Wine Wednesday: Party in a Glass!

 

Taking a little departure from my usual wine post today because last week's holiday reminded me of something. This year was the first year in almost a decade that I got to cook Thanksgiving dinner in my own kitchen. And it reminded me that, in the past, my daughter and I would crack out the mimosas at about the same time as we started pre-heating the oven. We are not a canned cranberry sauce family--although I grew up with the stuff and at last a few of my siblings still favor it. I used to make candied cranberries from an old Gourmet Magazine recipe--and that's still probably the prettiest iteration. But by the late nineties I was already experimenting with raw cranberries and nowadays, that's all I make. Recipe to follow.

At some point, I began adding a spoonful of cranberry to my mimosa--which caught on with my sister, who began adding raspberries, as well. At some point during the Thanksgiving (or Christmas, or New Year's Eve and/or Day) cook-a-thon, you begin not feeling the orange juice and switch to plain bubbly. But it's festive! You're in a holiday mood! You WANT those dancing bits of pink and white sweet/tart confetti dancing in your glass!

And it pairs well with everything. Full disclosure. I was a bit congested last week, so I'm not going to comment on the wine, which I bought for reasons other than "OMG! This is the best-tasting sparkling wine ever!"  It's probably not. I bought it because I like to think of myself as a locavore...or whatever the equivalent is for people who like to "drink local" which makes it sound like I  have a favorite bar. I don't. And this was the only domestic bubbly available.

I did use fresh squeezed orange juice, which made up for a lot. And, of course, the cranberry "sauce". 

The recipe couldn't be simpler. Cut an orange into eighths. I like mandarins, but anything other than really thick-skinned navel oranges will do. Put the orange pieces into a blender and pulse for a bit. Then add a bag of cranberries and pulse some more, until you have confetti sized pieces. Pour into a bowl, add as much sugar as you want, and half a pomegranate's worth of arils. I used to say the pomegranate was optional. And you CAN leave them out if you want, but WHY???

Anyway, that's it. It's crisp, it's light, it's refreshing. Add a spoon to your glass and enjoy.