sip.  (Wikipedia)

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The margarita was further popularized with the 1977 release of
Jimmy Buffett’s song, “Margaritaville”.

Go and enjoy National Margarita Day!

NATIONAL MARGARITA DAY HISTORY
National Margarita Day, an “unofficial” national holiday,  is claimed to have been founded by a few dozen bartenders, so it is difficult to trace its exact origin.
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NATIONAL COOK A SWEET POTATO DAY

National Cook A Sweet Potato Day is celebrated across the United States each year on February 22nd.  The sweet potato is eaten and loved, each day, by millions of people across the nation.
Either Central America or South America is thought to be the center of origin and domestication of sweet potatoes.  It is known that in Central America, sweet potatoes were domesticated at least 5,ooo years ago.   Peruvian sweet potato remnants dating as far back as 8000 BC have been found in South America. 

The sweet potato is the state vegetable of North Carolina.

Enjoy one of the following “tried and true” sweet potato recipes:
http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/oven_baked_sweet_potato_fries/
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/louisiana-sweet-potato-pancakes/
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/sweet-potato-pecan-pie-2/
http://southernfood.about.com/od/sidedishcasseroles/r/bl90911u.htm
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/sweet-potato-pineapple-casserole/
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sweet-potato-cake-recipe.html