Gin & Tonic Sorbet | Friday Night Bites

At our last book club get together, we had the most amazing dessert.  We alternate between the 10 ladies in the club as to who will be the hostess (with the mostess). A couple weeks ago, Cindy opened up her lovely home to all of us to discuss our book selection – Transatlantic by Colum McCann.  The overall majority enjoyed the book and we had some lively discussion, which is a good thing. Sometimes the book doesn’t resonate with everyone and that is okay; just means the discussion is shorter.

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Cindy served an amazing cheese platter with fresh vibrant figs, distinctive crackers and an artisan garlic and herb creamy cheese.  It is always a treat for me to go to someone else’s house and be pampered by delicious food.  After a long workday, this was such a nice treat.  Along with an amazing dinner, she was giddy with delight to share her dessert.  She returned to the living room with a tray of little glasses with a white snow like dessert.  We asked her what it was and proceeded with – “taste it and give me your guesses”.  Many of us guessed lime sorbet and soon Cindy let us know that it was a Gin & Tonic.  We all broke out in laughter and delight.  Each bite was supreme.  I knew I needed to recreate and share with all of you.

In fact, I had a dinner party over the weekend and served this as a palate cleanser in between the starter course of handmade crab cakes with tomato chutney and the main event of merlot and pomegranate braised lamb shanks with couscous.  Just a quick side note, I served my Fig Crostini Trifecta as our appetizer course and sat outside since it was a perfect evening. My guests had such a big smile on their faces and not a drop of the sorbet was left. 

The recipe yields quite a bit; since a little goes a long way, I decided I would incorporate it into our Friday Night Bite repertoire. It is such a perfect little treat.  Trust me, I was not a huge gin person, but with the lime simple syrup, the gin is an afterthought. I would imagine you could substitute the gin for vodka and make a Vodka Tonic Sorbet. 

If you are part of a book club or simply just love to read, I would love to hear your suggestions for some great future reads.  In case you are curious, our current selection is Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman.  So far, so good! Smile.

Gin & Tonic Sorbet

1/2 c water

1/2 c sugar

Juice & zest of 2 limes

2 1/2 cups tonic water

1/2 cup gin (I used Sapphire + added an extra splash)

1 egg white        

Prepare the simple syrup by boiling the water and sugar in a saucepan.  Once the sugar has dissolved, remove from heat.  Add the lime zest and juice to the simple syrup and allow to cool completely.

Once cooled, add the gin & tonic water.  Strain the mixture through a sieve and then freeze mixture. After 4 hours use a fork and scrape the mixture and put it back in the freezer.  Repeat 2 more times.  Alternatively, the mixture can be placed in an ice cream maker and follow machine instructions.

Froth the egg white with a fork. Combine with the sorbet mixture.  Using either a food processor or immersion blender, pulse the mixture quickly to attain desired consistency.  Refreeze. Serve in small glasses with a slice of lime and a small spoon.