Punching Up The Holidays

Many people are hosting more intimate holiday parties this year, entertaining cozily at home with friends and family. For convenience and fun at such a gathering, all you need is a little…punch!

Nick Mautone, general manager and co-partner of Gramercy Tavern, drops by The Saturday Early Show with three recipes: Pineapple Punch, Hot Spiked Cider, and Fig Mulled Wine.

Mautone, who is at work on a book designed to guide single men on the finer points of entertaining and cooking, recently wrote an article for New York magazine about great holiday punch recipes. Here are the recipes for the punches he pulled for us:

PINEAPPLE PUNCH

Ingredients:

1 pineapple
1/2 lb. confectioners sugar
2 cups apricot brandy (replace with apricot nectar for alcohol-free punch)
2 bottles sparkling wine (replace with ginger ale for alcohol-free punch)

Method:

1. Peel, core, and finely chop pineapple.
   
2. Top with confectioners sugar.
   
3. Stir and let soak at least one hour and up to 24 hours in the refrigerator.
   
4. Top with apricot brandy (or nectar) and steep until needed. This mixture will last about two weeks in your refrigerator.
   
5. When you're ready to serve, place the pineapple mixture in a punch bowl and top with sparkling wine (or ginger ale).
   
6. Stir thoroughly. Serve well-chilled in champagne glasses.

Tip No. 2: You also may make individual servings by filling a champagne glass 1/3 full with the pineapple mixture and topping off with sparkling wine. Since the mixture stays so well, you may use it for several parties.

Tip No. 3: The pineapple mixture is so good, it makes a great topping for pound cake or ice cream.

HOT SPIKED CIDER

According to Mautone: "This time of year, hot apple cider is the perfect afternoon pick-me-up on a cold winter day. I get ours fresh from the farmers at the Union Square Green Market. I like soaking the dried apples in calvados or applejack because it adds a nice complex note to the finished drink. If you ever see pear cider around, feel free to give it a whirl. Just substitute a poire for the calvados and dried pears for the dried apples. I have always preferred a dark rum as my 'therapeutic shot' to spike the cider as opposed to calvados or brandy, as the rum makes a smoother, mellower beverage."

Calvados is a dry apple brandy made in Calvados, in the Normandy region of northern France, and considered one of the world's greatest. Calvados is double distilled in a pot still, then aged in limousin oak for a minimum of one year; some are aged for 40 years. Calvados is often used for cooking, particularly in chicken, pork, and veal dishes.

Applejack is a potent brandy made from apple cider and ranging in strength from 80 to 100 proof. In the United States, applejack must spend a minimum of two years in wooden casks before being bottled.

RECIPE FOR HOT SPIKED CIDER

Ingredients:

1/2 gallon fresh apple cider
3 cups dark rum
3-4 cinnamon sticks
8 extra long cinnamon sticks for garnishing
12 cloves
6 star anise
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 dozen large dried apple rings
small handful of currants (optional)
1/2 cup of calvados or applejack
brown sugar for dredging

Method:

1. Place the dried apples and currants (if desired) in a large plastic Ziploc bag, douse with calvados and allow to steep in the refrigerator overnight.
   
2. When ready to serve, warm the cider and spices in a pot, but warm through - do not boil.
   
3. Add a healthy shot of rum into a mug and pour in the cider.
   
4. "Dredge" the apple rings in the brown sugar and float on top of the cider mixture.
   
5. Serve with the extra long cinnamon sticks as an attractive "swizzle stick" or even a unique straw.

Ingredients for fig base:
2 cups port
1/2 dozen dried black mission figs de-stemmed and diced, small
1 orange, peeled and cut into segments
1/2 cup sugar
6 cloves
3 cinnamon sticks
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
4-6 pieces star anise

Ingredients for finished wine:
1 bottle pinot noir (one with good fruit)
1 cup of cherry brandy (any dark fruit brandy or Grand Marnier can be substituted)

Method:

1. Place all the ingredients for fig base in a large heavy-bottomed pot. Simmer together until figs have become extremely soft and mixture has reduced almost to a glaze.
   
2. If using immediately, add wine and cherry brandy, and simmer until hot. Do not boil the wine!
   
3. Ladle into mugs with a cinnamon stick and orange rind as garnish.

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