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Gothamist has only had lemonade from scratch a handful of times in her life, but if Paula Deen says it's easy, then it must be. Even if you aren't already loving her show on The Food Network at 10:30 every Saturday morning, you've got to check out the hour-long special where she caters her own wedding to Maaahchael, her gentleman caller with the beard and the fancy boat.

All of Paula's recipes are awesome (if cholesterol-wrenching), but nothing would hit the spot on a day like today than some minty homemade lemonade.

Paula Deen's Lemonade
2 cups sugar
1 cup hot water
2 cups fresh lemon juice
1 gallon cold water
1 lemon, sliced
Mint sprigs, for garnish

In a 1 gallon container, place sugar and hot water, and stir until sugar dissolves. Add lemon juice and cold water to render 1 gallon. Stir until well mixed. Pour lemonade over glasses of ice, squeeze slice of lemon on top of each, and garnish with a sprig of mint.

This recipe tastes best when it's served in a fancy crystal pitcher, of course.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

June 16, 2004 7:56 AM

Comments [rss]

Leslita

powdered GATORADE?! i've never even heard of that. i'll file it in my brain alongside Big League Chew, the sporty gum that comes in a pouch. do they still make that stuff? (it's really a shame what's happened to the Chiclet.)

Neil Epstein

we were a powdered drink family as well. lipton teas were our poison. and when I played little league, we went through tons of powered lemon lime gatorade.

still this recipe looks interestingly good. I'll have to give it a try. thanks leslie!

and sorry about my grossness, but it's not my fault. ;)

Leslita

neil!!!! ew.

KP, i am so jealous. we were a Crystal Light family.

KP

gross and grosser... cream anything is usually a turnoff for me.

My babysitter used to make me fresh lemonade when I was a kid. She would put in about 8 cups of sugar and a splash of lemon juice. My mom loved that. This recipe sounds much better though, and yes, a fancy crystal pitcher, on a deck, overlooking the ocean, cool breeze, damn you... now how am I going to get anything done. I think I'll surf over to Travelocity for a little while...

Neil Epstein

uuuuuh, see right there, I threw up a little.cream of celery soup? ;)

Leslita

ah yes, Alton Brown, ever the practical chef.

the weird thing is that i'm usually very touchy when it comes to Southern stuff in the media. there's just something so ballsy and real and over-the-top about Paula that i really like, but i can see how it's not everyone's thing. (i guess maybe you also had to grow up on casseroles with cream of celery soup.)

Neil Epstein

maybe it's a southern thing, and I'm sure paula is a little taste of home for some, but I can't stand the woman or her recipes. nothing personal; just not my cup of tea. and getting married on the food network? come on now. but then again, I'm a big fan of Good Eats, so you can see which side my personality lies.