Mocktails & Cocktails for Your Seasonal Celebrations
/Mulled Wine
Before my brother and his wife moved to Australia about twenty years ago, my Aussie sister-in-law, whose family has a tradition of sharing mulled wine, would make this each holiday. We were all living in Colorado at the time, and it made for many cozy nights around the fireplace. The warming herbs added to red wine create an aroma that smells like holidays and family gatherings to me. This year, we plan to make a batch and toast via zoom to make the distance between us feel a bit less. Like everything I make, this recipe is flexible and most delicious when modified to the tastes you like best.
Ingredients:
4 bottles/1 box red wine (economy wine is fine, we’ll add lots of flavor)
2 oranges cut in half
10 whole cloves
3 - 6 cinnamon sticks
6 - 15 tablespoons of honey, maple syrup or your favorite sweetener
optional: 2 - 4 star anise
optional: a couple of slices of ginger
optional: 1 - 2 cups liquor. Brandy is traditional but use what you like. This year I plan to try elderflower liqueur and cut down on the sweetener.
optional: 1 - 4 cups juice. I have used orange, pear, apple, and pomegranate juice in the past, all were delicious.
Directions:
Stick the long end of the cloves into the peels of the orange halves; maybe use some flair and make a design like a smiley face, star, or your initial, cuz, heck, it’s your mulled wine! Then add all ingredients to a large pot or crock pot. Start small with sweetener, juices, and liquor, and add gradually to taste. Wait until the wine is heated trough for a final sweetness test. Remember: Things taste sweeter when they are hot than when they are cold. Heat for about 30 minutes without boiling so the flavors meld. Add a little of this, a little of that, have some small sips. When it tastes done, serve it! We usually just keep the pot on low the whole evening and enjoy it. If there are leftovers, the oranges/cloves can be discarded, then refrigerate the wine until you are ready to reheat it.
An Irish Toast
May there always be work for your hands to do,
May your purse always hold a coin or two.
May the sun always shine warm on your windowpane,
May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain.
May the hand of a friend always be near you,
And may God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.
Christmas Punch
By Tracy Hovde
When I was a girl, the Christmas holiday was a weeklong gathering of my mom’s five siblings and all of their children in my grandparents’ house. We all cooked, baked cookies, strung popcorn and cranberries to hang on the tree, played cards, and sang together in the days leading up to Christmas. Christmas Eve was full of treats and laughter as we opened gifts around the tree.
On Christmas Day we would put out a grand spread, and other family and friends would come and go throughout the day. We nibbled on Norwegian favorites like lefse, torsk, pickled herring, krumkaker, and spritz cookies and sipped on colorful, sparkling punch from the big, cranberry colored punch bowl. My cousins and I felt very grown up drinking this special drink out of fancy wine glasses. Looking back, I’m pretty sure my uncles added a little something to their cups because they all got funnier as the day went on. It’s been many years since the whole family gathered, but I make this punch every year. I will make it again this year, even if it’s just for Mark and myself, and we’ll Facetime with our distant family members and raise our glasses to family traditions, old and new.
Ingredients:
2 parts orange juice
2 parts cranberry juice
1 part pineapple juice
1 part ginger ale
Orange slices
Directions:
Stir the juices together first, then add the ginger ale. Float the orange slices on top. To keep the punch nicely chilled without watering it down, freeze some of the juice mix in ice cube trays or pretty molds and add instead of regular ice. You’ll need to add more ginger ale as it melts.
Grandpa Ted’s Toast
My gramps was the sweetest man and a devout Catholic. Some of my best childhoood memories involve him. He always led the family in prayer, blessing the meal, and singing of hymns. He also loved a good laugh and would sneak in a joke whenever he could. This is one of his favorite toasts. We heard it hundreds of times and laughed at it every time. What I wouldn’t give to hear him say it one more time!
“Here’s to you and here’s to me, and if by chance we disagree, to heck with you! And here’s to me!”
Bubbly Champagne Cocktail or Mocktail
By Marcia Appel
Champagne and I have a challenging relationship. I like its effervescence and lightness, especially a dry Champagne. It dislikes my tendency to get a headache from it, which means that - more often than not - it never makes its way to table in my home. That was the case until this recipe appeared after a dear friend treated me to something very similar at her cozy home. I like that I can control the amount of Champagne, about which I now feel friendlier. The splash of gin and of St. Germaine means less Champagne for me and no headache, if I only have one glass. 🙂 To make it festive for these particular holidays, add a splash of cranberry or pomegranate juice. The color dazzles.
Mix everything to your own taste:
1 sprig of fresh rosemary per glass
Champagne
A splash of gin
A splash of St. Germaine (elderflower liqueur)
1/2 to 1 teaspoon lemon juice
A couple of drops of pure maple syrup if you like drinks sweeter
Stir or shake
Non-alcoholic version:
1 sprig of fresh rosemary per glass
Sparkling water, ginger ale, or sprite
A splash of juice: orange, pomegranate, cranberry, or whatever you like
1/2 to 1 teaspoon lemon juice
A couple of drops of pure maple syrup if you like drinks sweeter
Stir or shake
Marcia’s Toast for Family and Friends
I use this toast when I am with my closest circle of family and friends. It begins with me reading one of the oldest Celtic prayers, "St. Patrick's Breastplate":
"I arise today through the strength of heaven, light of sun, Radiance of moon, Splendor of fire, Speed of lightning, Swiftness of wind, Depth of sea, Stability of earth, Firmness of rock." And then I add: May we be supported and strengthened by these natural elements in the New Year."
You can use it for a birthday or any other special occasion for one person by simply changing the "we" in it to "you".
