Grapefruit Mojitos

Perfect Pairing:  Wooden spoon

Grapefruit mojitos are my official summer drink of 2014.  Fresh mint is muddled with fresh lime juice and a touch of sugar, then mixed with white rum, ruby red grapefruit juice and club soda.  Serve over ice and you have a ridiculously delish and refreshing summer drink.  AND, and and and, it is pink.  I love a pink drink.

I am not a fan of overly sweet drinks, so I don’t use much sugar in this recipe.  Feel free to increase the sugar if you like it sweet.  You could also replace the club soda with Fresca or Sierra Mist. 

Mint is a notoriously hearty plant, so if you are growing it this summer you probably have an excess of the fresh herb. My mom has a thriving mint plant that is always just begging to be trimmed down.  I am happy to use the harvest in a big batch of mojitos!

A few years ago when we purchased a bottle of Barcardi rum it came with a muddler.  I love this little tool, but if you don’t have one you can certainly use a wooden spoon to get the job done.

One year ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Nutella Crunch Ice Cream Cake

Two years ago on Perfecting the Pairing: Lemon Trifle

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Broiled Marmalade Grapefruit

Perfect Pairing:  A juice glass

Let’s get fancy.

Recently my mom told me about a trip she took to New Orleans about 35 years ago.  She still remembers a broiled grapefruit that was served to her.  She thought it was so elegant.  I had never heard of such a thing, but the more I thought about it, it made complete sense.  Grapefruits are great but need a little bit of sweetness added, why not brulee the heck out of it?  Crunchy sugary topping is good. 

I mixed a bit of sweet orange marmalade and a little brown sugar and spread it across the grapefruit halves.  After a few minutes under the broiler it was bubbly and beautiful.  More importantly, it tasted fantastic. 

 

I can’t wait to serve this for a brunch.  Wouldn’t it look so pretty on a brunch plate or buffet?  So you know what it is not so fancy?  Squeezing the grapefruit with your hands into a juice glass so you can enjoy every last bit of the sweetened juice.  It needs to be done because that might have been my favorite part.

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