Melon Margarita

Thursday, April 12th, 2007

Filed Under Cocktails, Fruits, Recipes 

I am supposed to be on vacation this week. For the first time in my life I am taking a week off to stay home and relax. Usually time off from work is for travel, but once we get back from a trip, I feel so drained that I don’t feel rejuvenated like I am supposed to, that’s why I thought this would be a great idea! But so far this vacation hasn’t been going very well. I had to go in to work for a couple of hours on Tuesday and Wednesday for some important meetings. So even though I didn’t do any real work, just going through the motions of getting ready and driving to work defeats the whole purpose. I got back home today at 3:00 PM and was really mad at myself for not rescheduling these meetings, but no point in crying over spilled milk, right? So decided to get a kick start on my vacation right away, what better way to imagine yourself on a warm sunny beach than by sipping a fresh margarita! 

This margarita is made with fresh honeydew melon which gives a very nice cooling flavor to this drink. A few days ago I made a mint and ginger infused sugar syrup to use in cocktails in place of sugar. Got this idea from Emeril. You know how tough it is to get sugar to dissolve in cold cocktails? So bartenders normally make a sugar syrup by dissolving sugar in hot water that will keep for a few weeks. Emeril likes to infuse these simple syrups with basil, mint, lemon rind etc. Since we are planning to have a big party this weekend, I made a mint and ginger infused sugar syrup last week. Recipe follows.The infused sugar syrup added a slight tinge of mint taste to the margarita, but I couldn’t sense any ginger, guess I used a bit too less ginger.

Melon Margarita

Ingredients

Method

To make the melon puree, remove the skin and seeds of a fresh honeydew melon and cut into large chunks. Place in a blender and process until smooth.

Wet the rim of the margarita glass with a piece of lime and dip in coarse salt in a shallow dish to coat the edge of the glass.

Combine all the ingredients along with ice in a cocktail shaker or blender and mix well.

Strain into the prepared Margarita glass, garnish with a lime wedge.

Mint Infused Sugar Syrup

Ingredients

Method

In a saucepan, combine water and sugar and bring to a boil over medium heat while stirring occasionally. Cook till the sugar completely dissolves. 

Switch off the stove and add the mint leaves to the sauce pan.

Cover and let it stand till it completely cools down.

Strain to remove the mint leaves.  

This can be made ahead and kept in the refrigerator in a covered container for weeks.

Use this in any cocktail that calls for sugar for a kicked up taste. This can also be used in a mixed fruit salad or lemonade or any recipe you would normally add sugar to.

I added some grated ginger while boiling the water with sugar, but as I said before, couldn’t really taste the ginger in the margarita, that is why ginger is omitted from the recipe. If you get it right, let me know!

Here is a closer look at the Margarita!

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Comments

19 Responses to “Melon Margarita”

  1. Meeta on April 12th, 2007 9:16 am

    SIg, I know what you mean about taking time off. I did that for the first time a few Fridays ago and then again this Tuesday. But caught myself checking mails etc. Awful!
    But I am soooo loving this Melon Margarita baby! I’m comin’ over for a few sips and then we can really forget about work!!

  2. Asha on April 12th, 2007 1:23 pm

    BEAU-TI-FUL!! I love the cocktail glass! Cactus!!:))

  3. Richa on April 12th, 2007 2:14 pm

    hey sig,
    truly said, just the motion of getting ready & driving to work, even for 1/2 an hr feels like the whole day is gone:(
    Anyway, take it easy now, enjoy the margarita ;-)
    loved loved loved ur Suguaro cactus glass! too cute!
    the color of the drink is so inviting, cool recipe. will try ur infused sugar syrup recipe.
    thanks

  4. Mishmash ! on April 12th, 2007 2:49 pm

    Sig, I eat honeydew melon coz of its colour ;) and ur margarita is equally pretty and charming :) Enjoy ur vacation dear :)

    Shn

  5. bee on April 12th, 2007 3:12 pm

    1.5 cups tequila? that’s hard core.

  6. bee on April 12th, 2007 3:13 pm

    sorry, read it again. it’s 1/2 cup tequila. even that’s hard core.

  7. Pravs on April 12th, 2007 3:20 pm

    I already have a honeydew melon.. now i just need other ingredients :D Melon Margarita looks perfect. Must be a great drink.

  8. Gini on April 12th, 2007 3:23 pm

    You are right about vacation travels. Some of them can make you feel more tired. I can never take good pics of margaritas or any other drink. Do you use a dark background so that the glass pops out.
    Enjoy your rest.

  9. Sheela on April 12th, 2007 4:49 pm

    yumm! wish i could juast reach into my monitor and grab that glass:)

  10. HAREKRISHNAJI on April 12th, 2007 4:55 pm

    you have delicios and tasty blog

  11. musical on April 12th, 2007 5:43 pm

    Sig, enjoy the lil’ break dear :) You totally rock!

    that margarita looks GORGEOUS. really, your photographs are amazing :)

  12. Sig on April 12th, 2007 5:52 pm

    Meeta, You are right, e-mail is the other demon, once you start checking emails it somehow becomes a working day. I do that all the time too :(

    Asha, Thanks, keeping it authentic Mexican, though they might not like me adding all the melon!
    :)

    Richa , Thanks girl, The sugar syrup is good to use in any drink that you would use sugar in, if you like the minty taste. I even tried it on fresh fruit pieces, and it was great!

    Shn, The melon color is beautiful, isn’t it? I really loved the color and texture of the drink.

    Bee, that must explain my pounding headache this morning. :). It is a pretty strong drink, but very smooth. You wouldn’t realize while drinking it.

    Pravs, You need to pick some of those up tonight. ;)
    We normally have all the other ingredients in stock, except for the fresh fruits :)

    Gini , Thanks! I tried keeping the glass everywhere, and looks like the one on the bar against the dark brown wall came out the best. Drinks are so tough to photograph!

    Sheela, I hope technology advances that far one day, foodblogging will be super cool then… :)

    Harekrishnaji, Thanks!

    Musical, Thanks dear. just read your comment on the fish post too, bangalore was great, wasn’t it? My sis still lives there, so I get to visit whenever we go to India. :)

  13. musical on April 12th, 2007 7:28 pm

    Yup Sig, Bangalore was great. Lucky you :)

    I am definitely going to try the mint infused syrup in compote/fruit slush/nimbu paani…..

  14. Reena on April 13th, 2007 5:47 am

    sig, i was extremely busy for past few days and now i am in time for that margarita. pour it……. here is my glass:)).
    beautiful presentation. i have never tried that with infused sugar syrup.

  15. Sandeepa on April 13th, 2007 1:33 pm

    Ooooooooh Sig you are having a good time for sure
    The color of the drink is so refreshing

  16. sunita on April 13th, 2007 7:32 pm

    Oooh… you’re making me drool over …the drink looks amazing…

  17. Pravs on April 25th, 2007 12:57 pm

    Sig, i made this…really smooth and nice. Didn’t feel the alcohol. Put more of honeydew, skipped triple sec ( didn’t have it)…was very filling with all the honeydew :D

  18. Sig on April 25th, 2007 3:33 pm

    Pravs, thats great… glad you liked it :). Someone’s been having fun on a weekday :)

  19. Josh Cochran on May 3rd, 2008 3:28 pm

    I tried this recipe with cantaloupe and it tasted like absolute ass. I used triple sec and margaritaville tequila.

    Hi Josh, Sorry to hear that it didn’t work out for you…

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