We realized the other day that we have been woefully remiss in our duty to provide our readers with cocktail recipes on a somewhat frequent basis. We’ve been too busy adding the booze to the food. Shame, shame. We’re here today to remedy that oversight with a great holiday cocktail that is simple to assemble and does double duty as a sort of holiday potpourri. How’s that for multitasking? We’ve taken a traditional mulled wine and given it a seasonal twist by adding the now ubiquitous flavor of butternut squash.
Full disclosure: this recipe began life as Pumpkin Mulled Wine, which if you can lay your hands on some pie pumpkins (Cinderella or other sweeter variety), go for it. Actually, any sweeter squash will work for this recipe. (Side note: You could also switch it up by using honey crisp apples, or even nice firm peaches if you can find them. The mulling spices will work wonders with them, and you can garnish with a spoonful of the wine-soaked fruit.) Using butternut squash will save you the scavenger hunt, though. You should even be able to find it peeled and diced in most larger markets. This will give you more mulling and drinking time. Priorities, people. We’re all about streamlining the shopping and preparation processes to get the food and drinks on your table and in your bellies as quickly as possible, especially during the holiday season.
This is adapted from a recipe in Saveur, and the original iteration called for an entire cup of sugar per bottle of wine. (?!?) We don’t know about you, but the thought of having to put insulin on our Christmas wish lists is not cool. No diabetes on the menu this Thanksgiving, thank you very much. To that end, we’ve reduced the amount of sugar to 1/2 cup per two 750ml bottles of wine. The resulting mulled wine, with the addition of the butternut squash, is slightly sweet and beautifully spiced. Warm, cozy comfort in a cup.
Once it’s made, you can keep it on the stove over low heat until you’re ready to serve, but if you want to free up the stovetop burner, you can transfer it to a crock pot set on low. It holds perfectly, and your guests can help themselves—just set out cups, a ladle, a little dish of sugar cubes for those who like it a little sweeter, and a bowl of orange peel for garnish (Old bartender’s trick–pour a little club soda over the peels to keep them from drying out). No muss, no fuss, no worry.
Great for holiday parties or Thanksgiving brunch. Did we mention that your house will smell like a pie factory at the North Pole? You’re welcome, and enjoy! Everyone have a safe and happy Thanksgiving, and thank you for letting us be a part of it. Peace.
Adapted from Saveur.
- 2 oranges
- 2 lb. butternut squash, peeled, seeded and roughly chopped
- 2 tsp. whole cloves
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 -(750-ml.) bottles red wine (we used Zinfandel, but Merlot or Claret would work great here too)
- Peel oranges and squeezed their juice into a medium sized saucepan. Add half of the orange peels to the pan and reserve the rest of the peels for garnish. Add cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar, and 1 ½ cups water to the saucepan and cook over medium heat.
- Cook, stirring occasionally, until squash is tender and translucent, about 40–45 minutes.
- Strain through a fine-mesh sieve and return to saucepan. Add wine and keep warm over low heat. Serve in mugs and garnish with reserved orange peels.
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