Savoring Summer

Summer is definitely here in NYC, and yesterday I was lucky enough to be invited to a delicious backyard BBQ at Tom & Jen's. They are quite the hosts, and had more food than we could possibly eat, but oh my, did we try!

Tom started us out with his fresh-baked boule, which had Herbes de Provence in it and was delicious all on its own. Isn't that a gorgeous sight??

My contribution was to make the mojitos. First Jen & I went into the backyard garden and harvested fresh handfuls of mint--what an amazing smell.

Mojitos can be labor-intensive if you make them one by one, so I opted to make a big bowl o' mojitos.

It's pretty simple--equal parts white rum & seltzer water, and 1 cup of sugar per liter of rum. I use powdered sugar, since it melts better than granulated. I don't like my mojitos too sweet--just sweet enough. Use granulated sugar, though, to gently muddle the mint leaves, which you let simmer in the bowl for about 30 minutes before serving. We sugared the rims of the cups for an extra bit of sweetness.

I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story--Tom's delicious cherry rickey, watermelon salad with feta and basil, grilled chicken sausage with feta, quinoa salad with cucumbers, almonds & dried cranberries, kielbasa, quail, chicken skewers marinated in lemongrass and tamarind, succulent grilled salmon...just so much more than we could ever possibly eat. I hope you are having a relaxing Memorial Day weekend, full of delicious food, wonderful company, and good times all around.

Hope your summer is off to a delicious start!!

Tweet