kattitudes

The American holiday Thanksgiving is racing up on us and we are probably all busy planning our menus. It seems that most people have a pretty standard list of dishes that they make, but go with the standard soda, milk, coffee to drink.

It makes a very nice change of pace to offer a wonderful drink recipe to highlight the harvest season also. Both of these sangrias are light and refreshing, just sweet enough to give you a great lift but not cloying (and I am not a sweet wine drinker in any way).

Sangria recipes look a tiny bit complex but really they are just open and dump in a big container and toss in the fridge to let it cool down.

To make a great recipe even better, sangrias are perfect for the holiday season, because they absolutely beg to be made in advance. They really need time to cool down, as the colder it is, the better it tastes. So a day or two in advance of Thanksgiving, you can whip this stuff together and stick it in the back of the refrigerator and forget it until the big day. Talk about no stress recipes!

Red Wine Sangria

1 bottle of red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Rioja, Zinfandel, Shiraz)
1 lemon cut into wedges
1 orange cut into wedges
1 lime cut into wedges
2 tablespoons sugar
1 shot glass Cointreau
2 shots of gin
1 cup of sliced strawberries or raspberries
1 small can of diced pineapples (with juice)
4 cups ginger ale

Preparation:
Pour wine in the pitcher and squeeze the juice wedges from the lemon, orange and lime into the wine. Toss in the fruit wedges (leaving out seeds if possible) and add sugar, Cointreau and gin. Chill overnight. Add ginger ale just before serving (to keep the bubbles as long as possible).

White Wine Sangria

1 Bottle of white wine (Riesling, Albarino, Chablis, Gewurztraminer, Rioja, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc)
1/2 cup vodka
1/2 cup white grape juice
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup sliced white grapes (seedless)
1 tangerine sliced
1/2 pineapple sliced
1 cup club soda

PREPARATION:
Pour wine and vodka in the pitcher and add sliced grapes, tangerine and pineapple. Next add sugar and stir gently. Chill mixture for at least one hour. Add club soda just before serving.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup powdered creamer
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup instant coffee
2 tablespoons powdered baking cocoa
2 hard candy peppermints (crushed)

Process ingredients in blender until well blended. Store in an airtight container.

Attach a tag with the following instructions:

Add tablespoon to standard mug of hot water. Add additional tablespoon(s) according to taste.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup powdered creamer
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup instant coffee
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Process in blender until well blended. Store in airtight container.

Attach a tag with the following instructions:

Add tablespoon to standard mug of hot water (or to taste).

Usually I try not to include too many mixes that require additional contributions other than water or milk as I want to keep it as simple as possible for all involved. However, this particular mix is an absolute wonderful addition to an assembled gift basket for the holiday season or even as a stand alone gift. The flavor is absolutely magnificent and it makes your house smell just incredible.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup dried cranberries
12 cinnamon sticks
1/2 teaspoon crushed whole cloves
2 tablespoons whole allspice

Combine all ingredients in a ziplog bag and shake until well blended.

Attach a tag with the following instructions:

Spiced Cranberry Cider:

2 quarts apple cider
1 quart water
1 package spiced cranberry cider mix (this package)
2 oranges, sliced

Combine first cider, water and mix in large saucepan and simmer for 5 to 7 minutes, but do not allow to boil. Add three quarters of the orange slices to the simmering cider. Remove from heat and garnish with the remaining oranges before serving.

Ingredients:

4 cups nonfat powdered milk
1 cup powdered nondairy creamer
1 1/2 cup instant presweetened cocoa
1/2 cup instant coffee crystals
1 1/2 powdered sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice

Measure into ziploc bag, seal bag and shake to combine.

Attach a tag with the following instructions:

Use approximately 1/3 cup mix to a standard mug of boiling water (or to taste).

Ingredients:

2 ounce peppermint leaves, crushed
1 ounce rosemary, finely crushed
1/2 ounce sage leaves

Combine all ingredients and seal well in jar (or bag).

Attach a tag with the following instructions:

Steep one tablespoon in mug of hot water.

Ingredients:

2/3 cup instant coffee
1 cup powdered nondairy creamer
1/2 cup nonfat dry milk
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 cup brown sugar, packed

Mix thoroughly, then put into blender in order to blend into a fine powder.

Attach a tag with the following instructions:

To use, add approximately two rounded teaspoons per cup of boiling water (or to taste).

Making homemade liqueur is such a popular kitchen gift to give for the holidays, particularly since it tastes so much better than the mass produced rot gut.

However, now is the time to be making this liqueur, as it must age at least a month as part of the final step. This would put the final stages finished beginning of December. So make this marvelous wonderful tasting liqueur now if you would like to really impress your friends and family with this for Christmas.

As a word of advice on the ingredients here: when it comes to the vodka, purchase mid-market vodka. There is no need to purchase the most expensive label, as the flavor will be wasted (you want to taste strawberry, not vodka), and the cheapest stuff just leaves a bitter taste behind. So go for midrange (and on sale, with luck).

Check the berries carefully. If there are any imperfections, toss that part as the imperfections will ruin the batch.

3 cups fresh strawberries
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups 100% proof vodka
1 cup water
1 teaspoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon orange zest
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

Wash and stem the berries. In a bowl crush the berries and sugar together. Let stand for 1 hour. Transfer mixture to a clean large (at least two quart) container. Add vodka, water, lemon juice, and zests. Cover and let stand in a cool dark place for 2 days, shaking several times each day.

Press the mixture through a fine mesh sieve, discard solids.

This deserves a paragraph before moving on. The easiest way to do this is first by use of the mesh sieve. If that does not filter enough of the mixture for your satisfaction, you can then line the fine mesh sieve with clean cheesecloth or a coffee filter and filter the mixture again. If you choose to do this, be aware that this process will be very time consuming.

Transfer the liqueur to a clean container. Cover and let stand for 1 week. Filter into a decorative bottle with a tight fitting lid. Age for at least 1 month before serving.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup light brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons powdered vanilla
1/4 cup cocoa
2 1/2 cups powdered milk

Combine and blend ingredients in a small bowl. Store in an airtight container decorated with a pretty ribbon.

Serving instructions (attach to jar):

Mexican Hot Chocolate (serves six total)

3 cups water
Mexican hot chocolate mix
cinnamon sticks for garnish

Heat the water to boiling and add the Mexican hot chocolate mix. Stir with a whisk until the mixture is smooth. Garnish with cinnamon sticks.

For a frothier hot chocolate, mix in a blender.

Now is the time to be making your alcoholic type festive kitchen gifts if you wish for them to be ready in time for the Christmas holidays.

Of course you can stop off at your friendly neighborhood liquor store and buy yourself an ordinary bottle of what have you, but for some reason, it just doesn’t have the same flavor or the same snap that a bottle of homemade spirits holds.

If you have not made anything like this in the past, this sweet luscious peach liqueur is a wonderful place to start. You will need to plan at least four weeks in advance to make this before it is ready to drink, so get moving now.

INGREDIENTS:

* 1 cup sugar
* 1 cup water
* 2 pounds fresh ripe peaches, stemmed and washed
* 1 teaspoon lemon zest
* 1 teaspoon orange zest
* 1-1/2 cups 100-proof vodka
* 1 cup brandy
* 4 drops yellow food coloring

PREPARATION:

In a heavy saucepan, boil sugar and water over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Do not let the mixture burn. When the sugar is completely dissolved and the syrup is clear, remove from heat and let cool down to about 110 degrees F., little more than lukewarm.

Slice peaches in half and twist halves opposite each other to separate and remove the pit and set it aside, but do not discard Thinly slice the peaches. Place peaches, peach pit, lemon zest, and orange zest into a clean 2-quart glass canning jar. Add the cooled sugar syrup, vodka, brandy, and food coloring . Seal with an airtight lid. Turn jar top to bottom in one full revolution to gently mix. Place in a cool, dark place for two weeks.

Strain out solids through a fine mesh sieve. Pour peach liqueur into a clean jar, seal, and let stand another 2 to 3 weeks in a cool, dark place. Strain a final time through a double layer of cheesecloth or other filter into a decanter or decorative bottle that is able to be sealed.