How To Make A Margarita On The Rocks
May 5, 2020
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Knowing how to make an amazing margarita on the rocks is a borderline essential life skill, don’t you think? Here’s exactly what you’ll need and what to do. Catch all our cocktail recipes here.
Why You Should Trust Me
In researching this guide, I interviewed William Carty, PhD, emeritus professor of ceramic engineering and materials science at the Inamori School of Engineering at Alfred University. I also spoke at length with Jono Pandolfi, potter and owner of Jono Pandolfi Designs in New Jersey, who has created dinnerware for a long list of notable restaurants around the world . He gave me a tour of his pottery studio in Union City, New Jersey, so that I could see how dinnerware is made firsthand. The American Ceramic Society provided me with resources about ceramic production and terminology.
I also talked to experts about what they looked for in a basic dinnerware collection. Those experts included Eddie Ross, the co-founder and chief content creator of Maximalist Studios and the former design, decorating, and food editor for Better Homes & Gardens, Food Network, Martha Stewart Living, and House Beautiful Marion Hover, former tabletop decorative gifts buyer for Macys and chef Candy Argondizza, vice president of culinary and pastry arts at the International Culinary Center at the time of our interview.
To determine the durability and availability of dinnerware collections, I relied heavily on customer reviews from Amazon, Bed Bath & Beyond, Crate and Barrel, Macys, and Williams Sonoma.
But Youre Not A Food Blogger
Okay, so youre not a food blogger.
White plates are practical for everyone.
They make your food the highlight of the plate. It looks more appetizing. They go with any type of color scheme you have in mind for napkins, candles, tablecloths, or whatevers in place for your dining room or tablescape.
And they look so clean.
I love these dishes. So much so, I keep buying more pieces to add.
Recommended Reading: Campbell Soup Chicken And Rice Recipe With Broccoli
When Did White Dishes Become So Important
When I started this blog in 2010, I knew nothing about plating and shooting food photos, aside from a few years of photography classes in high school and college way before the age of amazing smartphone cameras and affordable digital options .
It didnt take long for me to realize the earthy gray-bluish plates wed gotten for our wedding in 2002 were AWFUL in photos.
And they didnt do much for the food in real life, either.
My photos were terrible, and not just at the fault of the plates, if Im honest.
**wince**
So, it was somewhat serendipitous when my co-workers gave me a holiday gift card to Williams-Sonoma in 2010.
My first thought was, How do I spend this?
Followed quickly by, I need new plates!You can read more about the gift card here.
For a food photographer , having really great accessories can make or break a photo.
Some food bloggers pull out all the stops, with little original touches of delicate silverware, special linens, backdrops you name it.
I love that. But thats not me.
Im simple. I dont like to fuss around much, nor do I have the time for it.
Give me a white plate, some natural light, a terrific angle and Im good to go.
And, because it deserves another shout-out: always use natural light whenever possible for every photo, food or otherwise.
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Remember to bring Photo ID and your Order Number. Face coverings are required for in-store pickup.
Don’t Miss: Campbells Chicken And Rice Casserole Recipes
Who This Is For
An all-white porcelain or bone china dinnerware set is classic, timeless, and versatile enough to work for any occasion. According to our experts, food always looks best on an all-white plate because the design is free of distractions. Whether youre looking for a full set of everyday dinnerware or choosing a few plates for a holiday gathering, whiteware is the best choice. If none of our picks match your style, and youd rather shop around, see our Other dinnerware sets we like section or our dinnerware buying guide for more advice.
To Our Valued Customers
We regret that due to technical challenges caused by new regulations in Europe, we can for the time being no longer accept orders from the European Union. If you reside in the UK you can continue to order from our UK websites or shop from our locations and partners. Visit West Elm at www.westelm.co.uk and Pottery Barn Kids at www.potterybarnkids.co.uk.
Matters of consumer privacy and rights are paramount to our brands and we will continue to work diligently to make our products available to you. The pace of global regulations is hard to predict, but we have the ultimate goal of being able to offer our products everywhere.
We share your disappointment and greatly appreciate your understanding. Thank you for your patronage.
Read Also: Olive Garden Lunch Soup And Salad
Our Pick: Williams Sonoma Brasserie All
Get this if: Youre partial to thicker, heavier dinnerware.
Why its great: The Williams Sonoma Brasserie All-White Dinnerware collection feels similar to durable restaurant dishes, but its still refined and not at all clunky like the plates youd use at a diner. Thanks to the heft of the pieces, you wont feel like you need to be gentle with them . The porcelain has a slightly gray hue compared with the creamy white of bone china. But in our tests we were impressed with the overall quality of this set, which had almost no visible pitting and an even glaze.
The Brasserie plates have wide, slightly angled rims that give them a classic bistro style. The soup bowls are shallow but still plenty big for a decent serving of pasta. And although the teacup and saucer are thicker and a bit larger than some we tested, theyre still more tasteful and refined than most heavy dinnerware. You can also buy mugs and cereal bowls in open-stock sets of four outside of the main place settings.
This set has been around for decadesone reviewer on the Williams Sonoma website says theyve used their set for 27 yearsso replacing pieces or growing your set shouldnt be a problem.
Another drawback to this set is that you cant buy individual pieces fully open stock. Each piece is sold only as part of a place setting or in open-stock sets of four .
Upgrade Pick: Wedgwood White 5
May be out of stock
*At the time of publishing, the price was $80.
Get this if: You like to host dinner parties and want wide-rimmed dinnerware thats made from fine bone china, but that can still withstand the rigors of daily use.
Why its great: In our tests, the Wedgwood White 5-Piece Place Setting stood out on a crowded table of dinnerware for its bright creamy hue, attractive translucency, and simple but sophisticated look. Its expensive, but youre paying for a superior-quality set that has virtually no visible flaws. Were confident that its classic design will elevate any table setting and never go out of style.
This set is made from bright and creamy bone china, and its superior quality is undeniable. It feels more refined than any of the other sets we recommend because all of the pieces are flawlessly shaped and glazed. The wide-rimmed plates have a smaller eating surface than other plates of a similar diameter, and they look like something youd see at a fine-dining restaurant. And its hard not to feel like royalty drinking from the thin, dainty teacups. If you entertain often, the saucers are handy for resting a demitasse spoon, holding a small cookie, and keeping coffee rings off your tablecloth. Note: The 5-piece place setting doesnt include bowls, but both soup and cereal bowls are sold open stock.
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Sicily Pasta Bowls Blue Set Of 4
Famed for their brilliant colours and intricate motifs, Sicilian maiolica ceramics have graced the island’s tables for more than 500 years. Our Italia…
8 1/2″ diam., 1 3/4″ high. 20-oz. cap. Made in Italy.
Use Microwavable. Freezer safe. Care Dishwasher safe.
We offer four types of delivery determined by the products in your or…
Famed for their brilliant colours and intricate motifs, Sicilian maiolica ceramics have graced the island’s tables for more than 500 years. Our Italian-made stoneware re-creates that tradition in glorious designs. Sized for generous servings of pasta, salad or soup, these bowls feature lavish detailing and hand-painted exteriors.
- Crafted of durable, glazed stoneware.
- Coordinates with other pieces in the Sicilian Dinnerware collection.
- Microwavable freezer and dishwasher safe.
- Made in Italy.
- 8 1/2″ diam., 1 3/4″ high.
- 20-oz. cap.
Please provide a street address for delivery – we cannot ship to PO Boxes.
For pricing and further details, visit our Shipping Information Page.
NOTE: Delivery is not available to all postal codes. Exclusions apply. We are unable to ship to Quebec at this time.
Sicily Pasta Bowls Set Of 4
Famed for their brilliant colours and intricate motifs, Sicilian maiolica ceramics have graced the island’s tables for more than five hundred years. O…
8 1/2″ diam., 1 3/4″ high 20-oz. cap. Made in Italy.
Use Microwavable. Freezer safe. Oven safe to 500ºF. Care Dishwasher safe.
We offer four types of delivery determined by the products in your or…
Famed for their brilliant colours and intricate motifs, Sicilian maiolica ceramics have graced the island’s tables for more than five hundred years. Our Italian-made stoneware collection re-creates that tradition in glorious designs that make every meal a festive occasion. Sized to hold generous servings of pasta, tossed salad or piping-hot soup, these bowls feature lavish detail and hand-painted edges and exteriors.
- Crafted of durable, glazed stoneware.
- Coordinates with other pieces in the Sicilian Dinnerware collection.
- Microwavable freezer, oven and dishwasher safe.
- Made in Italy.
- 8 1/2″ diam., 1 3/4″ high 20-oz. cap.
- Made in Italy.
Please provide a street address for delivery – we cannot ship to PO Boxes.
For pricing and further details, visit our Shipping Information Page.
NOTE: Delivery is not available to all postal codes. Exclusions apply. We are unable to ship to Quebec at this time.
Also Check: Red Potatoes And Lipton Onion Soup Mix
Why We Love This Recipe
A solidly constructed margarita on the rocks, well-balanced and made with top-shelf ingredients, is an institution. It’s a thing every cocktail lover should know how to make.
Just like we’ve done with the daiquiri, Americans have ruined the margarita in SO many ways over the years that it’s not even worth enumerating. But to adopt a rocks-glass-half-full mentality, that makes it all the more satisfying to get back to the basics.
How To Make A Salt Rim For A Margarita
First things first: make a good salt rim. You’ll need:
- A rocks glass
- A wedge of lime with a notch cut into the middle
- A small plate
- Kosher salt
Once you’ve gathered your materials, here’s all you need to do. You can see all the steps in action in the video that accompanies this post.
- Fit the notched lime wedge onto the rim of the glass and generously rub it all around the perimeter to wet the top of the glass.
- Pour some salt onto the plate.
- Roll the outside face of the glass into the salt so that the salt sticks to the lime juice. You don’t want to put the glass down with its top perpendicular to the plate, because if salt sticks to the inside of the rim it will fall into the drink and make the drink itself salty. Salting only the outside of the glass lets you choose when you want a little burst of salinity.
Also Check: Red Potatoes And Lipton Onion Soup Mix
The History Of The Margarita
Like most classic cocktails, the margarita has a slightly murky history. The predominant story is that Carlos “Danny” Herrera, the proprietor of a Tijuana-area restaurant called Rancho la Gloria, invented it around 1938 for an aspiring actress named Marjorie King who was allergic to all hard alcohol except tequila. She was a picky drinker, too, so he added the lime and salt to make it taste better.
I gotta say, the more experience I have as a woman sliding into middle age, the more I believe a story about a lady who’s allergic to everything but tequila and just plain likes what she likes.
How We Tested
After considering hundreds of dinnerware collections in stores and online, we settled on 30 place settings to test for our 2019 update , and invited 15 Wirecutter staff members to evaluate them in our New York City test kitchen. To prevent our testers from being influenced by brand names, we covered the manufacturers marking on the bottom of each piece.
We judged the dinnerware on its weight, size, shape, and overall design. Since the shade of whiteware varies dramatically from set to set, we also compared the hue and brightness of each in general, dinnerware that had a blue or gray hue was less appealing to our testers than pieces that were creamy or bright white. We then examined each piece under light to check for any flaws, such as uneven rims, drippy or inconsistent glaze, pitting, scratches, or crazing .
After our test panel helped narrow down the list, we took a plate from each of our top-rated sets and scratched it with a fork and knife 50 times to see if the utensils damaged the glaze or left metal marks. Finally, we refrigerated a mug or teacup from each of our picks and filled each with boiling water to see if the extreme change in temperature caused them to break. Spoiler alert: All the dinnerware remained unscathed after we performed both tests.
| Set |
Get this if: You want an inexpensive but stylish set of porcelain dinnerware with a classic design that boasts excellent quality for the price.
Recommended Reading: Lipton Soup Pot Roast Recipe
How We Picked
With thousands of patterns to choose from, shopping for a set of dinnerware can be a daunting task. Our goal was to find the best whiteware for anyone who doesnt want to search endlessly for a pattern and just wants a versatile, affordable, quality set that will last. We prioritized sets that were elegant enough for fine-china occasions like a dinner party but also sturdy and casual enough for everyday use.
Dinnerware can be made from a variety of materials, but weve limited our selection to all-white porcelain or bone china due to its aesthetic appeal, resilience, and practicality. Good dinnerware should be a neutral canvas for any meal: As chef Candy Argondizza noted, A simple white plate allows the food to make a statement so that the diners eye is drawn to the food with no distractions. Decorated sets can be exciting, but theyre also more likely to become dated with time, so we avoided those with any designs. And although we think stoneware is another great option for everyday dinnerware, it typically isnt white and varies a lot in style, so it was beyond the parameters we set for this guide. However, we hope to expand this guide in the future to include stoneware options.
