Pineapple Mojitos

It’s Thursday – and I LOVE Thursday – it’s like Christmas eve in a way, because the next day is FRIDAY, by far the best day of the week!  It’s the only day where you know that the next 2 days are yours free and clear (well hopefully they are anyway).

In college, Thursday was the start of the weekend (well, for some Monday was) but for most, it was a great excuse to head out for a pre-weekend bevvie – or two – or ten.  And so now even though I’m years away from college, I still get nostalgic every now and again and think “hey, just because I was in college so long ago that Facebook wasn’t even invented yet, I can still have Thirsty Thursday too!”.

So I know – our first post and I’m flying solo – but Dave has a hockey game tonight at some ungodly hour of the night, and refuses to have a drop of booze before his games, so I am going to take one for the team and tackle this first recipe on my own – I mean it’s tough, but for the love of our new blog 🙂

Anyone from Boston, I’m not sure you know of Orinocco in Brookline – I never considered myself to be much of a Latin food lover, but their dishes are interesting and simple enough that you’re not picking things out of it to make it taste like something you would normally eat.  More importantly, their mixed drinks are TDF! (that’s To Die For – will be using often hopefully)  I’ve been there twice and the Pineapple Mojito is on another level – so much so that I don’t mind sucking up mint leaves (which I sometimes get icke’d out by with regular mojitos) and pineapples are one of my most favorite fruits – so the marriage of the 2 is just beyond…

So tonight, on Thirsty Thursday, I’m doin’ it – I’m going to try to recreate this amazing drink that I have in my head too many times to be called normal, and while I’m anticipating that it won’t be quite as delish as it is having a handsome Latin bartender make it, I’m hoping maybe it will be a close second.

After doing some research, I’ve modified a recipe that I think will do the trick:

The Players

INGREDIENTS

6 or so 1-inch pineapple chunks
(you could use canned – but I’m fresh – so I like things fresh 🙂 also saves a few calories since canned usually has more sugar in it)

6-8 Mint Leaves
(I like to chop mine a bit, so they’re not so leafy)

2 oz Simple Syrup
(to save on calories, I bascially took 1 packet of splenda and dissolved it into 2 tbsp of water -equal parts)

Juice of 1 lime

3 oz. rum (2 shots)
(you could use pineapple flavored rum if you really want to do it up – I used plain though)

Splash of pineapple juice
(I used the Goya brand)

Splash of Polar Diet Orange Dry
(again, trying to save a bit on calories – you could probably use orange juice too!)

1) Muddle together pineapple chunks (which I threw in the food processor to make a little smaller, but it’s not absolutely necessary) and mint leaves.

You’ve been muddled

2)  Add simple syrup, lime juice and rum and shake together to mix.

3) Pour mixture over ice in a glass and then top off with a splash of pineapple juice and a splash of Polar Diet Orange dry (again, used to save calories – you could use Fanta orange soda if you want a little ‘fizz’ or just straight up orange juice)

Research is tough

 My very own pineapple mojito – maybe not quite the same as Orinocco’s, but mine was still delicious and refreshing and not too too bad for you if you weigh out the ingredients and their nutritional value (really the only source of calories coming from the pineapple juice and the rum).

So cheers to thirsty thursday and even more importantly – to FRIDAY!