Add a taste of the festive season to your holiday table with our Mistletoe Punch. This delightful punch combines the tartness of lemonade and orange juice with the sweetness of grenadine syrup and the fizz of ginger ale. It’s not just a drink, it’s a celebration in a cup!
Ingredients
- 1 (6 oz.) can frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
- 1 (6 oz.) can frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
- 6 c. water
- 1/2 ??? grenadine syrup
- 1 qt. ginger ale, chilled
- wafer thin lemon slices and maraschino cherries for garnish
Mixing Instructions
- Combine all ingredients, except ginger ale and garnish, in a punch bowl.
- Just before serving, add some ice cubes and stir in the ginger ale.
- Put lemon slice and a cherry in each cup.
- Serves 30.
Calorie: 0
Total cooking time:10 minutes
Difficulty level: Easy
The Mistletoe Punch Saga Begins
Let’s start at the very beginning (a very good place to start, or so I’m told). It was a cold winter’s day, and I had just received an invitation to a festive holiday bash. I was told to bring a punch. Now, I’ve never been the type to literally punch my friends (unless it’s a tickle fight – all bets are off then), so I assumed they meant the drink. But which one to bring? After much debate, some mild existential crises, and a coin flip, I decided on the Mistletoe Punch. It seemed festive enough. And thus, my saga with Mistletoe Punch started.
The Gathering of the Ingredients
Like any great quest, mine began with the gathering of the necessary tools for my journey. In this case, it was the frozen lemonade concentrate, orange juice concentrate, water, grenadine syrup, ginger ale, and maraschino cherries. I thought it would be easy. Boy, was I wrong.
Firstly, let me tell you, finding frozen lemonade concentrate in a supermarket in the middle of winter is like finding a needle in a haystack. But with a bit of determination, or what others might call “stubbornness,” I found it, tucked away next to the frozen peas. Who knew?
The Punch Bowl Conundrum
The next step was to combine all the ingredients in a punch bowl. But, what if you don’t have a punch bowl, you ask? Well, you could do what I did and use a very large salad bowl. The salad won’t mind. I promise. Trust me, it adds a rustic, ‘I-tried-my-best’ aesthetic that’s all the rage nowadays.
The Grand Mixing
With all the ingredients (except the ginger ale and garnish) in my definitely-not-a-salad-bowl, it was time to mix. Now, remember to stir, not whisk. We’re making punch, not beating eggs. After a few minutes, I had something that looked like punch and not a colorful soup. Success!
The Final Flourish
Just before serving, the recipe called for some ice cubes and a stirring in of the ginger ale. It was all going well until I realised I’d forgotten to chill the ginger ale. Warm ginger ale, anyone? No? I thought not. A quick chill in the freezer and crisis (mostly) averted.
Then came the garnish – wafer-thin lemon slices and maraschino cherries. I have to admit, I felt quite fancy arranging them in each cup. Who knew I had such a flair for garnish arrangement? Maybe I missed my calling.
The End Result
Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the Mistletoe Punch. It may not be the prettiest or the most traditional, but it was made with love, laughter, and a dash of panic. But hey, isn’t that what cooking is all about?
So here’s to Mistletoe Punch, the drink that will forever remind me of a winter’s day, a supermarket quest, and a very, very large salad bowl. Cheers, my friends. Here’s to cooking, laughing, and more importantly, eating (or in this case, drinking)! And remember, if you’re ever in a pinch, a salad bowl makes a surprisingly good punch bowl.
