Tequila-Soaked Watermelon Slices

It looks like watermelon, but there's a "special" ingredient.

I first saw this while flipping through Martha Stewart Living. It seemed like a cutesy idea, but I probably wouldn't have tried it if The Bitten Word guys hadn't said it was delicious.

The dinner party verdict was the slices are addictive and delicious. You can't taste the tequila at all. Whether that's good or bad is anyone's guess...

From the July 2009 Martha Stewart Living, via The Bitten Word

Eat Rating: Awesome
Difficulty: Easy.

1 medium-sized watermelon, cut into wedges (LN: I used a sugar-baby watermelon since those are sweeter. You can also use seedless)
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup tequila
1/4 cup triple sec
2 limes, cut in half
Coarse salt

Place water, sugar and booze in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook for 1 minute until sugar has completely dissolved, then remove from heat and let cool slightly.

Arrange watermelon slices in a large baking dish or cookies sheet in a single layer. (If you don't have a big enough pan, follow the steps for a single layer, then repeat) Pour the syrup over the watermelon, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour.

When ready to serve, remove watermelon slices from fridge and place on a platter. Squeeze lime juice over each slice and sprinkle with coarse salt.

Melon Lime Popsicles

Super easy summer treat.

Sorry for the long hiatus. I have a good reason.

Well, it's not exactly good, but I do have a reason. You see I bought this melon at the farmer's market for a dinner party two weeks ago.

Melon with limes.

And I had no idea what kind of melon it is. But I felt duty-bound to figure out what kind it was before blogging.

I had gone to the market two weeks ago in search of a honeydew. CCO and I were hosting dinner club and it was horribly hot outside, so I had decided on popsicles for dessert. I found this recipe from the July 2004 Gourmet, which was very simple and easy. But at the market, there were no honeydews. Plenty of watermelons, tons of cantelope, but no honeydews. One of the farmer's told me this melon would work well as a substitute, so I bought two for popsicles but forgot to ask its name.

Well, I am happy to report back that it is, in fact, a canary melon. Don't be confused by the green streaks. It's not a christmas or a crenshaw. If you can't find a canary, you can sub a honeydew, since that was the original recipe anyway. The original recipe also calls for you to make a simple syrup to add to the melon/lime. But mine was sweet enough without it, so I stuck with straight fruit.


Eat Rating: Awesome
Difficulty: Very easy. Requires popsicle or lollipop sticks, popsicle molds or ice cube tray and food processor.

Adapted from Gourmet Magazine, July 2004

1 medium-sized canary melon (or honeydew melon)
2/3 cup of freshly squeezed lime juice (about 4 limes worth)

Cut the melon in half and remove seeds. Cut off the rind and chop into chunks.

Place chunks in the food processor and pulse until the melon has liquified. Stir in lime juice. Pour mixture into popsicle mold or ice tray. If using ice trays, place immediately in freezer for about 1 hour. Remove from freezer and place sticks into each cube. Return to freezer and freeze for at least another 3 hours.

Serve within two days.