Hooray! Hooray! Our new couch comes today!! We have been couch-free since Saturday which means I’ve been going to bed extra early because I’m not in the mood to hang out in our freezing cold basement or sit at our dining table to work all night long. So this new couch will be welcomed with open arms. It’s suppose to come this morning which totally blows for the delivery guys because IT’S SNOWING. W.T.Actual.F Colorado? What is wrong with you? I get it, it’s Colorado. Believe me. I’ve lived here my whole life and have seen many snow storms in May. But the last snowstorm we got just a couple weeks ago, well it gave us about 2-3 feet of snow. And then just a week ago, hail literally destroyed our neighborhoods. Now snow? Again? I wish this crap weather would deter people from moving here because traffic just continues to get worse. I sat in traffic at 9:30am and then again 11:30am yesterday. What the hell is going on at that time? Where are all these people going at the same time at those times?! Hopefully to church, to pray for no snow.
So tonight, in honor of our new couch, my husband wanted to have a gluten free pasta night with ice cream that had brownie bits mixed in. Here’s the thing – my husband NEVER craves sweets. We had two cakes at our house this past weekend for Mother’s Day and he didn’t have a single bite!!! What a psycho. So when he requests a dessert, I load up and revel in the dessert situation he got us into. And then I fall in love with him all over again. Nothing better than my husband loving dessert as much as I do!
So get this. I plan out my recipes weeks ahead of time. I write them down and then sometimes they change ever so slightly as more inspiration comes or I just forget an ingredient. I had written down a jalapeño grapefruit gin & tonic and bought a milli jalapeños to make this cocktail. Then I forget I was going to use jalapeño all together. I’m dumb. I also leave the Food Network on tv all day everyday in hopes of learning new techniques and new flavor profiles. Well, I was watching one of my favorite shows with Trisha Yearwood and she made a grapefruit cocktail, but she caramelized the grapefruit in the oven first. And I thought – Trish Yearwood, I love you, and now I must caramelize my grapefruit. So thank you to her for making this cocktail even tastier! She’s the best. Along with Ree Drummond. Who cares about the other shows.
And if you don’t own a citrus juicer, I HIGHLY recommend it. If you have room for just one more appliance, this is my favorite that I’ve purchased in a while. It gets SO much more juice out than trying to juice by hand. And it’s so much faster. I seem to be making cocktails or citrus drinks more often and this has been my savior. Oh, which reminds me. A simple reminder that I do on every alcohol post before anyone gets upset – alcohol is not good for you. If your goal is to lose weight or manage your weight or sleep better or eat healthier or be happier – well, stay away from alcohol. It’s a depressant, it’s excess unneeded calories, and it’s just all around not the best thing for you. But if you’re just looking for a better option when you’re celebrating, then sure, make this kind of cocktail. But again, alcohol is not good for you and it will never be. Don’t give me the wine-antioxidants speech. That speech is for the birds.
Happy grapefruit season!
Caramelized Grapefruit Gin & Tonic
Ingredients
- 5 grapefruit, cut in half
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup maple sugar or honey* (+extra for sprinkling on the grapefruit)
- gin, I used Hendrick’s
- tonic water, I used Q Tonic Water
- grapefruit slices, for inside the drink
Instructions
- Preheat oven to broil. Place all grapefruit halves cut side up on a baking sheet and sprinkle a small amount of maple sugar on top. Place in oven to cook for 5 minutes, or until the tops of the grapefruit have become golden.
- While the grapefruit cooks, place water and maple sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat and cook until the sugar dissolves completely, about 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Using a towel to grab each grapefruit half (make sure you do not burn yourself here), place each half on a citrus juicer to remove all the juice from the grapefruit. 5 grapefruit should give you 2 cups worth of juice. Strain the liquid through a fine mesh strainer and add the juice to the simple syrup and mix to combine. Place in fridge to cool completely.
- Place crushed ice in a high ball glass, add a grapefruit slice, then a shot of gin, 2 shots of the simple syrup then top the rest off with tonic water! That’s it! Easy peasy!
Notes
*if you use coconut sugar, the drink will look much darker, just keep that in mind
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I’m a big fan of grapefruit and cocktails so this is a match made in heaven! 🙂 I was so excited when I saw this picture on Instagram and immediately came over to read it and Pin it. YES, I really appreciate the disclaimer that alochol isn’t good for you and is actually bad for you when you post alcoholic beverage recipes. There are people who do not realize this, it is a big deal….particularly if the person isn’t healthy already and struggling with health issues. Thank you!
YES!!!! I have been waiting for you to release this recipe!!! I bought grapefruits on Monday in preparation for making this, although sadly I only bought 4 thinking that would be enough. I cannot wait to make these tonight!!!! Thanks Juli!! Enjoy the new couch!!!
Girrrl, these look delicious. And I don’t even like grapefruit! Haha. I love your disclaimer, as I’m currently taking a break from alcohol myself. Can you do some mocktails?! That would be fun.
This would be delicious without the gin.
any of my drinks can be made as mocktails, just omit the alcohol! you can see all my drinks here: https://paleomg.com/category/food/drinks/
This sounds divine! Could you give more accurate measurements of grapefruit juice to simple syrup? I have a maple liqueur that I plan to use instead of simple syrup.
Hi Karen! You need 2 cups of grapefruit juice and about 1 cup of simple syrup. Since you’re not using simple syrup, I’d just add about a 1/2 cup, taste it and add from there per your taste preference. Stacy – paleOMG assistant