|
Holiday Spritzer | Holiday Wine | Holiday Ice Ring
Holiday Cocktail Tips | Wine for Turkey and Ham
"User Friendly" Wines
 |
Cranberry Tea
Ingredients:
3 1/2 quarts water
1 package cranberries (12 oz.)
3 oranges, juiced
2 lemons, juiced
2 cups sugar, adjust to taste
14 cloves, whole
3 cinnamon sticks |
Combine water and cranberries in a large pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes. Stir in freshly squeezed orange and lemon juice. Add remaining ingredients, stir. Cover and allow to steep for 1 hour. Strain tea, reheat to serve. Serve hot. Garnish with cinnamon sticks and orange slices if desired.
Steep: To leave an item, such as a tea bag, to soak in water that has just been boiled. The purpose is to add flavor to the liquid. |
 |
Holiday Spritzer
Try this simple spritzer for a non-alcohol alternative for your holiday get together. Combine equal parts cranberry juice, white grape juice, and sparkling mineral (fizz) water into a punch bowl. Add an ice ring (see directions below) to keep the spritzer chilled.
|
Holiday Wine
½ cup water
½ cup sugar
2¼ cups white grape juice, chilled
1 cup peach liqueur
1 bottle Red Bordeaux wine, chilled
In a small saucepan, bring sugar and water to a boil. Stir constantly until sugar has dissolved.
Cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until chilled (approximately 2 hours).
In punch bowl, combine grape juice, peach liqueur, wine, and cooled sugar and water mixture. Add an ice ring to the punch bowl to keep wine chilled (see directions below).
Servings: 14 (4-ounce)
Holiday Ice Ring
What you need:
- Cranberries or your choice of hard fruit (i.e.: grapes)
- water
- 4 cup ring mold.
|
|
|
1. Fill 4 cup ring mold with ¾ of an inch of water, freeze. |
|
|
|
2. Arrange fresh cranberries on ice. |
|
|
|
3. Fill with water and freeze until solid, approximately 6 hours. |
|
|
|
4. Briefly dip bottom of mold in warm water to remove ice ring. |
Holiday Cocktail Tips
- Quickly chill wine and champagne by placing the bottle in a bucket of ice water rather than in the freezer. Leave in ice water approximately 10 minutes.
- To decant bottle-aged wine easily, insert an unbleached coffee filter into the neck of a glass pitcher and pour the wine into it.
- Fill wine glasses slightly less than half full, allowing room enough for wine to breath.
- A half bottle of wine per guest is an appropriate estimate when entertaining for up to 2 hours, this approximation is dependent on the drinking tendencies of your guests.
- Always have non-alcohol drinks available.
Wine for Turkey and Ham
Turkey and ham are traditional food choices for the holidays. Turkey is a challenging food to pair with wine because of the oily quality and that it has both light and dark meat, think fruity and tart. Ham is a challenge because of the saltiness of the meat, think fruity not dry.
|
|
Red |
White |
Rosé |
| Ham |
Beaujolais
Zinfandel
Pinot Noir |
Gewürztraminer
Riesling
Chenin Blanc |
White Zinfandel |
| Poultry |
Pinot Noir
Burgundy |
Chardonnay
Chenin Blanc
Riesling
Sauvignon Blanc |
White Zinfandel |
"User Friendly" Wines
Gatherings of friends and family should be a time of celebration and enjoyment, not stress. The following is a general selection of wines that pair well with most dishes. The wines are light-bodied to medium-bodied.
Whites: Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Champagne and Sparkling wines.
Roses: White Zinfandel, Blush and Rose.
Reds: Beaujolais, Pinot Noir and Merlot |
