SWEETS & SIPS
watermelon gin punch
Nothing says summer quite like the
fresh flavors of watermelon, lemon,
and crisp, cool mint. Serves 8
½ small round seedless watermelon (about
3½ lb.), peeled and cut into large chunks
½ cup fresh lemon juice, strained
½ cup simple syrup (see directions below)
8 sprigs fresh mint; more for garnish
2 cups Hendrick’s ginWorking in batches if necessary, purée the
watermelon in a blender or food processor
and press the purée through a strainer. You’ll
need about 4 cups of juice—it’s fine if there’s
some pulp in the juice. Chill.
Put the lemon juice, simple syrup, and mint
in a 3-quart serving pitcher or a punch bowl
and mash the mint thoroughly with a muddler
or the back of a wooden spoon. Add about
4 cups of ice, the gin, and the watermelon
juice and stir.
Serve in rocks glasses over ice. Garnish
with mint sprigs.strawberries and cream semifreddo
Semifreddo means “half-cold” in Italian and refers to a chilled or half-
frozen dessert containing whipped cream or meringue. Serves 8 to 10FOR THE SEMIFREDDO
½ lb. fresh strawberries, hulled and
sliced ¼ inch thick (1½ cups)
½ cup granulated sugar
3 large egg yolks plus 1 large egg
1¾ cups heavy cream, chilled
FOR SERVING
1½ lb. fresh strawberries, hulled and
quartered (4 cups)
2 to 3 Tbs. granulated sugar
2 to 3 tsp. Grand Marnier (optional)
MAKE THE SEMIFREDDO
Line an 8½x4½-inch loaf pan with
plastic wrap. In a 2-quart saucepan over
medium heat, cook the sliced straw-
berries with ¼ cup of the sugar, stirring
occasionally, until the berries soften
and begin to break apart, 5 to 7 minutes.
Set aside.
Choose a medium stainless-steel
bowl that can rest just inside a medium
saucepan. Pour about 1 inch of water
in the saucepan and bring to a boil.
Reduce the temperature to maintain a
gentle simmer. Choose another bowl
large enough to hold the medium bowl.
Fill the large bowl with about 2 inches of
ice water; set aside. Put the egg yolks,
whole egg, and the remaining ¼ cup
sugar in the medium bowl and whisk
until well combined and pale yellow,about 2 minutes. Add the reserved
strawberry mixture and whisk to com-
bine. Set the bowl over the saucepan
without letting it touch the water and
whisk constantly until the mixture is
thick and leaves a trail when you lift the
whisk, 3 to 4 minutes. Set the bowl in
the ice water and whisk occasionally
until cool, about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a large chilled metal
mixing bowl with a hand mixer on
medium-high speed (or in a stand
mixer fitted with the whisk attachment),
beat the cream to medium peaks, 2 to
3 minutes.
Gently fold the whipped cream into
the strawberry mixture until just com-
bined. Pour the mixture into the loaf
pan, smooth the surface, cover with
plastic, and freeze for at least 6 hours
and up to overnight.
SERVE
Toss the quartered strawberries with
the sugar and Grand Marnier (if using)
to taste. Let sit until the berries release
some of their juices, 5 to 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, remove the semifreddo
from the freezer and let it sit at room
temperature for 5 to 10 minutes to soft-
en slightly. Invert onto a cutting board,
remove the plastic, and slice. Serve
topped with the quartered berries.simple syrup
In a small saucepan, mix 1 cup granu-
lated sugar with 1 cup water. Bring to
a boil over medium-high heat, stirring
until the sugar is completely dissolved.
Immediately remove from the heat
and let cool. Yields about 1½ cups.84 GRILLING 2019