Book Club was coming up, and that meant it was a good time to try out my wicked nizza Moscow Mule cups Ruth and Michael had given me for Christmas, and, it was also a great time to try out a new version of the classic cocktail, made with brown sugar brushed, then roasted pineapple.
The original recipe, from the nice folk at Creative-Culinary.com, called for using fresh pineapple wedges and adding mint (as is usual for a Moscow Mule) – but I had sliced pineapple, and don’t care for mint, so…
All in all, a pretty terrific cocktail to serve to a crowd, and easy, too; especially if you roast the pineapple before hand, and mix up a large batch in a blender, pouring into your cups over ice and topping with good ginger beer and a slice of lime.
A note on the ginger beer: my current fave is Fever Tree, which can be found at most Targets (look in the “mixers” section).
INGREDIENTS
Pineapple:
•1 (20 oz) can pineapple slices in juice
•Brown sugar
Cocktail (for a crowd):
•1/4 cup lime juice
•1/4 cup pineapple juice
•1/2 cup vodka
•Roasted pineapple
Finishers:
•Ginger beer
•Sliced limes
Early in the day, or the day before; heat your oven to 450º and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
Arrange the pineapple slices (save the juice!) in a single layer in the pan and brush with brown sugar.
Bake in the hot oven for ten minutes, then remove, turn the pineapple slices over, brush with additional sugar, and return to the oven for ten minutes more.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. If doing this the day before, go ahead and stash the cooled roasted pineapple slices in a covered container in the fridge.
When ready to serve, place a couple of slices of the cooled roasted pineapple in a blender container.
Stir the cocktail ingredients together in a pitcher and pour over the pineapple slices in the blender container.
Pulse until well blended.
Pour the mixture over ice in a glass or – preferably, a Moscow Mule cup, add a good splash of ginger beer, a slice of lime, and, if you like, a chunk or two of the remaining roasted pineapple; though… given our Book Club, I saved those slices to make another blender batch or three.