03 Feb Special of the Day: Holiday Happy Hour
Cranberry Bellini
Greeting your party guests with a holiday highball makes for a warm welcome and a wonderful way to break the ice with gatherings of friends or family this time of year. Spread some cheer by serving up one of three seasonal signature drinks- or all three– to get the party ball a-rolling!
Expecting a crowd? Go big and make the recipes in a punch bowl or have pitchers mixed up and ready to serve when the bash begins.
Festive cocktails look (and taste!) even better when adorned with something special, of course. Pretty pomegranate ice cubes are fun to float in Pomegranate Spritzers, sugared cranberry skewers dress up Cranberry Bellinis, and toasted coconut-rimmed mini martini glasses make sipping frosty snowballs pure pleasure.
Raise your glass to the holidays with this week’s Special of the Day: Fun and Festive Cocktails for Holiday Happy Hour and recipes for Pomegranate Spritzers, Cranberry Bellinis and Toasted Coconut Snowballs. Cheers!
Recipes and food photography by Sydne George.
(Proportions or general guidelines are provided as a guide to aid you in making small or larger batches alike! Adjust according to taste.)
Pomegranate Spritzer
Pomegranate Spritzers
Pomegranate ice cubes:
pomegranates
water
Make pomegranate ice cubes ahead of time by filling ice cube trays half full with pomegranate seeds. Cover with water and freeze overnight.
Pomegranate Spritzers:
pomegranate juice
Gewurtztraminer wine (or other white wine)
club soda (or use 7up if you want it to be sweeter)
Pour a splash of pomegranate in the bottom of stemmed glasses. Top off with wine, leaving room for a splash of soda and a pomegranate ice cube. Stir. Enjoy!
Cranberry Bellini
Cranberry Bellinis
Sugared cranberries
½ cup water
½ cup sugar
1 cup cranberries
½ cup sugar, pureed in blender until fine (superfine sugar)
In a medium sized heavy saucepan over medium heat, heat water and sugar until simmering. Stir until completely dissolved. Remove from heat. Add cranberries. Transfer to a bowl, cover and refrigerate until cool. When cool, use a slotted spoon to remove cranberries from syrup. Place superfine sugar in sealable plastic bag. Add cranberries and toss to coat. Remove from bag and let dry briefly.
cranberry juice
prosecco
Pour a splash of cranberry juice into stemmed glasses and top with prosecco. Skewer three sugared cranberries on a toothpick for a garnish. Enjoy!
Toasted Coconut Snowball
Toasted Coconut Snowballs
Toasted coconut, to rim glasses
1/3 part Malibu Caribbean rum with coconut liqueur
1/3 part cream of coconut
1/3 part club soda
3 parts ice
Puree toasted coconut in blender until fine.
Dip mini martini glasses in a saucer of water, then dip rims in a saucer of toasted coconut to coat rims.
Blend Malibu Caribbean rum with coconut liqueur, cream of coconut, club soda and ice in blender. Pour into rimmed glasses. Enjoy!
Sydne George is a food journalist specializing in recipe development, food writing and food photography. She can be reached at sydnegeorge@hotmail.com . Sydne’s recipes from “Special of the day” are archived at http://sydnegeorge.com/blog/.
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