Watermelon Vodka Soda Floats Food

CARAMEL FLOATS

Steps:

• Bring 1 cup sugar and 2 teaspoons lemon juice to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Continue to cook, swirling the pan but not stirring, until amber. Remove from the heat and carefully stir in 3/4 cup heavy cream and 2 tablespoons bourbon. Return to the heat and whisk until smooth; swirl in 2 tablespoons butter. Put 2 scoops vanilla ice cream in each glass and fill with root beer; drizzle with the caramel sauce.

WATERMELON VODKA

Steps:

• Simply cut a hole in the top of the melon, wide and deep enough to insert a funnel. Pour some of your chosen alcohol into the melon through the funnel, leave to sit for a day and pour in some more. The flesh will absorb the liquid, so pour in some more the next day--basically until it becomes saturated. When ready to serve, slice up into nice big pieces and get all your mates plastered on it!;

LAVENDER-PINK PEPPERCORN VODKA SODAS

Steps:

• Combine the sugar, lavender, peppercorns and 1 cup water in a small saucepan. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise, scrape out the seeds with the back of a paring knife and add them to the saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring to submerge the lavender. Cook until the sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes. Turn off the heat, and let the syrup steep for 10 minutes. Pour the lavender syrup through cheesecloth placed over a fine-mesh strainer, and refrigerate the syrup until completely cooled.
• Fill 4 Collins glasses with ice. Add 2 to 3 ounces of vodka and 1 ounce of the lavender syrup into each glass, and top off with club soda. Crush some peppercorns on a cutting board with the back of a knife. Stir the cocktail with a long spoon, and garnish with lavender, lemon wedges and crushed peppercorns.

WATERMELON VODKA SLUSH

Steps:

• In a food processor, puree the watermelon flesh. Pour the pureed watermelon into empty ice cube trays and freeze for at least 4 hours. In a blender combine the frozen watermelon cubes, simple syrup to taste, lemon juice and vodka and blend until smooth. Pour into 4 frozen martini glasses and garnish with a lemon twist.;

WATERMELON VODKA JELLY SHOTS

Steps:

• First, use a serrated knife to cut around the flesh of your watermelon halves. Use an ice cream scoop or large spoon to remove all the flesh, including the pips, into a large bowl. Transfer to a blender or food processor and blitz until smooth.
• Strain the pulp through a fine sieve into a large bowl to extract all the juice. You should be left with about 800ml of watermelon juice. Meanwhile, put the watermelon halves in a medium roasting tin lined with kitchen paper. Make sure the watermelon fits in snugly so it's easily transferable to the fridge.
• Pour 50ml of the juice into a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Once boiling, add the sugar and leave to dissolve for 2 mins. Once cooled a little, squeeze out the soaked gelatine leaves and stir through the warm watermelon juice to dissolve. Once fully dissolved, combine with the rest of the watermelon juice and add the vodka.
• Ladle equal amounts of the juice into each watermelon half. Transfer to the fridge to set for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight. When ready to serve, use a serrated knife to cut the watermelon into about 15 wedges. Serve with a warning: these contain lots of vodka!