So last Date Night, I threw together a little gumbo. Yeah, on a weeknight — I’m a bit of an over-achiever that way. This was NOT an all-day gumbo with land, sea, and air represented. Rather, I started with a peanut butter-colored roux, cod and squid I’d pulled from the freezer earlier that day, and a variety of non-traditional veggies from my produce box – like corn and green beans (I know someone’s mamere is rolling over in her grave). And okra. Gotta have okra. It was a respectable gumbo.

So I wanted to serve the CGP a New Orleans-inspired cocktail, and a Hurricane comes to mind. I google around for the ingredients, and one of them had equal parts of white rum, black rum, grenadine syrup, orange juice, and sour mix. I couldn’t even fathom that much grenadine. Another one added 151 and pineapple juice, but ratcheted back the grenadine. Pat O’Brien’s version has some passion-fruit syrup in there. But still not sure about that color — I’m thinking alot of food coloring too. I’ve got black and white rum. I’ve got Pama liqueur and a pomegranate. I’m not opposed to a little grenadine. So I throw together a lightened-up version, with a little fizz at the end from ginger-ale. This is a balanced drink — not too sweet — not too acidic. And not too red.

Hurricane-Lite
Serves 1

1 tablespoon black rum
1 tablespoon white rum
1 tablespoon Pama liqueur
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/2 to 1 teaspoon grenadine syrup
Pomegranate seeds
Ginger ale

Stir the rums, liqueur, lime juice, and grenadine syrup together in an old-fashioned glass. Add ice. Top off with ginger ale and some pomegranate seeds. Serve with N’Awlins-inspired entree of your choice.