I was born in Kentucky

You probably didn't know that. It's true. Fort Knox, KY. So it only stands to reason that I would love two things....Bourbon and more specifically Mint Juleps. A couple of years ago my friend Lesil introduced me to a great frozen drink called a Bourbon Slush. I've been in love with them ever since and Lesil has always obliged me by having having them frozen and ready to enjoy when she knows that I'm coming.

I've never made Bourbon Slushes mainly because I'm terrified that I'll screw them up and ruin them in my mind forever. So you can imagine my excitement when I found a recipe on the Cooking Light website that was frozen and included bourbon....I knew I had to try it.

I started by chopping up a good amount of fresh mint. I love that smell....I should use fresh mint more often!

While I was chopping I was making a simple syrup with water and sugar on the stovetop. Once the sugar was good and dissolved, I added the mint to the mix and removed the pot from the heat. I let the syrup cool and become infused with the sweet mint flavor and smell.


Once the mixture was cooled I used a sieve to remove the solids from the syrup and then the concoction was ready for the good stuff. One cup of bourbon...and yes, that bottle of Knob Creek is now empty. A trip to Spec's is in my future! Anway...once the bourbon was added I poured it all into a bowl and put it to sleep in the freezer. There it spent the night getting good and frozen. This morning I pulled the bowl out of the freezer, scraped the contents with a fork and doled a bit out into a high ball glass with a wedge of lime and some mint to see the final result - YUM! And now I have a tasty cold treat that is non-dairy to enjoy while the rest of the crew has ice cream or cobbler. Something tells me that everyone else will be wanting my Mint Julep Granita!

Mint Julep Granita

from Cooking Light

Yield: 8 servings

• 3 cups water
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2/3 cup finely chopped fresh mint
• 1 cup bourbon
• 8 lime wedges
• Mint sprigs (optional)

Preparation

Combine 3 cups water and sugar in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Stir in chopped mint. Remove from heat; cool completely.

Strain sugar mixture through a sieve into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish; discard solids. Stir in bourbon. Cover and freeze 8 hours or until firm. Remove mixture from freezer; let stand 15 minutes. Scrape entire mixture with a fork until fluffy. Place about 1/2 cup granita in each of 8 small bowls or glasses; serve with 1 lime wedge. Garnish with mint sprigs, if desired.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 211 (6% from fat)

Fat: 0.0g (sat 0.0g,mono 0.0g,poly 0.0g)

Protein: 0.2g

Carbohydrate: 38g

Fiber: 0.3g

Cholesterol: 0.0mg

Iron: 0.5mg

Sodium: 2mg

Calcium: 9mg

Jaime Harder, Cooking Light, JUNE 2007