My sister-n-law, Kim, made a fantastic and festive punch this Christmas that we all enjoyed with appetizers before each feast. She reminded me of a time I had forgotten, a slice of “peace” sandwiched between, shopping, wrapping, and holiday meals come and gone. A couple of years ago, Kim and I had managed to escape the craziness of the holiday madness going on in my home– think six kids cooped in, tired and wired on sugar and excitement. We had asked our husbands to take over the mayhem while we escaped for some peace of mind at the Mall of America? You do what it takes! So, with legs weary from pacing the mall, loaded with bags, and lowering blood sugar, we stopped at the California Cafe for a very late lunch. California Cafe has an outside the restaurant, inside the mall, patio-type seating area where the whir and the echos of the inside amusement park make a background hum perfect for pretending you’re somewhere else. That, and with the depleting blood sugar, when our waiter said, “How about some holiday sangria?” it took but a wink and a nod, for two tired moms to say, “sounds great!” Turns out scrumptious! I think we had one, or maybe two……but, what a nice get away and memory we had. Away and yet in the hum of it all, we slowed down, lingered and rested in our own special holiday memory.
Before we left, Kim secured the ingredients from our waiter, and later recreated with her own measurements:
HOLIDAY SANGRIA
3/4 lb. real strawberries
1/2 real pineapple
3 clementines
1 sliced Granny Smith Apple
4-5 cinnamon sticks
3/4 C. Blackberry Brandy
1/3 C. Apple Pucker
1/3 C. Cinnamon Schnapps
1 bottle Cabernet
1 bottle Merlot
Let it mingle for a day or two before you drink it (maybe for New Year’s Eve?) and it will be wonderful.
