Mocktail and Cocktail Punch for the New Year Holiday!

I have to say I am always more ambitious than my time actually allows, but I must admit I was not expecting to be as busy as I have been this fall.  I should have had a clue when when people where Christmas shopping from in in July.

I have been teaching online and that takes more preparation and concentration that one might realize exhausting my ability to write a post.  I have never been one to pre-program most of my posts so those that are pre-programed were kinda the only ones that happened recently.

As a result the recipe theme ended in October.  Since November and December were not my most creative theme ideas anyway, I just dropped them from the schedule and will start a new set of recipe ideas come January for 2021.

Instead I thought I would share a few punch recipes with you.  If you are entertaining during the holidays, these are a fun way to share flavors.  If not, making a punch and keeping in the refrigerator is a great way to extend the holiday fun when, like us, the number celebrating is rather small.  You can also share these recipes with family and all share the same beverage while Facetiming or Zooming.

Merry Mocktail

4 cups cranberry juice

1 bottle sparkling apple cider

1 liter ginger ale

¼ cup fresh lemon juice

Orange slices studded with cloves

Put some ice in a punch bowl or pitcher. Combine all the liquid ingredients together and give them a stir. Float a few orange slices in the punch and add a few fresh cranberries. Or stud the orange slices with cloves and keep on the side to use as garnish for people to add to their glasses. Add 12 ounces of vodka to the recipe for a cocktail.

Mocking Fall Apple Punch

4 parts Sparkling Apple Cider

1 part Mulled White Grape Juice

½ part Lime Juice

Apple slices studded with cloves and kept in lemon juice until used as a garnish and apple mint sprigs.

Put some ice in a punch bowl or pitcher. Put all the liquid ingredients together, and give them a stir. Float a few apple slices in the punch and add a few sprigs of apple mint. Or stud the apple slices and place in lemon juice on the side as garnish for people to add to their glasses. Substitute hard cider  and/or mulled white wine for a cocktail.

This Bourbon Punch is a variation on the HARRY ELLIS COMMEMORATIVE Knockout PUNCH, but I was never able to definitively determine which Harry Ellis the drink was designed to commemorate, so if you have details, please share.

Sneaky Bourbon Punch

Bourbon is a smooth alcohol, and anything made with it can sneak up on you, so enjoy this punch when you know you will not be driving.

• 8 cinnamon sticks
• 1 750ml bottle of bourbon
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 4 oz. ginger beer
• 4 oz. lemon juice
• 4 oz. unsweetened cranberry juice
• 6 oz. Madeira Wine
• 24 oz. sparkling or soda water
• Fresh nutmeg

GARNISHES

• Mint leaves
• fresh cranberries

PREPARATION

Let cinnamon sticks sit overnight in bourbon. Strain. Stir sugar into the juices and ginger beer until completely dissolved. Pour juice/sugar blend, Madeira, and cinnamon-infused bourbon into a punch bowl and stir. Top with sparkling water and stir again. Grate a healthy amount of nutmeg—about a quarter of the whole—on top.

To serve, pour a 3 oz. ladleful over ice in a punch cup. Garnish with a cranberry and a mint leaf. Don’t dilute the punch with ice, always have the ice in the glass!

 

RECIPE THEME

Each month a theme is chosen and a number of recipes on that theme from my massive archive will be shared.  This year we have 12 new topics, different from the topics of last year.  

To find the recipes of last year, check out this recipe link or search the blog with the topic Recipe2018, or Recipe2019 

You can search the monthly theme by looking for the theme keyword in the search box and it will pull up the recipes on that theme as posted, so look at the bottom of the recipe in each posting for the KEYWORD in the () to search for each  month.  All recipes this year will be tagged Recipe2020 so you can find them all.

The themes are:

Feb 2020 - Footbal Tailgate Favorites (AppFeb)

March 2020 - Kabobs (KabobMar)

April 2020 - Brunch (BrunchApr) more in 2021 also

May 2020 - Non-Traditional Pizza (PizzaMay)

June 2020 - Stir Fry Dishes (StirJun)

July 2020 - Salads with no lettuce (SaladJul)

August 2020 - Pickled things (PickleAug)

September 2020 - Quiche (QuicheSep)

October 2020 - Squash Soups (SquashOct)

Christmas Herb Punch

The website Sugar and Soul gave me the idea for today's cocktail, perfect for Christmas celebrations.
They called it Christmas Punch, I modified it to include my favorite Christmas herbs and changed the name to Christmas Herb Punch.  The best part about this is you can get out the punch bowl, serve this to your guests and family and don't have to be a bartender all evening.

Christmas Herb Punch 

1 orange sliced

1 lemon sliced
1 cup cranberries
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
1/2 cup Lemon Balm leaves

2 cup cranberry juice

2 cups orange juice
1 cup pomegranate juice
2 cups ginger ale
1 cup brewed lemon grass tea
1 cup white rum, optional (or you can use vodka or whiskey)
Ice

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a large pitcher or punch bowl over ice. If using a really large punch bowl, you can double the recipe.  If preparing ahead, leave out the ice and ginger ale until ready to serve to guests.

Additional Notes: if you have children in attendance, keep the alcohol on the side to allow adults to add their own as desired.

RECIPE THEME

Each month a theme is chosen and a number of recipes on that theme from my massive archive will be shared.  This year we have 12 new topics, different from the topics of last year.  To find the recipes of last year, check out this recipe link or search the blog with the topic Recipe2018. 

You can search the monthly theme by looking for the theme keyword in the search box and it will pull up the recipes on that theme as posted, so look at the bottom of the recipe in each posting for the KEYWORD in the () to search for each  month.  All recipes this year will be tagged Recipe2019 so you can find them all.

The themes are:

Jan 2019 – Chicken and Dumplings (CDumpsJan)

Feb 2019 - Pasta Dishes (PastaFeb)

March 2019 - Edible Flowers (FlowerMar)

April 2019 - Seafood Recipes (SeafoodApr)

May 2019 - Cajun And Creole (C&CMay)

June 2019 - Vegetarian Dishes (VegJun)

July 2019 - Zucchini Recipes (ZucJul)

August 2019 - National Mustard Day – mustard recipes (MustardAug)

September 2019 - Quiche (QuicheSep)

October 2019 - Crock Pot meals (CrockOct)

November 2019 - Pies (PieNov)

December 2019 - Mocktails (MockDec)

Top Recipes in 2016

I posted more than 100 different recipes in 2016.  In late 2016 I started to sort and organize my immense collection of recipes (it fills 4 filing cabinet drawers,) so in 2017 we will be sharing even more from that enormous collection.  These are the top 10 recipes from my posts last year.  I thought I would gather them together so if you missed them, you can see what others are enjoying as well.

This year we will continue to dig into our stash of recipes and post one at least every weekend with more shared in the Herb of the Week posts too!

Here is a countdown of the top 10:

#10 In November 2016 I posted Five herbs of holiday wellness with a set of recipes in in and it ranks among the highest of the year, even though it was not posted until November.

http://backyardpatch.blogspot.com/2016/11/five-herbs-of-holiday-wellness.html

#9 Spices must have been popular in 2016 because this post for Herb and Spice Day with recipes was also among the top 10 in 2016

http://backyardpatch.blogspot.com/2015/06/8-herbs-and-spices-for-herb-and-spice.html

Appetizers were very popular this year.  The 2 most clicked were

#8 A hummus recipe

http://backyardpatch.blogspot.com/2016/04/basic-hummus-weekend-recipe.html

#7 Muffalata Salsa

http://backyardpatch.blogspot.com/2016/08/mushroom-muffalatta-salsa-weekend-recipe.html

Chicken was a popular ingredient this year and this recipe was among the more visited.

#6 Chicken with Pineapple Sage

http://backyardpatch.blogspot.com/2016/10/pineapple-sage-and-marjoram-chicken.html

#5 Crockpot Chicken

http://backyardpatch.blogspot.com/2016/01/crock-pot-sweet-garlic-chicken-weekend.html

#4 The most popular single recipe in 2016 was Charcoal Grilled Chicken

http://backyardpatch.blogspot.com/2015/03/charcoal-grilled-chicken-weekend-recipe.html

#3 And one popular recipe was not to be eaten but to be enjoyed, this bath salt blend was first posted in June as one of our Bath Blends of the month.

http://backyardpatch.blogspot.com/2016/05/relaxing-herbal-bath-mixture-bath.html

#2 This Punch was the second most popular recipe

http://backyardpatch.blogspot.com/2016/06/weekend-recipe-tea-champagne-punch.html

#1 The top recipe with the most visits was my tribute to Dr. Seuss with a Ham and Green Herb Paste recipe!

http://backyardpatch.blogspot.com/2016/03/happy-birthday-dr-seuss.html

Weekend Recipe - Tea & Champagne Punch

June 10th is officially “Iced Tea Day" in the US. I thought it would be fun to celebrate this occasion with one of the oldest iced tea recipes ever published. The recipe was published in 1839 in “The Kentucky Housewife” cookbook. There is a warning that comes with this though. Apparently, in 1839, being a housewife meant drinking a lot of alcohol because this one packs a pretty good punch.
 

"Tea Punch - Make a pint and a half of very strong tea in the usual manner; strain it, and pour it boiling (hot) on one pound and a quarter of loaf sugar. Add half a pint of rich sweet cream, and then stir in gradually a bottle of claret or of champaign (sic). You may heat it to the boiling point, and serve it so, or you may send it round entirely cold, in glass cups."

 (Courtesy of whatscookingamerica.net)

This is a classic pairing of champagne, sugar and cream. The effervescent bubbles of the champagne help to lighten the cream and the sugar really ties it all together. Adding the tea adds a certain bit of maltyness and astringency that really makes this a refreshing drink. And the best part about it, it is really easy to prepare in advance for those times you would like a nice punch for a gathering.

Unlike so many old recipes, I think you could easily make this, just as presented and use it at any summer picnic.  Here is a translation of the recipe for you:

Kentucky Iced Tea Punch
3 cups boiling water

3 tsp. black tea

1 ½ cups sugar

1 cup heavy cream

1 750ml bottle of champagne or sparkling wine.

Brew 3 cups of black tea for 10 minutes, using 3 tsp. of any black tea with three cups of water brought to a boil.  Strain the tea and pour it over sugar in a large picture.  Add heavy cream, and entire bottle of champagne.