For your holiday celebrations, we propose a perfect Christmas cocktail:

 
A conventional Mimosa combines sparkling wine and orange juice (see the Mimosa history, below). Substitute cranberry juice and you’ve got the holiday version.

(For a Chanukah version, use sparkling wine and blue Curaçao, with blue sparkling sugar. Here’s the recipe; photo below.).

You need only two ingredients—wine and cranberry juice. But you can create a more complex flavor and glamorous look recipe by adding:

 
RECIPE #1: CRANBERRY MIMOSA

You can make the drink sweeter with a sweeter sparkling wine, by adding liqueur, and/or by increasing the percentage of cranberry juice (which also makes a less potent drink).

 
Preparation

1. CHILL the wine and juice in advance.

2. RIM the glasses in advance. Moisten the glass rims and twist them in a plate of sugar at the beginning of the event.

3. ADD the juice and optional liqueur to the glass. Stir briefly.

4. TOP off with the sparkling wine. Garnish as desired and serve.
 
Garnishes

 
RECIPE #2: MOCKTAIL VERSION

Ingredients

 
RECIPE #3: FROZEN GRAPE PICKS

Increase the ingredients as needed for the size of your gathering. You can mix the colors or use just one color of grapes.

 
Preparation

1. REMOVE from the stems and wash the grapes.

2. PLACE 3-4 grapes on each pick and roll in a plate of sugar. The coating does not need to be even or heavy; a smaller amount makes for better eating. If the grapes have dried, you can lightly spray them with water. Let them sit for 15 minutes for the sugar to adhere.

3. FREEZE the skewers until ready to use.
 
THE HISTORY OF THE MIMOSA COCKTAIL

[1] Cranberry Mimosa with a conventional garnish (photo courtesy Ocean Spray). [2] With an “evergreen” garnish: a rosemary sprig and red grapes (photo courtesy Delish). [3] Like a Santa hat with a rim of sparkling sugar (photo courtesy Stress Baking). [4] With frozen sugared grapes (photo courtesy The Cookie Rookie). [5] For a deeper red cocktail: Brachetto d’Aqui sparkling Italian wine (photo courtesy Banfi). [6] The Chanukah version. Here’s the recipe from Announcing It, plus more Chanukah cocktails.

Served in a Champagne flute, it is believed to be named after the the mimosa evergreen shrub (Acacia dealbata), which bears flowers of a similar light orange color as the drink.

Because of the juice component, the Mimosa is often served at brunch. A Grapefruit Mimosa is a popular variation.

A related drink, the Buck’s Fizz, has two parts Champagne to one part juice—and sometimes a splash of grenadine. Created at London’s Buck’s Club by bartender Pat McGarryhe, the Buck’s Fizz predates the Mimosa by about four years.
  

[1] Top a cocktail or mocktail with cotton candy (photo Jeff Green | Barbara Kraft | Arizona Biltmore). [2] Soft drinks, shakes, and so forth can get the cotton candy treatment (photo courtesy Aww Sam). [3] Spun sugar, the predecessor of cotton candy (photo courtesy Food Network).

December 7th is National Cotton Candy Day. In different parts of the world, it’s known as candy cobwebs, candy floss, fairy floss and spider webs, among other names.

THE HISTORY OF COTTON CANDY

The father of cotton candy was spun sugar. In the mid-18th century, master confectioners in Europe and America learned to hand-craft spun sugar nests as Easter decorations and elaborate dessert presentations.

According to The Dictionary of American Food and Drink, the debut of the product we know as cotton candy took place in 1897 in Nashville.

Candymakers William Morrison and John C. Wharton invented an electric machine that allowed crystallized sugar to be poured onto a heated spinning plate, pushed by centrifugal force through a series of tiny holes.

In 1904 at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, Morrison and Wharton sold the product, then known as “fairy floss,” in cardboard boxes for 25 cents a serving. Though the price equaled half the admission to the Fair itself, they sold 68,655 boxes!

Here’s more cotton candy history.

COTTON CANDY AS A DRINK GARNISH

For those with a sweet tooth, cotton candy is a fun garnish for cocktails, mocktails and other non-alcoholic drinks.

Caterers love the idea, as do some mixologists. Some mixologists create “magic” at the bar or table, presenting a glass of cotton candy, then pouring the cocktail over it.

Check out this YouTube video and this fun recipe. The cotton candy disappears “like magic”.

 
THE COTTON CANDY COCKTAIL

Match the cotton candy color to the drink, or create contrast.

Here are some recipes to start you off:

Cotton Candy Daiquiri

Garnished Shots

Multicolor Cocktail With Multicolor Cotton Candy
 
 
For a drinkable dessert, garnish a glass of sweet wine.

You can find many more online, including a Pinterest page on cotton candy cocktails.

TIP: You don’t have to add an ice cream scoop-size ball of cotton candy. Sometimes, less is more.

If someone on your gift list is very serious about cheese (such a person is a turophile, Greek for cheese lover), consider the Cheese Grotto.

Think of it as a cheese humidor, to protect precious cheeses instead of cigars.

Everything old is new again. Cheese Grotto is based on a very old design, used to keep ripe cheeses in peak condition for generations. There’s nothing like it in the modern marketplace.

Designed by a cheesemonger, Cheese Grotto creates a perfect environment for wedges and uncut wheels to thrive. It keeps cheeses at their optimal stages of ripeness.

In other words, it keeps precious (costly!) cheeses in a state of stasis, maintaining their ideal ripeness for a longer period.

We’re not talking about supermarket swiss, mind you, or cheeses that you plan to consume the same day; but of artisan cheeses that sell for $25.00 a pound and up: cheeses you want to savor, a bit a day.

WHAT’S WRONG WITH PLASTIC WRAP?

Most cheese counters wrap your cheese in plastic wrap. That’s just to transport it home.

 
After you get home, cheese experts recommend re-wrapping the cheese in special cheese wrapping paper.

While cheese wrapping paper is an improvement over conventional kitchen wraps—and is certainly less expensive than the Cheese Grotto—it isn’t nearly as effective (which is why cheesemonger Jessica Sennett created Cheese Grotto in the first place).

Cheese Grotto solves the air flow and humidity problems with a humidor environment fostered by a clay brick that is briefly soaked in water. It releases moisture into the confined space of the Grotto.

 
Cheese Grotto has two adjustable shelves and holds 3-6 cheeses, depending on the size of the wheels or wedges.
 
WHERE DO YOU GET ONE?

The Cheese Grotto, handmade to order in Virginia, is $350. That includes optional engraved initials and shipping.

The materials are made from wood and other components that are natural and environmentally friendly.

Order yours at CheeseGrotto.com.

[1] and [2] For the true cheese connoisseur, the Cheese Grotto (photos courtesy JRennet). [3] What the professionals have (a cheese cave at Murray’s Cheese).

[1] All chocolate pudding parfait (photo © Elegant Affairs Caterers.)

[2] Mixed flavors and garnishes (photo © Yotel |NYC).

[3] Tiramisu pudding parfait (photo courtesy The Vegan Cookie Fairy).

[ ] [4] Butterscotch and vanilla pudding parfait (photo courtesy Gather By D’Amico).

It’s the annual crazy-busy holiday season. In the midst of gift shopping, holiday cooking and sending cards (or e-letters or whatever), there’s a stream of adult friends and kids’ friends dropping by, planned get-togethers and other celebrations. When you don’t have time to bake a cake (and don’t want to pay $$$ for them), the solution is pudding parfaits.

Instant pudding, cookie crumbs and a garnish make a pudding parfait with little work, but everyone will be delighted. In our home, there are always boxes of Jell-O pudding (regular and sugarless), cookies and some type of chocolate or candy.

With just 15 minutes advance notice—or while the coffee brews—you can make a pudding parfait.
Combinations:

 
NO COOKIES?

Substitute:

 
FOR ADULTS: LIQUEUR

Add a hint of liqueur to:

 
GARNISHES

See what you have on hand:

[1] All Chocolate Parfait: chocolate cookie crumbs, chocolate pudding, chocolate mini chips.

[2] Assorted Flavors: chocolate layered, vanilla, vanilla/chocolate layered, variously topped with candied orange peel, chopped nuts, cookie crumbs, mini meringue, strawberry, raspberry.

[3] Tiramisu Parfait: chocolate cookie crumbs flavored with coffee liqueur, vanilla pudding flavored with coffee liqueur and instant coffee, topped with whipped cream and a chocolate wafer.

[4] Double Pudding Parfait: chocolate and vanilla pudding layers, topped with whipped cream and a chocolate “cigarette.”
 
  

SAVANNAH BEE COMPANY ARTISAN HONEYS

Anything from this wonderful company makes a great gift, including the honey beauty products. Since 2002, we’ve been avid customers.

The company gathers varietal honeys:

 
They’re sold in different sizes, with prices varying slightly by varietal. These prices are for the tupelo honey:

 
You can’t go wrong with anything, but if you need a recommendation:
 
FOR ANYBODY: WHIPPED HONEY

 
FOR THE CONNOISSEUR: TUPELO HONEY

[1] Whipped honey: spreadable in four luscious flavors. [2] Tupelo honey: 12-ounce jar, 20-ounce flute, 3-ounce jar (photos courtesy Savannah Bee).

For two weeks each spring, white tupelo trees in the Southeastern swamps bloom with flowers that glisten with nectar. The bees flock to the blossoms. The result: tupelo honey with its buttery undertones and mellow, clean sweetness.

Tupelo honey complements numerous foods, and it’s definitely another one of those “eat from the spoon” delights.

The entire line is certified kosher by KSA. Just try some on those latkes!

NOTE: The honeys recommended here have nothing to do with “supermarket honey,” which is gathered overseas from many sources and blended to create a profile that will appeal to the lowest common denominator (with all due respect).
 
THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF HONEY

THE HISTORY OF HONEY

Oh honey: The spicy honey is one of our favorite new [to us] products of the year (photos courtesy Bushwick Kitchen).

Sugar with spice is certainly nice. We love the palate buzz that comes with the chile-infused honey from Bushwick Kitchen.

Wildflower honey from New York State’s Hudson Valley is infused with fresh chiles in Brooklyn, delivering a New York state of mind that we love.

The artisans also produce Meyer Lemon Honey and Salted Honey, flavored maple syrups and other products that we hope to try soon. Take a look at Bushwick Kitchen.

The honey we’ve had several times (and loved so much we didn’t sufficiently pay attention to the other flavors) is the Bee’s Knees Spicy Honey. The honey is first infused, and for a finishing touch a single red chile is suspended in the bottle.

This charmer of a hot honey condiment goes well with…

 
A 13½-ounce squeeze bottle is $15.95 at King Arthur Flour.

But we bet your bottle won’t last the week. So…

A gift set of all three bottles is $44.99 at Bushwick Kitchen.

Honey Trivia: Honey is the oldest edible food, found in the tomb of a pharaoh. It doesn’t decay because it has virtually no moisture. That’s also why it was used to dress wounds in ancient times: No bacteria could survive to infect the injury.

MORE HONEY TRIVIA