An amuse-bouche for summer
Watermelon ... chocolate ... oh, the bliss
I spend a good portion of my later winter dreaming of summer. I’m also the “crazy guy” you might see wearing shorts and shades on a minus-30 afternoon, with an even higher wind chill factor, walking to the store to buy ice cream sandwiches, steaks and a dozen Corona, like some twisted parody of what we all want to be doing — but can’t. By now I’m sure we are all craving that insistent, permeating glorious heat of summer where swimming, relaxing and partaking in some cold treats is a welcome daily requirement for staying in the Goldilocks Zone. You could choose to let this seething need thrust you into a dank and crabby place of sullen impatience, or you could meticulously plan out every tantalizing detail of your summer like I do — including using this terrible limbo-like time to perfect some unique summertime recipes. It was four years ago (according to my Facebook memories) that I came up with a recipe for a fun adult drink that used both of my favourite summer beat-theheat treats: chocolate milkshakes and frozen watermelon. You’ve probably heard that watermelon and chocolate go surprisingly well together, with a few people swearing watermelon dusted in cocoa or drizzled in a fudge tastes phenomenal. I’m one of the few chefs that will actually get behind such a crazy notion because, well, that’s kind of my thing. As such, it wasn’t too big of a stretch to imagine frozen watermelon slices adorning a chocolate shake made with healthy and wholesome alternative ingredients, as opposed to the calorieladen processed sugar concoctions that I too am guilty of loving. I experimented — as always — and it was a process the same as any other previously described in these beloved works of mine. As such, I won’t bore you with the details again but let’s just say it didn’t take long before my experimentation took an alcoholic turn with a bottle of vodka and a YouTube video that described how to turn a watermelon boozy. In the end, I had created my first ... Bursey’s boozy watermelon chocolate shake.
BURSEY’S BOOZY WATERMELON CHOCOLATE SHAKE
1 small watermelon 1 flask of vodka 2 cups chocolate ice milk/ice cream 1 cup chocolate chips 1 litre of milk 1 tbsp honey 1 cup plain Greek yogurt 1 tsp cocoa powder Directions: Rinse whole watermelon and place the vodka flask topside down onto the top of the rind. Draw around the cap to mark a circle the same size as the cap and use a knife to cut out and remove this circle of rind. Open the vodka and carefully place the watermelon, hole side down, onto the vodka flask and press down firmly. Turn it upside down again so that gravity allows the vodka to seep into the watermelon. Wait four to five hours for the vodka to seep and cut in half; proceed to cut one half into wedges while mashing the other half inside the rind with a fork until smooth. Freeze all. Next, combine one cup of your milk and chocolate chips in a small saucepan and heat to medium. Stir often until a smooth sauce forms and remove from heat. Combine ice cream/ice milk, honey, yogurt and watermelon slush with remaining milk in a large blender and blend until smooth. Garnish with boozy watermelon slices, chocolate sauce and cocoa powder. Chill and serve. Makes three to four drinks. While watermelon and chocolate may be a bit of a sketchy combination to attempt for some, I personally urge you to give it a go. After all, there are seasoned chefs out there crazy enough to combine white chocolate with parsnips (I’m looking directly at you, Bernie Ann) and it actually turned out amazing to the point of total mental shutdown and existential frustration. Let me know how it all turned out at the email address listed below and don’t worry, next week’s recipe will be just as interesting – and weird. Bring on summer!