My sister, Rebecca (who also blogs here), will be taking the reigns on Fridays for a while and I am SO excited about it! Armed with her trusty iPhone and lots of Happy Hour experience, I know she will be bringing some great stuff to Set the Table! This spiked lemonade is perfect for summer, which officially starts tomorrow.
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It's been stormy in the Midwest this week. In Minneapolis, the Mississippi is getting a little too mighty. Minnehaha Creek is rolling up and up and up into the backyards of South Minneapolis and strong winds have knocked down trees and caused power outages almost every other day.
We've heard the power is out at home. I'm in Chicago for a few days though and here, the power is definitely ON.
Generally, I don't mind when the power goes out for a little while. It's not like we live in a loud place (we're basically in the country). Still, there is the tug of the iPhone, the hum of the appliances, and the lure of the television. But when the power goes out? Quiet. Quiet like you never knew it was so loud in the first place. Nothing beeps or blinks or hums and time stretches out like taffy. It's a mini wake up call.
This weeks cocktail is a version of lemonade that will make you rethink how you make lemonade forever. I promise.
The ingredients are the same but instead of juicing the lemons, you use the entire fruit. The lemons are chopped and puréed and the sugar is added through a filtering process that is a little labor intensive but ultimately makes a beautiful, soft, smooth, and almost 'milky' drink.
I stored the leftovers in a pitcher in the refrigerator for a few days and it kept perfectly - just the thing for a summer party.
Spiked Lemonade
Yield: Makes about 5 cocktails
This intensely lemony spiked lemonade is perfect to make for summer parties. The recipe has been barely adapted from The Guardian (here) and the amounts have been halved. Double it for a large group. The lemonade keeps well in the refrigerator if you'd like to make it ahead of time.
Ingredients
- 4 unwaxed organic lemons, cut into small pieces (see photo above)
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 cup gin
- Fresh sage leaves for garnish
Instructions
- In a blender or food processor, pulse the lemons and 2 tablespoons sugar until pureed.
- Pour the puree into a strainer set over a pitcher and let the liquid run through.
- Transfer the remaining pulp back to the blender and add another 2 tablespoons of sugar along with the water. Pulse a few times and strain again.
- Repeat this process until the you have used all the sugar.
- Throw the remaining pulp away. Add the gin to the pitcher and stir to combine.
- Pour into ice filled glasses and garnish with a fresh sage leaf.