Holiday White Sangria

Make this ahead of time to let the fruit and wine meld together.  Let it set for at least 4 hours and then serve in wine glasses.  It's sweet and fruity so it goes best with dessert or with some cheese and crackers.

Ingredients
1 bottle of pinot grigio
1 cup of simple syrup
1/4 cup of orange curacao  
1 lemon
1 clementine
1 green apple
1/2 cup of whole cranberries


First you'll want to make the simple syrup, which is just literally equal parts water and sugar heated up until the sugar dissolves.  I use 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar.  Make sure you don't over heat it or else you end up with a very thick syrup.  As soon as the sugar dissolves, let it sit and cool to room temperature before adding to your sangria.

Add your simple syrup into a large pitcher, along with the pinot grigio and orange curacao. 

Next, slice up half of the lemon and the whole clementine into rounds.  Make sure to remove any seeds before adding into the pitcher.  Cut up about half of the apple into thick chunks and add to your sangria.  Add the cranberries and give it a stir.  

Place in the fridge immediately and let the flavors come together.  Serve in glasses and enjoy!

Cranberry Clementine Cake with a Sugar Glaze

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Ingredients
1 box of butter golden cake mix
3/4 cup of chopped cranberries
3/4 cup of chopped clementines (about 3)
1/2 powdered sugar
1 T of milk
1/2 t of vanilla extract

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Use vegetable spray to coat two loaf pans (you can choose to use 8x8 pan, 9x9 pan, or make these into cupcakes).

Follow the directions on the cake mix box to create the cake base.  You will typically use water, eggs, and butter, but the exact amounts may vary by brand.  Use your mixer and combine until smooth, about 4 minutes.


Chop up the cranberries and clementines into bite-sized chunks.  Fold the cranberries and clementines into the cake batter.

Pour the mixture into the two loaf pans and bake for about 35 minutes.  The top should be golden and the middle should be firm.

Let the cake loaves cool on a rack completely.

While the loaves cool, combine the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract into a small bowl.  Stir the ingredients with a spoon until they are combined and smooth.  Drizzle over the top of the cake loaves.  

Eat within a few days or freeze immediately.