Tag Archives: grapefruit

The Pink Peppercorn Paloma

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This has been a very weird week for me.

I am not a cocktail maker.  I am not even much of a cocktail drinker, unless I am out at a bar that obviously doesn’t have an interesting wine list.  And even then, I hardly ever order those funky specialty cocktails.  Well, unless it is a bar known for their specialty cocktails…

You get the point.  I don’t usually drink cocktails.  I’m a wine drinker.

But with the crazy heat wave that overcame Los Angeles this weekend, I wanted something cold and fruity and refreshing.  So cocktails it was!  If you follow me on Instagram, you saw that I was hanging out with my friends who also like cocktails, and there wasn’t a vodka soda in sight.  No, no, no.  We did the heatwave cocktails up right.

So today, in honor of Cinco de Mayo, I thought I’d share a classic Mexican cocktail (other than the margarita!) with you.  Something that doesn’t require a whole lot of limes, since they are so darn expensive right now.  Something that helped me use up the rest of my leftover grapefruit juice.

A Pink Peppercorn Paloma!

Pink Peppercorn Paloma

The “Paloma” – meaning dove in Spanish – I can only assume got it’s name from being a majestic flash of relief from the heat.  The Paloma is actually the national drink of Mexico, not the Margarita, so whip up a few of these tonight and impress your friends! Continue reading →

Grapefruit Mint Julep

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It is summer in Santa Monica.

I don’t know how it happened, but we kind of skipped spring and went straight for the dog days.  And I’ve quickly realized that I’ve become so accustomed to the 70 degree and sunny norm that I have almost nothing to wear on days when its 95.

Not that I want to wear anything at all.  I’d be happy sitting in my underwear on our stoop with a iced down cocktail in my hand.

Which brings me to today’s cocktail recipe…

Tomorrow is the 140th Anniversary of the Kentucky Derby.  This means very little to me, except I know there are horses, hats and bourbon cocktails involved.  I grew up outside of Baltimore, where one of the other three horse races of the Triple Crown is held – Preakness – and one summer I went.  We didn’t wear hats, I think we were drinking Natty Lite (?!), and I can’t even tell you if I actually saw a horse.

Obviously we were doing it very, very wrong.

I still have never gotten into the “greatest two minutes in sports”, but I very much enjoy big hats and I also really enjoy fancy bourbon cocktails.  So to cool me down for the weekend, mint juleps it is, Kentucky!

I muddled the mint with the sugar. I cursed myself for not having crushed ice. I used the last of the true Kentucky Bourbon from my bar.

grapefruit mint julep recipe Continue reading →

Candied Grapefruit Peel

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Candied Grapefruit PeelLast week at the market, I wore my grapefruit shirt.  Therefore, I bought grapefruits.  Of course.

Not only was it a no-brainer to buy the fruit that I was advertising on my shirt, but I had been craving candied grapefruit peels ever since I had a greyhound a few weeks ago adorned with a little slice of the sugared candy.  The actual greyhound was kind of mediocre, but that candy!  The bartender ended up giving me a few extra pieces because I was raving so wildly about how much I loved it.

So this week I broke out the peeler and got to candying.

Candied Grapefruit Peel Candied Grapefruit PeelFor some reason, I thought the naked grapefruits were really entertaining.  It’s kind of weird how many pictures I took of them.  And posted to Twitter about them…Candied Grapefruit PeelAnyway, enough with the grapefruit porn.

I found a couple of different recipes and took the best of the feedback from both of them to come up with my method.  I wanted them to be sugary sweet, but to still have the bitterness that I love. Continue reading →