Christmas Cava – A festive holiday cocktail
Cava is Spanish white sparkling wine delicious and not pricey. This Christmas bubbly recipe is a Bobby Flay favorite. I am proud to say that Bobby Flay has cooked in my daughter’s Vermont Country Kitchen. Bobby serves this festive Spanish style champagne drink during the holidays.
The ingredients are simple and not expensive, for cocktails for two – or for a crowd. Bobby makes this “to taste” as we do, so we will just give a guide:
Find some ripe, red, juicy strawberries and fresh mint. This is important for flavor, but also for the colors of Christmas.
Mix however many berries and mint leaves you like in the bottom of each glass if it is for two or three or four.
Use a pitcher or punch bowl if it is for more.
Use a wooden spoon to muddle (mix and lightly smash) the fruit and herbs, but keep some pieces chunky for texture, taste and holiday red and green colors.
Next mix, equal parts white grape juice (you can substitute white wine, but grape juice is more grape tasting, a bit sweeter and contains no extra alcohol).
Mix the wine or white grape juice to equal parts of simple syrup (you probably know what this is, but just in case, Lisa and Nancy, it is equal parts warm water to sugar, dissolved).
Add a touch or two of your favorite brandy to taste – I like more brandy, like a jigger.
Now top this drink with Cava, white sparking Spanish wine, as much or as little sparkle and bubbles as you desire.
You may use a margarita type glass, or whatever you have.
Taste, add more bubbles, or brandy and serve solo, or with cheeses, salted nuts or tapas – small canapes.
Also fun for New Years Eve. Salud!
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Brenda C. Hill
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Author: Brenda Hill
As a longtime food writer for Where Magazine New York City, Brenda Hill, along with her writing partner, Maralyn Hill (no relation), writes and publishes books about chefs, food and international travel. They co-authored "Our Love Affairs with Food & Travel" and joined French Master Chef Herve Laurent in writing "Cooking Secrets: The Why and How" Brenda has been active in the California Writer's Club, IFWTWA, and the Santa Barbara's Writers Conference. Brenda Hill and her partner Maralyn Hill conduct marketing and writing seminars. Maralyn and I will be heading back to Rancho La Puerta in July to give our presentation on writing and marketing your book, as well as bringing back some freshly picked off the farm nutritious and tasty recipes.
