Boozy Fruit Salad Is Better Than Bottomless Brunch

I hate bottomless brunch. I’m all for a sparkly mimosa with my waffle, but knocking back a gallon of Champagne and juice at a restaurant just to get my money’s worth is decidedly not my thing. Instead, I’ll get a buzz from my own boozy fruit salad. Even if you don’t like to drink in the morning, fresh fruit tossed with orange liqueur is pretty hard to pass up. Plus, unlike most fruit salads you can order at a restaurant, you get to control what goes into the salad. If you’re not into blackberries, sub in strawberries; if you're not a fan of orange liqueur, try brandy or rum. Regardless of which fruit and liquor combo you end up with, don’t try to drown the fruit in booze. It’s still just a fruit salad, and fruit salad isn’t supposed to get you wasted—but then again, neither is a mimosa.

Pit and slice 3 plums, 3 yellow peaches and toss into a shallow bowl or baking dish. Add 2 cups of cubed cantaloupe, and 1 pint each of blackberries and raspberries. Feel free to swap in whatever fruit you like, except for bananas. Bananas soaked in liquid get slimy, and that’s less than delicious. If you do want to add bananas, toss them in after the fruit goes for a swim.

Thinly slice 5 mint leaves and stir them into the fruit. Pour ½ cup Grand Marnier or another orange liqueur over the fruit. Let the fruit soak, tossing every 15 minutes or so, for about 1 hour. Transfer the fruit to a serving bowl with a slotted spoon.

Just before serving, top the fruit salad with a few handfuls of roughly chopped toasted almonds and more chopped mint.

Boozy fruit salad makes a great topping for yogurt as well as pancakes, waffles, or a quick bread. If you want to go a step further, this particular blend of fruit would also work well as a filling for a quick oat and brown sugar crisp or a drop-biscuit cobbler, just saying.