You can also serve red bubblies such as Italian Brachetto and Lambrusco or sparkling Shiraz.

All can be made with ginger ale cocktail for non-drinkers and kids.

For Christmas, the two sparkling cocktails below have a red or red and green color palate. Both are named for great Italian artists:

What’s more Christmassy than a sparkling red cocktail? Photo of the Rossini Cocktail courtesy Chandon USA.

Ingredients For 4 Cocktails

 
*Ideally the strawberry leaves will be green and perky. If the leaves are wilted, remove them and optionally combine the strawberry with a mint leaf on a cocktail pick or colored toothpick.

Ingredients For 4 Cocktails

 
Preparation

1. Add three or four frozen grapes to each flute glass.

2. Pour 1½ ounces of grape juice into each flute.

3. Fill the glasses almost to the top with Prosecco. Serve.
 
RECIPE: KIR ROYALE

This deep red cocktail is one of our favorites at any time of the year.

Ingredients

1. ADD cassis to taste to the bottom of the flute or tulip Champagne glass.

2. GENTLY POUR the sparkling wine down the side of the glass. Stirring breaks the bubbles, so the better option is not to stir (if you must, stir once, very gently).
 
 
7 VARIATIONS ON THE KIR ROYALE

Each is more delicious than the next. Check out the easy recipes.

Want a hot and hearty hors d’oeuvre with cocktails? This sausage-stuffed mushroom recipe can be made up to 48 hours in advance, then baked right before you’re ready to serve.

Baby portabella mushroom caps are stuffed with goat cheese, sausage and dried cranberries to create these a most attractive appetizer.

A perfect party starter, stuff your mushroom caps up to 48 hours before you’re ready to serve, then bake when needed!

This recipe is from GoodCook.com, a great recipe trove.
 
 
RECIPE: SAUSAGE STUFFED MUSHROOMS

Ingredients For 15 Mushroom Caps

1. PREHEAT oven to 400°F.

2. COMBINE goat cheese, sausage, cranberries and garlic in a small bowl.

4. SPOON filling into the center of each mushroom cap. Spray each mushroom with a thin layer of nonstick olive oil spray and place on a 13″ x 9″ baking sheet.

5. BAKE for 15-20 minutes, or until mushrooms are soft and goat cheese filling is golden.
 
 
Find more recipes using the pull-down menu at the right.

Still looking for the killer Christmas cocktail?

Try this spiced Cranberry Cocktail from SarahsJoys.com.

The special difference is simple syrup infused with allspice, cloves, fresh ginger, cinnamon and fresh cranberries; then blend with vodka and a splash of club soda. The cranberries and mint leaf are a perfect holiday garnish.

The simple syrup can be made in advance (just simmer in a saucepan) and stored in the fridge.

RECIPE: CHRISTMAS COCKTAIL

Ingredients For Simple Syrup

The cocktail that shouts “Christmas!” Photo courtesy SarahsJoys.com.

 
Ingredients Per Drink

 
Preparation

1. MAKE simple syrup. Inspect your spices to be sure they are fresh. Allspice that’s been on your shelf for years won’t pack much of a punch.

2. COMBINE water, sugar, allspice, cloves, ginger and cinnamon in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer. When the sugar has dissolved, add the cranberries. Bring to a boil and boil until the cranberries pop, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to steep for one hour. Then strain mixture through a fine sieve, gently pressing with the back of a rubber spatula or wood spoon to extract the juices. Cool and refrigerate until ready to make drink.

3. COMBINE the cranberry syrup, optional triple sec and vodka in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake vigorously for 10 seconds. Fill a rocks glass with ice and strain the contents of the cocktail shaker into the glass. Top with club soda. Garnish and serve.
Here’s the full recipe with step-by-step photos.

 
Find more of our favorite cocktail recipes.
  

Mom’s recipe for a Pineapple-Lime Gelatin Mold has been part of our holiday for decades. The recipe arrived way back in the 1960s, on a box of lime Jell-O (we think). Made in a fluted mold, it became a family favorite at Christmas and Easter.

Mom served it as a side with the turkey or ham; we enjoyed the leftovers as a sweet snack or dessert. And as simple as it is, it’s a favorite of our foodie friends, who invariably ask for the recipe.

Alas, we didn’t have time to make it and shoot Mom’s recipe, so we’re grateful for the use of this photo from the blog Please Be Seated. It’s actually a different recipe—a cucumber lime mold—but it looks close enough. You can even use the cucumber slices and parsley as shown.

Here’s the cucumber-lime mold recipe.

We’ve also included a related recipe for a cranberry gelatin mold. Both are made in a six-cup fluted mold (or substitute any six cup mold you have).

Ingredients For 10-12 Servings

 
Preparation

1. DISSOLVE gelatin in water a large bowl. Stir in pineapple; cover and refrigerate until syrupy.

2. WHISK in sour cream; add pecans. Transfer to a 6-cup ring mold coated with cooking spray. Cover and refrigerate until firm. Unmold onto a serving plate.

3. BRING to table plain or filled with optional garnish.

Ingredients For 10-12 Servings

1. COMBINE combine cranberries and sugar in a bowl. Let stand for 30 minutes or until sugar is dissolved, stirring occasionally.

2. DRAIN juice from oranges and pineapple, reserving 3/4 cup juice. Cut pineapple into small pieces. Set fruit aside.

3. SPRINKLE gelatin over reserved juice in a small saucepan; let stand for 1 minute. Cook and stir over low heat until gelatin is dissolved, about 2 minutes. Add to cranberry mixture; stir in the oranges and pineapple. Fold in sour cream.

4. BEAT cream until in a small bowl until it begins to thicken. Add confectioners’ sugar; beat until soft peaks form. Fold into fruit mixture. Pour into a 6-cup ring mold or 12 individual molds lightly coated with cooking spray. Refrigerate until set. Unmold before serving.

Thanks to Taste Of Home for this yummy recipe.

It’s easy to craft your own cranberry vodka infusion. Instead of vodka, you can use silver tequila, genever, Plymouth gin or a London gin with a low level of aromatics.

This recipe is courtesy Prairie Organic Spirits, which makes both organic gin and vodka (including cucumber-infused vodka) in Minnesota.

The vodka is handcrafted with single vintage organic corn. The line is certified organic by the USDA, which ensures that no genetically modified seeds, chemical fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides are used. The price: just $19.99 for a 750 ml bottle.

RECIPE: CRANBERRY CLOVE INFUSED VODKA

Ingredients

1. POUR 1/3 of the vodka into a pitcher or a measuring cup with a spout and set aside.

2. FILL the empty bottle space with cranberries and cloves.

3. TOP OFF the bottle with the reserved vodka and tightly securing the cap.

4. STORE in the fridge or in dark, cool space for three to four days. Then, it’s ready to serve.
 
MORE INFUSED VODKA RECIPES

How about:

It’s easy to infuse vodka: Just add simple ingredient to the bottle. Photo courtesy Prairie Organic Spirits.

Download the pdfs at PrairieVodka.com.