FRIDAY COCKTAIL - FATHER'S DAY ROSE SANGRIA!

Sangria...it's for Summer!  Soo refreshing...everyone's doing it!

Ingredients:

1 (750ml) bottle of Rose wine
1/4 cup apricot (or plain) brandy
2 TBL Raspberry liqueur
2 TBL sugar
1-1/2 cups raspberries
1-1/2 cups strawberries cleaned and halved
1 orange or lemon sliced
Club Soda
ice


Stir wine, liquor and sugar in a large pitcher until sugar dissolves.  Add the fruit and gently stir.  Refrigerate from one hour to 24 hours. 

Strain into a glass with ice and top with club soda and fruit to garnish.

SUMMER SANGRIA!
ENJOY!

FRIDAY COCKTAIL - UK SOUR!

In honor of family crossing The Pond next week to hook up with Yanie....here's to YA!

Ingredients:

1-1/2 oz Scotch Whisky
1/2 oz lemon juice
1/2 oz cinnamon syrup*
1/4 oz apricot liqueur (substitute Amaretto if you choose)
Float of red wine

Combine all ingredients except wine in a shaker with ice.  Shake and pour into a rocks glass with ice. Gently pour a splash of red wine to float on top.

*Cinnamon syrup - place a cinnamon stick and a cup of sugar in 1 cup of wateR and boil. Let simmer for 5 minutes until sugar is dissolved.  Strain and let cool before using.  Can stay refrigerated up to 2 weeks.

ALMOST WELCOME TO UK!
ENJOY!

FRIDAY COCKTAIL - KIM'S WHITE SANGRIA!

I know we are approaching winter...but it is supposed to be 70 degrees here tomorrow and I am not willing to give in yet.  The colors of the trees and plants are AMAZING right now! This combines dry white wine and rum so it is on the dryer side ...but adds a punch of fruit ...perfect!

Ingredients:

1 bottle of dry white wine
1/2 cup Cointreau
1/2 cup light rum
6 oz can frozen lemonade
club soda
wedges of pineapple, apple, strawberry and/or orange slices

Combine the first 4 ingredients in a pitcher.  Pour into tall wine glasses with a litle ice and top with club soda when you are ready to serve.  Garnish with whatever fruit you like and looks good in your local market!

HANG ON AUTUMN!
ENJOY!

FRIDAY COCKTAIL - NEW YORK SOUR!

As once again the Red Sox take on the Yankees...we all need to remember how SOUR we hope the NY team will be this series....

This cocktail is from way way way back....(no pun intended)

Ingredients:

2 oz cognac
3/4 oz orange juice
3/4 oz lemon juice
2 tsp sugar
1/2 oz dry red wine

In a shaker with ice combine cognac, juices and sugar...shake for 15 seconds...strain into a glass with or without ice (your preference) and gently pour wine into the glass over the back of a spoon so the wine floats on top.

SWEET AND REFRESHING!
ENJOY!

TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS COCKTAILS - GLUHWEIN!

Sorry I bailed on all my loyal fans yesterday, but I went downtown to the German Christmas festival in Chicago with good friends and drank way to much GLUHWEIN!
It is delicious and the perfect warm cocktail for these unbearable Midwest winters.

Ingredients:

1 bottle of red wine (see note below)
2 cinnamon sticks
16 whole cloves
1 orange, quartered and halved - 8 pcs
2 tbl honey
1 tsp mix of ground allspice, nutmeg and coriander
1 cup water
sugar to taste
lemon slice for garnish
brandy or port (see note below)

Pour water in a pan over medium heat. Add cinnamon, honey and spices. Push two cloves into each of the oranges pieces and add to the pan. Add the wine and bring to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat. Taste for sweetness and add sugar if you like. Let the pan sit for about an hour to let the flavors come together. Warm before serving, strain out the orange pieces and add a cinnamon stick or lemon slice for garnish.

Note: For the wine, choose a fruity wine, not dry and try to stay away from oaked wines. A Beaujolais Nouveau would do quite nicely. Since you only bring the wine to a boil, Gluhwein is still an alcoholic beverage. The addition of a bit of brandy or port will kick that up a notch!

Keep Warm!
ENJOY!

WEEKEND EXTRA - MANGO-PEACH SANGRIA

We had a weekend guest, great time, and I did not blog yesterday... so I thought I should blog twice today and how could I end a weekend without a cocktail blog......!!!!!

Sangria is a wonderfully easy cocktail to make for any gathering. My family makes sangria's for baby showers, holidays and backyard barbeques. It tastes great with any menu.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup water

1 cup Grand Marnier

One 750 ML bottle Viognier

1 mango chopped

2 peaches cut into thin wedges

1/4 cup mint leaves

This recipe makes about 4 cocktails

In a sauce pan cook the sugar with the water until the sugar dissolves. Pour the syrup in a pitcher and refrigerate until cold. This takes about a half hour. Stir in the Grand Marnier, Viognier, mango, peaches and mint.

Always fun to serve in a funky colored wine glass and even better if the glasses are chilled!

ENJOY!

WINE AND CHEESE PARTY

Wine and cheese...my two favorite things.... At my sister Mary Ann's house yesterday she said several followers of my blog wanted a secret to a good wine and cheese event. So very easy and frankly so delicious. The hardest part is determining the progression of samplings and the snacks to serve.

So let's start with the snacks that will help the palate move through the sampling. For the white wine samplings a melody of sliced melons, mild dried fruits,water crackers and almonds. When you move to the reds your snack selection should include rustic hearty bread, salami, preferably a sopprasata which is a bit more spicy than a genoa salami and at the end a nice dark chocolate. As one of my favorite people reminded me, cheese should ALWAYS be served at room temperature to capture its fullest flavor. So make sure you take the cheese out of the refrigerator at least 3 hours ahead of time.

Pairings are below and should be served in this order...mild to strong...white to red...meek to robust...

Start:

WHITE:

Champagne (Moet or like) with a nice Gouda or Edam

Sauvignon Blanc with goat cheese

Chardonnay and brie

RED:

Pinot Noir and Gruyere

Cabernet or Port with Maytag bleu cheese and dark chocolate.

Again, the focus is not only the cheese and wine but the snacks in between that cleanse the palate between wine and cheese flavors. For this event an interesting table design is also a crowd pleaser. One of my favorites is getting a big tablecloth and putting empty boxes or upside down bowls on the table covering them with the tablecloth and placing snacks/cheese on top of them to give your table a dimension like a top notch restaurant buffet.

To serve the wines you need at least three different glasses per person. One champagne flute, one white and one red. If you have won the lottery and can serve a different glass per wine, please be related to me and add me to your will in a big way. The snacks should be displayed by the types of wine they are paired with. As always buy the wine and cheese at markets that have people who can help you chose the best types within your budget.

ENJOY!