Horchata for Cinco de Mayo

My goodness, where has the time gone? It's been far too long since my last post. I just returned from another amazing trip to New York City. Somehow the stars have aligned and allowed me to visit my favorite city three times in the last six months. I will never ever get tired of that city. Ever. I can't wait to tell you about my visit (and talk about Newsies on Broadway, oh, such talent). But for now, let's chat Cinco de Mayo.

We've always celebrated this holiday at our home. Who doesn't love great Mexican food and an awesome party? This year we don't have any set plans but we will be enjoying some awesome Mexican flavors in our cooking.  I've been playing catch-up at work and home ever since I returned so I only had plans to share some of my favorite Mexican recipes like dulce de leche duo cookies and grilled corn on the cob with garlic butter, fresh lime and Cojita cheese. Just links, nothing more.

Then my husband told me he and his coworkers were having a little Cinco de Mayo party and he was going to make David Lebovitz's Horchata. Score! I had fresh content for today and didn't have to do any of the work. Thanks, Adam. I've always enjoyed this refreshing Mexican rice drink. The cinnamon is a must for me and ice cubes, well I like to go quite liberal on them. It's warm outside, after all. Funny enough, I forgot to put ice cubes in my photos. Oh well.

Happy Cinco de Mayo, friends. What will you be making, baking or buying this weekend?  

(If you live in Utah and don't feel like making anything yourself...head over to Cafe Rio for a Pork Salad, buy the Frida cookie (fresh or frozen) at Ruby Snap or buy a 5-gallon bucket of chips and 64 oz. of salsa from Los Hermanos. Those are all things we love to do at our house when we aren't quite up to the homemade task.)  

Horchata
About 6 cups (1.5l)
from David Lebovitz Adapted from Paletas (Ten Speed) by Fany Gerson



2/3 cup (120g) white rice (see Note)
3 cups warm water
One 2-inch (5cm) cinnamon stick
3/4 to 1 cup (150g-200g) sugar
2 cups (500ml) rice milk or regular milk (I like both, and when we use regular milk, we use whole)
Ground cinnamon, for serving


1. In a blender, grind the rice so it is in fine pieces, roughly the consistency of very coarse polenta. (If your blender won’t go that fine, that’s okay and just break up the rice as much as possible.)
2. Transfer the rice to a bowl then pour warm water over it and add the cinnamon stick. Cover and refrigerate at least eight hours, but preferably overnight.
3. Pluck out the cinnamon stick then puree the rice and water until it’s as smooth as possible. Strain the mixture through a sieve lined with a few layers of cheesecloth, squeezing it relatively firmly to extract as much of the rice flavor as possible.
4. Stir in the sugar and milk, mixing until the sugar is dissolved. Taste, and adjust sweetness, if necessary. Refrigerate until completely chilled.


Serving: Serve over ice with a sprinkling of ground cinnamon on top.
Storage: Store the horchata in the refrigerator for up to four days.