Diet

Holiday Cocktails for the Hostess Who Hates to Cook

Spare your guests the food coma and provide holiday cheer in liquid form instead

by Allie Flinn | 4 COMMENTS

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The "Meeting His Entire Extended Family for the First Time" Holiday Party Remember that ice block trick from earlier? This is where you'll want to use it. Blood orange is a seasonal citrus update that "adds tart berrylike notes, and the whole is rounded out by the perfume of almond liquor," says food stylist and author Maria del Mar Sacasa. The bourbon gives it a smokiness that is unexpected in a champagne-based punch, making it perfect for serving in cooler weather.

Bloody Good Punch
Serves 24
Ingredients:
4 cups bourbon
1 ½ cups Blood Orange Sour Mix (recipe below)
1 cup amaretto or other almond-flavored liqueur
2 (750-ml) bottles champagne, chilled
Ice mold

Stir bourbon, sour mix, and amaretto together in a punch or other serving bowl. When ready to serve, stir in champagne and slide in ice mold. Serve.

Blood Orange Sour Mix
Ingredients:
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons finely grated lime zest
1 cup water
1 cup fresh lemon juice (from about 6 lemons), strained
1 cup fresh lime juice (from about 10 limes), strained

Pulse sugar and zests in a food processor until sugar is damp and no zest strands remain. (Alternately, rub zest into sugar with fingertips.) Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring, until sugar is completely dissolved. Let syrup cool to room temperature and then stir in lemon and lime juices. Refrigerate for up to one month in an airtight container.

Excerpted with permission from "Winter Cocktails: Mulled Ciders, Hot Toddies, Punches, Pitchers, and Cocktail Party Snacks"
By Maria del Mar Sacasa
Quirk Books, $22.95, www.quirkbooks.com
Photo Credit: Photography by Tara Striano

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