Is it me, or does this summer break seem waaaay shorter than others in the past? Maybe it only feels that way because I’m getting older, or maybe it feels that way because I’m watching my “babies” getting older. Either way, I would really love it if someone would invent a “pause” button so that I could enjoy these lazy days of summer with the family a little longer.
One of the (many) things I love about summer, is that we are on less of a schedule…to include dinner time. I don’t mind that it takes a little longer to round everyone to the table, because we don’t have to be showered with teeth brushed and in bed in “10 MORE MINUTES” so that they’re not exhausted (or grumpy) the next day. There isn’t a pile of homework that needs to get done, or a school project that is due this week, or a game or practice that we have to run off to. Nope, it’s family and friend time and it’s a little more leisurely, and I must say – I LOVE IT!
I also love that it means I get to take a little more time to make a tasty cocktail to cool down the reeediculous heat that we’ve been having. If you’re tired of the ‘same ol’ same ol’ summer cocktail, give this Paloma a try. It’s a little sweet (don’t worry, not too sweet), a little tart, and his a little (or a lotta) kick to it, depending on how heavy your “pour” is. I have a sneaky suspicion that this will be your go to cocktail when the temperature heats up. If you love grapefruit, you might want to go ahead a make a double batch. Yep…it’s that good! So while we still have a couple of weeks of summer left, take a few extra minutes and try this Paloma…sip, ahhhhh…now enjoy that family of yours!
Cheers!!!
Let’s get those ingredients ready…and there only 6 and one is OPTIONAL! Granulated Sugar, Grapefruit Juice, a good quality “silver” tequila, fresh limes and a grapefruit. Club soda is optional, for those of you who like a little fizz in your cocktail.
First we want to make a simple syrup to sweeten the drink. It’s just equal parts of water and granulated sugar, bring it to a LOW simmer, and stir a few times to help melt the sugar. Once it’s all incorporated, take off the heat and let it cool while you get the rest of your ingredients ready. It will be clear, like a syrupy water.
The original recipe called for “freshly squeezed grapefruit juice”. Ummmm, nope. Simply Grapefruit juice for me! It’s delicious, and I don’t have to break out my juicer…and bonus, I have more of it…for more cocktails, err, I mean glass of juice ;p
You do want some grapefruit segments, so to do this, just cut off the top and bottom, and using a pairing knife (and the white pith as your guide), start at the top, and cut down to the bottom, removing the peel and pith with it.
Once peeled, you want to cut in-between the membranes. One shallowish cut on either inside of the line (following the diagonal of the segment) will give you perfect segments.
Place all of the pretty little segments into a small bowl, and try not to eat all of them while you make the rest of the drink ☺
Don’t throw out the grapefruit just yet! Squeeze out all of the juice onto a shallow dish so that you can rim your glasses with sugar in just a bit.
Squeeze the juice of two limes and set aside.
Sprinkle some of the granulated sugar onto a shallow dish and set aside. If you want to be SUPER fancy, you could zest the grapefruit on the microplane, add it to the sugar and have grapefruit scented sugar rimmed glasses. That’s a little too many steps for this Clark on a random Thursday night, but by all means, go for it!!!
For the sugar rimmed glasses, just dip your glasses into the juice, letting the excess drip off.
Then dip the glass into the sugar, making sure you go around the entire circumference of the glass. Set aside, or pop in the freezer until you’re ready to fill the glasses.
To make the cocktail, fill a shaker with ice…grapefruit juice…
Freshly squeezed lime juice….
Tequila…
Simple syrup…..
Then put the top on, and shake like CRAZY for at least 30 solid seconds! Then, pop the top off and pour into the prepared glasses!!!
For those of you who like a little fizz in your cocktail, just top with a little club soda. I liked mine as is (sans tequila diluting club soda ;o) but for those of you who like a little fizz in your drink, definitely give it a try.
Add a few of the segments in the drink, and one as garnish… VIOLA! The perfect (leisurely) summer cool-down cocktail. Enjoy!
Paloma Cocktail
2 servings
– ½ C Grapefruit Juice (I like the all natural Simply Grapefruit brand)
– ¼ C freshly squeezed lime juice (about 2 good sized limes)
– ½ C high quality silver tequila, like silver Patron
– 3 TBS * Simple Syrup (If you’re using a sweetened grapefruit juice, you might want to adjust the amount of simple syrup. The kind I use is unsweetened, so I used all 3 TBS)
– 1 grapefruit, cut into segments
– Club Soda ***OPTIONAL
* Simple Syrup ¼ C granulated sugar, ¼ C water bring to simmer until melted, let cool
