Malibu Mojito Float

The Setting: A warm and breezy Dallas day.

The Soundtrack: Oia, who has learned that a ball and a cup are all she needs to form a one-woman band.

Steaming up the Oven: Beer-Caramel Pretzels.

The Scenario: A simple twist on Jeni's mint ice cream takes it from the backyard to the beach...somewhere between Malibu and Miami.

As much as I love Jeni's Backyard Mint ice cream all by itself (or with a drizzle of warm chocolate ganache), it's been hard to shake the craving for some accompanying lime and rum on these hot summer days.

Maybe it's because I miss Miami or maybe it's because rum with muddled mint and lime is summer in a cup.

Either way, I simply had to make another batch of Backyard Mint, this time mojito-style.

The plan was to add a bit of rum to the ice-cream base and include the zest of a couple of limes along with the handful of mint in the steeping process.

I eagerly poured milk, cream, and sugar into a pot on the stove, and then it hit me: my arsenal of alcohol was back in Notre Dame.  Besides a couple bottles of Texas red, my Dallas kitchen was as dry as a Baptist convention center.

And, as I discovered when I went to make a quick rum-run, the rest of my new town was, too.

Unwilling to venture into wet territories without the help of MapQuest or Hoosband (I have no GPS, and my phone is app-less, map-less, and hapless), I returned home to make mint-lime ice cream.

Remaining fully committed to my ice-cream-mojito dreams, I swerved into a liquor store a few days later when driving through the smuttier part of town and picked up a bottle of coconut rum.

It might not have made it into the ice cream, but it would certainly make it onto the ice cream.

"Hold up," you might be tempted to say. "Coconut rum is not traditionally used in mojitos."

Well, that's where the Malibu part comes in (though, technically, this time it's Parrot Bay...).

I tend to buy two kinds of rum: Sailor Jerry's Spiced Rum and coconut rum (generally Malibu). I don't have much use for plain white rum in my kitchen since most of the things I'd use it for taste even better with a hint of coconut, mojito floats included--of course, that's just me.

To make the float, just scoop some mint-lime ice cream into a lowball glass, pour a couple capfulls (or more, to taste) of coconut rum over the top, and serve with a spoon. To make it even more of a float, top with club soda, spoon optional. To serve frozen-drink style, blend until smooth and serve with a straw (little umbrella optional).

Check out Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home by Jeni Britton Bauer (Artisan Books) for Jeni's Ohito Sundae and Mint Julep cocktail, also featuring Backyard Mint Ice Cream.

And be sure to stay tuned for more of Jeni's tasty ice creams, coming soon!

Thanks for reading! Here's to Being the Secret Ingredient in your life.