Friday, April 16, 2010

GINGER SNAP


I had my first Ginger Mint Mojito last month while on vacation in Palm Beach.  A variation of the classic Cuban Mojito, it was by far, the most delicious drink I had ever had.  The cocktail is made with a mixture of muddled mint, ginger, lime juice and light rum; the taste is sweet and complex and wonderfully addictive. Perfect for a spring evening,  I strongly recommend you try one this weekend.

Ginger Mint Mojito
(makes one)

10 mint leaves
1/2 teaspoon minced ginger
1/2 teaspoon raw sugar
1 ounce sparkling water
1 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
2 ounces of light or white rum
1/2 ounce lime-ginger syrup
lime wedges and mint to garnish
Place the mint and the ginger in a low ball glass along with the sugar.  Muddle the ingredients together to form a thick paste.
Add the carbonated water and combine.  Add the lime juice, rum and syrup and combine.  Add ice cubes to fill the glass and garnish with mint and lime.


Lime-Ginger Syrup
1 cup fresh squeezed lime juice
1 cup raw sugar
1/3 pound of ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
In a small sauce pan, bring the lime juice to a boil.  Add the raw sugar and ginger and cook for 2 minutes.  Transfer to a blender and puree.  Put pureed mixture through a sieve and refrigerate. Keeps for one week in the refrigerator.
-recipe and photo from food and love blog

Here's the next best thing


Fresh Mint and Ginger Lemonade
1/2 cup fresh chopped mint leaves
1/3 cup fresh chopped ginger
1/3 cup honey
2 cups of boiling water
1/3 cup of fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 cups of cold water

ice cubes
fresh mint
fresh lemon slices
Combine chopped mint, ginger and honey in a bowl. Add boiling water and let steep for 30 minutes. Strain into 4-cup glass measuring cup, pressing on solids to extract liquids. Add lemon juice and enough cold water to measure four cups total. Can be prepared one day ahead.
Fill glass with ice, add tea and garnish with lemon and fresh mint. 
-recipe from Epicurious

Have a lovely weekend-I'll see you soon!

11 comments:

Mary Ann said...

this sure looks refreshing...gotta try it. have a great weekend! maryann

Molly said...

These drink combinations look great... a reason to have some girlfriends over and try them out. Thanks Molly

Unknown said...

Oh, I only had the regular mojito..how on earth did I miss this? It looks sooo good!

Punctuation Mark said...

that's delicious!!! great for a weekend under the sun... unfortunately this will be a cloudy weekend in SoFla... have a nice one!

HAMPTON HOSTESS said...

PM, Maryann and Molly-- They are delicious rain or shine-have a great weekend!
Sue-they were serving these at the Omphoy and now I'm hooked!

Coryanne Ettiene | Kitchen Living with Coryanne said...

As luck would have it, I found you via your 'like' on my Housewife Bliss fan page, and so happy I followed you here. My cocktail of the summer is the Mojito, always delish, always fresh...but I had never thought of ginger. I have made a note of this, might just give it a twirl this evening. Now following, looking forward to reading more.

Marija said...

Love a mojito. I will totally try this - it looks totally tasty!

Marija

FrenchGardenHouse said...

I love these! I made this same drink without the mint for Easter, it's so refreshing. Next time, I'll add the mint. :) Lidy

Gwen Driscoll said...

Love specialty drinks! These all look delicious. Thank you so much for your kind remarks on RHS. I really, really appreciate it. Just love your blog and I'm always waiting for another great post.

Have a great week.

G

Kerry said...

Thanks for these recipes. The only time I tried to make mojitos it was an absolute disaster!! You may have just convinced me to try again!

The Shiny Pebble said...

The mojito sounds delectable. In Brazil we have caipirinha... similar to a classic mojito, but using alcohol made from sugar cane.