Who’s ready for some festive food and drinks? This time of year there are always tried and true meals that we look forward to. From family recipes handed down through the generations to traditional meals that evoke memories of years and loved ones past. It is also a great time to experiment with new recipes and flavors. Cocktails are a fun and relatively easy way to try your hand at something different so let’s start there!
Yuletide Moon Cocktail
The Yuletide Moon Cocktail, from cottercrunch , is a red wine (Merlot) and bourbon holiday cocktail in an old fashioned glass. Made with cherries, spices, and a bit of maple on the rocks.
INGREDIENTS
4 cherries, pitted (fresh or in jar)
1.5 ounces merlot wine
1 oz bourbon – gluten free bourbon list in notes.
2–3 tbsp fresh orange or clementine juice (more if desired)
1–2 tsp maple syrup
ice
dash of cinnamon or nutmeg
lemon zest/peel
INSTRUCTIONS
Juice the orange and remove pits from cherries.
Place cherries is a tall glass then muddle the cherries (if no pitter, just remove pits after muddling). This is basically just pressing the cherries with a spoon or a tool called a muddler to extract the juice. Keep the cherries once muddled.
Add your orange juice, maple syrup, merlot, bourbon and mix again. Pour into an old fashion glass with handful of ice. Stir then tip with lemon peel and dash of with grated nutmeg or cinnamon.
Feast of the Seven Fishes
The Feast of the Seven Fishes is an old Italian tradition started back in the late 1800s by Southern Italian Immigrants in New York City’s Little Italy. The long tradition of eating Seafood on Christmas Eve dates from the Roman Catholic tradition of abstaining from eating meat on the eve of a feast day. There are endless combinations of fishes and ways to prepare them. Some typical fishes usually included are: Baccala (salt cod), Clams casino, Calamari, Scallops, Shrimp cocktail, Linguini with Anchovy, Oysters, Mussels, and Lobster. One drawback is that it can obviously be a lot of work to make seven separate dishes. There are some options to keep it simple but still stick to tradition. Click the image below for a one pot recipe from Homemade Italian Cooking that covers all of the bases.
Maybe you you need a break from all of the cooking? I think we could all probably use a break at this point. There are some fantastic local options for Holiday takeout/ delivery so you can indulge in the safety and comfort of your own home. Chapel Grille in Cranston is offering Christmas Dinner To Go. You can make your reservations anytime between now and December 20th to pick up on December 24th. Another delicious option for Italian style dining and takeout/ delivery is Bacaro in Providence.
However you decide to indulge this season, I hope it is both delicious and relaxing.