Holiday Libations

I was finally able to work on some holiday gift projects yesterday!  I spent an hour doing careful, beautiful embroidery work only to discover that my knots weren't good enough -DD destroyed the gift within a minute of having her hands on it.  I guess I would rather find that out now and not later after the gift had been given.  But still.....................sigh.

Today is the day that I am baking @DianeDenmark's Christmas Cake!  I have all the ingredients on hand, just waiting for all the folk to gather so we can Tweet-n-Bake together.  Unfortunately, Twitter seems to be down right now so I'm hoping it'll be up in time for baking!  I guess there is always Facebook Chat  :)

I had dinner with my sister's family yesterday as my nephew was home from college for his fall break.  We taste tested two sparkling wines to see if we had found a new (and less expensive) candidate for the holiday festivities.  But it got me thinking about Holiday Libations - or the Things I Like to Drink during this time of year and some recipes I would like to share.

Merry Mimosas

This is a drink we like to have on Christmas Morning with our traditional Eggs Benedict breakfast.  It is super easy to make AND to drink.

Ingredients:
Orange Juice
Cranberry Juice
Dry sparkling wine

Preparation:
Combine equal proportions of orange and cranberry juice.  Fill glass halfway with juice mixture, top with the sparkling wine.

Rusty Nail

This one I have yet to try, but it sounds intriguing.  I had to look up Drambuie to see what it was exactly as I am using it in the Christmas Cake.  Under the description there were a few cocktails listed.  I chose this because my mother spends Christmas Eve night with us and I always make sure to have Scotch on hand for her for our evening tipple.

Ingredients:
Scotch
Drambuie
ice

Preparations:
Fill glass with ice.  Pour 1 1/2 ounces Scotch into glass, followed by 1 1/2 ounces Drambuie.  (Drambuie is last as it is heavier than Scotch).

Can't wait to report back on this one -maybe I'll try it at Thanksgiving  :)

Hot Spiced Wine

I always did this back in the day when we had annual Holiday Open Houses.  I had to go in search of a new recipe as I lost mine last year & was pleased to find one that can be done in a crock pot. (Remember, my stove top is cracked & at this point I don't know when that will change).

Ingredients:
2 quarts pineapple/orange juice
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
3 bottles red wine
2 lemons
1 orange
3 cinnamon sticks
whole cloves

Combine all the ingredients except the lemons & orange.  Add the juice of one of the lemons.  Slice the remaining lemon and orange and add to liquids.  For a fancy look, stud the cloves into the lemon and orange before slicing.  Simmer 30 minutes before serving.

Hot Buttered Rum

Another recipe I've wanted to try for years because it can be made with or without the rum.

What are your favorite holiday drinks?

Check out the Holiday Planning activities at:
DianeDenmark
A Mothers Ramblings
Typical Ramblings, Atypical Nonsense