You know how it goes, you take a look in the fridge for something to eat and there’s a big jar with one lonely pickle spear floating and bobbing in a sea of pickle juice. You eat that pickle and are just about to pour the juice out…what do you do when faced with this “dill-ema?”
Ingredients
6 large lemons, preferably organic ½ cup granulated sugar 2 ½ cups cold water 1 cup dill pickle juice (we like Grillo’s) Pickle spears and fresh jalapeño or serrano slices for garnish
Directions
Juice lemons until you have 1 cup of fresh juice. Set the juice aside and reserve the squeezed peels.
Place reserved peels and sugar in a large mason jar. Muddle until peels release their oils and sugar starts to look damp and fragrant.
Pour lemon juice into jar. Stir or seal and shake until sugar is fully dissolved. Stir in cold water and pickle juice.
Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a pitcher or clean jar, discarding the peels.
Serve over ice, with jalapeño slices and pickle spears for garnish. Can be made up to 3 days ahead and kept chilled until serving.
Cocktails are trending lighter these days and we love the idea of using wine in place of hard liquor as the base for fun and fetching and interesting mixed drinks.
Wine is complex, varied and as versatile as any liqueur or hard liquor. So even if you’re off the hard sauce this season, you can still feel a little fancy with any of these in hand.
This hot chocolate is great after a day on the slopes.
Ingredients
1 ½ cups semisweet chocolate chips
½ cup dark chocolate chips
1/4 cup cocoa powder
3 Tbsp dark brown sugar
5 cups whole or dairy free alternative milk
Pinch of sea salt and pinch of black pepper
1 750 ml bottle of fruit forward full-bodied red wine, like Zinfandel or Shiraz
Directions
Combine all ingredients except for the wine in a large saucepan over medium heat and whisk continuously until completely combined and no longer grainy.
Add wine and simmer for one minute, but do not boil. Remove from heat and serve hot.
