have you ever heard/read the word christmahanakwanza? it is a word that combines the words: christmas, hanukkah and kwanza together. this way no holiday during december gets left behind. i am not sure where this word came from but i like it. i like it so much i named this, originally christmas, punch after it. i celebrate christmas but i didn’t want to leave anyone behind. this is an “everyone is welcomed, and encouraged, to drink wine” blog!

i wanted to share some holiday recipes with you, but i knew that most of the staple dishes would be covered by other folks. so i wanted to do some non-traditional items such as the bacon, chives and cream creese spread, the orange and ginger cookies and the chestnut, mushroom and porto tarts.  this punch is another addition to my holiday posts. i am not sure about where you are reading this from but here in new york it has been cold these past few days. this warm, spiced punch was just what i needed to warm me up. the cinnamon, apples and oranges add a lot of wonderful holiday flavors.

you will see below that this is a really quick punch. you should make it for the holiday’s this year. here is the recipe for spiced christmahanakwanza punch!

INGREDIENTS:
1 bottle of red wine of your choice (i chose a nice rioja)
4 tbsp sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1 1/2 cup boiling water
1/2 cup brandy
1/2 cup triple sec
1/2 cup cream sherry
1 seedless orange cut into wedges
1 apple cut into wedges

INSTRUCTIONS:
heat up the wine, sugar and cinnamon until just about to simmer.  DO NOT let it boil. 

stir to mix well. 

drain the wine, discard the cinnamon stick and pour back onto the saucepan.

add the water, triple sec, brandy and sherry.

add the apple and orange wedges; heat up the wine a bit to heat the fruit. but as usual make sure you don’t let the wine boil. 

serve on a heat resistant glass and drink warm.

as you saw, this punch could not be any easier to make.

the cinnamon ads a nice touch. you can add cloves as well for an extra spice kick if you’d like.

this batch lasted one day. that’s right: one. day. that’s how we roll at casa de josie apparently.

it was so yummy we (mainly me - i am not kidding anyone) did not realize we’d drank it all until we poured the last goblet. oops!

thank you for stopping by the blog. i hope you are having a fantastic week and you try making this punch for christmas dinner!

hasta luego,

here are other great holiday posts!

michelle’s dominican punch
clare’s panettone french toast
imen’s mince pies
marlie’s eggnog
imen’s holiday gingerbread
deb’s nutmeg maple butter cookies
ken’s caramelized apple gingerbread
yuri’s eggnog bundt cake with vanilla rum glaze
brandy’s warm cranberry and apple cider