December 16, 2012

Poinsettia Cocktails for the Christmas Season #SundaySupper

Poinsettia Cocktail for the Christmas Season #SundaySupper

Poinsettia Cocktails & Family Christmas Traditions

I recently wrote that there’s nothing like tradition to bind a family together. And I meant it. Tradition and faith go hand-in-hand. So do tradition and family.

You may recall that one of our all-time favorite cookbooks was written by Chef Emeril Lagasse and Marcelle Bienvenu. It’s called Louisiana Real & Rustic, and the pages are tattered and splattered from all the hard-core kitchen use we have put it through over the years. It’s autographed by both authors, but we don’t keep it on a shelf to preserve it. Oh no. We use it like crazy, taking those autographs to be some kind of culinary blessing from master chefs!

Emeril and Marcelle wrote a holiday cookbook together too… a Christmas cookbook. And the title? Well it’s Emeril’s Creole Christmas. We have tried a few recipes out of that cookbook, but there is one in particular that we tried for the first time about 4 years ago… and it stuck. It became a Christmas tradition. One that we look forward to every Advent. Poinsettia Cocktails.

Christmas is a Season, Folks!

As Catholics we live by seasons. Advent. Christmas. Mardi Gras (if you live down here in South Louisiana! 😉 ). Lent. And Ordinary Time.

Christmas is a season! It is not just one day!

It is proceeded by the Advent season. But starting on Christmas Eve, the season of Christmas takes over… until the feast of the Epiphany, January 6. So, for 12 days we celebrate Christmas. It’s like Christmas day for 12 days in a row!

And I can’t think of a better cocktail to celebrate such a wonderful season. The Poinsettia Cocktail is reddish in color, just like the beautiful Poinsettia. It’s also light, not too sweet, and it is very refreshing. The twist of orange adds an extra hint of spice to this smooth cocktail. Highly recommended!

Just one VERY important note. Like with most dishes that you really want to savor, the ingredients can make it or break it. Do yourself a favor. Use good vodka. Use good (or at least decent) Champagne. And use real cranberry juice! You will certainly taste the difference. And this delicious cocktail deserves to be be poured correctly. 😉

Cheers!

INGREDIENTS

  • 1/4 cup vodka
  • 1/4 cup Champagne
  • 1/4 cup cranberry juice
  • Crushed ice
  • 2 strips orange zest, each about 1/4 inch wide and 2 inches long

DIRECTIONS

  1. Combine the vodka, Champagne, and cranberry juice in a large-stemmed red wineglass.
  2. Add crushed ice and stir until the mixture is well chilled.
  3. Twist the orange strips over the glass, drop them in, and serve.

Makes 1 cocktail.

#SUNDAYSUPPER

The Sunday Supper Team is having a Holiday Cocktails and Appetizers party and we would love to have you join us this week!  We have an amazing assortment of recipes to put together a fabulous holiday party on any budget.  We are honored to have Conni from The Foodie Army Wife hosting our Party.  We hope to see you Around the Family Table Sunday at 7pm Eastern Time.

Holiday Cocktails

Holiday Appetizers or Hors d’oeuvres

In honor of the Sandy Hook victims and their families, we have cancelled our regularly scheduled #SundaySupper Chat this week.

Let this be a time when we renew our faith in the power of love and realize the importance of time with our families.