A festive spritzer couldn’t be easier, whether making a single serving or enough for a party. All you need to do is mix equal measures of chilled Cheerwine Holiday Punch and fruity red wine and garnish with fresh citrus. Serve over ice, if you like. Or set up a simple beverage station where guests can create spritzers to their liking.
Yield: 6 to 8 servings.
3 cups Cheerwine Holiday Punch, chilled
3 cups light-bodied, fruity red wine, like a Pinot Noir
Citrus slices, for garnish
In serving glasses or a pitcher, stir together the Cheerwine and wine. Serve at once, over ice if you like, garnished with fresh citrus.
Fruit dumplings make a great dessert, but they can also shine on a holiday breakfast table. In this dish, Cheerwine, brown sugar, and butter team up to make delicious syrup for warm and tender dumplings, ready in minutes thanks to the convenience of crescent roll dough. Be sure to use an apple that’s good for pie, like Granny Smith.
Yield: 8 dumplings.
1 (8-ounce) can refrigerated crescent roll dough
1 sweet-tart baking apple, cored and cut into 8 wedges
1/3 cup dried cherries
4 tablespoons butter, melted
4 tablespoons packed brown sugar
½ teaspoon apple pie spice
½ teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup Cheerwine (not diet)
2 to 3 tablespoons lemon juice
½ cup sifted powdered sugar
Lemon zest, to garnish
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Separate the dough into triangles. Place an apple wedge and a few cherries on the wide edge of each piece, roll up, and arrange in a single layer in a shallow baking dish that holds them snugly. Scatter the remaining cherries into the dish.
Whisk together the melted butter, brown sugar, spice, and vanilla, and spoon over the tops of the dumplings. Pour the Cheerwine around, not over, the dumplings.
Bake until deep golden brown, about 30 minutes.
Whisk enough lemon juice into the powdered sugar to make thick glaze to drizzle over the dumplings. Garnish with lemon zest. Serve warm.
A holiday-worthy brisket with silky gravy turns out perfectly if you do three easy things. 1. Sear it well at the start. 2. Let it cook low and slow until it’s fully tender. 3. Let it rest overnight before serving. (That’s the real secret to success, plus using Cheerwine, of course.) Colorful vegetables complete this meal.
Yield: 6 to 8 servings.
Brisket:
4 to 4 ½ pounds first-cut brisket with fat cap trimmed to 1/4 inch
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 ½ teaspoons ground black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 ½ cups Cheerwine (not diet)
1 cup ketchup
1 (1-ounce) packet onion soup and dip mix
1 tablespoon dried Italian herbs
3 cups chopped onions
Vegetables:
2 to 2 ½ pounds mixed root vegetables, such as carrots, parsnips, fingerling potatoes, and sweet potatoes, cut into bite-size pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and chopped fresh rosemary
For the brisket: Preheat the oven to 325°. Season brisket all over with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sear the brisket until deeply browned, about 4 minutes per side.
While the brisket sears, whisk together the Cheerwine, ketchup, onion mix, and herbs.
Transfer the seared brisket to a large plate. Slowly pour the Cheerwine mixture into the pot, scrapping up the browned bits. Stir in the onions. Return the brisket to the pot, fat-side up. Bring to a simmer, and then cover with foil followed by a tight-fitting lid.
Bake until fork-tender, about 3 hours. Uncover and let cool to room temperature, and then refrigerate overnight or up to 2 days.
In the morning, discard the fat that solidifies on top of the cooking liquid and remove the brisket.
Make the gravy by pureeing the cooking liquid with an immersion blender. (Alternatively, working in batches to not fill a blender more than half-full at a time, puree in a blender and return to the pot.)
Submerge the brisket (either left whole or cut into thick slices) in the gravy and simmer gently until heated through, at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour.
For the vegetables: Preheat the oven to 425°. Place the vegetables on a rimmed baking sheet, drizzle with oil, toss to coat, and spread in a single layer. Roast until tender with browned edges, about 20 minutes. Season immediately with salt and rosemary. Serve warm alongside the brisket.
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