Thursday, July 9, 2009

Watermelon Nectar with Lime Salt


Tyler Florence has so many great recipes for mixed drinks. In his new cookbook, Dinner at My Place, he has a whole chapter devoted to them. This recipe for watermelon nectar with lime salt caught my eye when I first received the book. It looks like the perfect mixed drink for summer, doesn't it?
Well, I finally found a small seedless watermelon at the grocery store. All I needed was the white tequila. Since we live in a dry county, I hardly ever get to the liquor store. I decided that I really needed a drink, so I piled the kids into the mini van and we went for a drive. I went through the drive-thru at the liquor store and bought some Jose Cuervo. The best part of it all was that my kids thought it was McDonald's or something. My two-year old was in the back seat screaming for french fries and my eight-year old was asking "Hey, where's my drink?". The guys inside the store were cracking up and I was too!! The whole thing just made my day.
Lime Salt:
2 tablespoons sea salt
zest of 1 lime
Drink:
1 small seedless watermelon
4 ounces white tequila *I bought Jose Cuervo*
2 ounces Simple Syrup
Splash of lime juice
1 lime, cut into wedges, for garnish
To prepare Lime Salt, using a mortar and pestle, combine salt and lime zest until the salt tkes on a bright green color. Set aside.
To prepare watermelon nectar, cut up watermelon flesh and place in a strainer lined with a clean kitchen towel over a bowl. Gather the corners of the towel and squeeze tightly to extract watermelon nectar. Measure 8 ounces; reserve remaining nectar for another use. Combine watermelon nectar, tequila, Simple Syrup, and lime juice in a cocktail shaker. Shake and pour drink through a strainer over ice in glasses. Garnish with lime wedges and Lime Salt.
Simple Syrup- combine 1 part water and 1 part sugar in a saucepan. Bring to boiling over medium heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved(syrup is done when the mixture is clear and the surface is covered in bubbles). Remove from heat; cool in refrigerator until ready to use.
Serves 2-4
Time 8 minutes
Notes: You only need about 1/4 of a small seedless watermelon to get 8 ounces of nectar/juice.
I forgot to make the simple syrup ahead of time and then had to chill it in the freezer to try and rapidly cool it down. Next time, I would make the simple syrup well ahead of time. I only used 2 ounces of tequila to 8 ounces of watermelon nectar and 2 ounces of simple syrup. The drink was still REALLY STRONG. I can't imagine how strong the drink would be if you were to add the 4 ounces of white tequila that Tyler calls for in the recipe. The drink is beautiful, refreshing, and crisp. If you enjoy a strong drink, make this one!! Or, try it without the tequila. I think that would be great too!!
I am submitting this post to Tyler Florence Fridays. Click here to check out what everyone else is making this week.

10 comments:

  1. Tyler surely makes some damn nice cOcktails does he not??

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  2. Great story, Kim! I just got a peak of your oreo cake...gotta go check it out.

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  3. That looks like the perfect summer cocktail. Who knew there were dry counties in this day and age? ;-)

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  4. I love watermelon and this looks so cold and refreshing--yum!

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  5. Too funny! This sounds just like my watermelon margaritas...hmmmm...great minds think alike ;)

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  6. Ha ha ha ha - love the story about a drive thru liquour store. That's awesome!

    Great looking drink!

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  7. Hehe a drive thru liquor store would probably get the same reaction from my kids (we don't have those here.) What a great story.

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  8. I didn't know there were such a thing as dry counties OR drive through liquor stores...I guess you learn something new every day! This DOES sound like a great summer drink.

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  9. Wouldn't a good mom have gotten "drinks" for her kids? lol

    The watermelon cooler looks like what we need with the hot weather.

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