The Cool Side of Campy Frozen Drinks

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/11/magazine/the-cool-side-of-campy-frozen-drinks.html

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The frozen daiquiri, the piña colada, the frozen margarita: these drinks remind me of a certain kind of great-aunt — the one who has worn the same coral lipstick since 1959, the one whose laughter is like a wheezy rush of air, the one in the paisley caftan who had an affair with a famous bandleader back in the day. Some relatives might have cringed at the very thought of her. Others, like me, wanted to hang out with her all the time — and maybe even grow up to be her.

Most of all, these drinks remind us that drinking ought to be fun and that, to quote Diana Vreeland, a little bad taste is hearty and healthy. In the summer, I long for these drinks and their garnishes, colorful straws and paper umbrellas. This is surely why, after my air-conditioner, my second-most-cherished appliance during last month’s heat wave was my blender.

I wouldn’t say they are adequate meal substitutes, but without alcohol, these drinks are essentially — and I brace myself for the most revolting word in the English language — “smoothies.” But part of what makes them perfect for the most brutal of days is that you can liquor them up or down as much as you like.

Purists might blanch at my recipes (each of which yields two servings). After all, a great big violet slushie isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when Mexican food aficionados think of margaritas. Hemingway is not very likely to have taken his daiquiri with an abundance of frozen bananas. (The traditional piña colada recipe, despite some debate over its provenance, remains true to form here.) But I can’t resist the charms of these frozen wonders, especially since they lend themselves to endless improvising: if you don’t love blackberries, substitute your favorite berry in the frozen margarita. I tend to like drinks on the tart side, but you can adjust the lime juice or add simple syrup to sweeten things up. As I learned when I tested these recipes, not all blenders crush ice with equal gusto, so add more ice, and blend longer, to achieve the degree of slushiness you want. Just don’t drink too fast; brain freeze! And that could spoil all the fun.