Wednesday, April 27, 2011

(Louisville) Cardinal Punch

Maker's Mark glasses: require a bit of bourbon!

It's raining today.  In fact, it's been raining consistently for the past week.  It's really cramping my style.  Especially since our volleyball courts have flooded and the games were cancelled.  I was really looking forward to playing in the sand tonight.  Who cares about safety, right?  Well... see, the rain is even making me think crazy thoughts!  Safety is more important, so I guess it's for the best.  But seriously... the rain needs to stop. 

Anyway, I was off from work yesterday and got a lot of food/drink related things done.  This punch was one of those things.  It actually stopped raining momentarily.  It gave me enough time to go out back on the deck and take some pictures.  And then my camera battery died.  Seriously.  FML.

But rain and a dead camera battery (which is now fully charged, thank you) aren't reasons enough to complain.  Life ain't so bad.

And this punch proves it.  Easily adaptable to be an "adult" beverage (throw in some bourbon and you've got yourself something delicious), but delicious enough on it's own, sans-alcohol.  And I don't know if the University of Louisville Cardinals have an official drink or not, but the punch definitely has the team colors going on. 

Ingredients:


Adapted from the 1945 Edition of the Boston Cooking School Cookbook

2 cups cranberries (the last of my frozen babies - until next fall!)
3 cups water
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup orange juice
Juice from 1 lemon
1 can of ginger ale (Ale 8 is the best!)

In a medium saucepan, cook the cranberries in 2 cups of water until they are soft, about 10 minutes or so.  Drain the liquid into a juice pitcher through a metal strainer or cheesecloth.  Discard solids.

In a small saucepan, make a simple syrup by boiling sugar and remaining cup of water for about 5 minutes, stirring to dissolve sugar.  Add syrup to the cranberry juice in pitcher and place in refrigerator to chill, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Add in orange juice, lemon juice, and ginger ale.

Fill glasses with ice and pour punch over top.  If you're feeling up to it, splash a little bit of bourbon or vodka in there, too.  Or not.  It's up to you! Oh, and if you didn't want to go through the whole making your cranberry juice sort of thing (especially if you didn't hoard any in your freezer, like I did), you could always just get cranberry juice (you'll need about 3 cups) from the store - just skip down to adding the orange juice, lemon juice, and ginger ale step if you do.


Hope you guys have a good rest of your Wednesday!  I'm off to study for my last final ever.... well, in a traditional college course, that is.  Until September when my finals will be Culinary School-related...

23 comments:

  1. Oh, this looks gooooood :)
    It's raining here, too, I understand the frustration :P
    Good luck with the studies :)

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  2. I hope the rain stops soon! I hate gloomy weather for more than a day! boo! come on mother nature!

    at least you have tropical deliciousness like this to pretend its sunny with =)

    xoXOxo
    Jenn @ Peas & Crayons

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  3. we had tons of rain here today, too! it seems like it was across north america!
    ah to be on a beach!...thanks for the festive drink photo, anyway!
    good luck with the studying!!

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  4. I am keeping this recipe;love the combination; really am cranberry juice fan so this just has to be good. Waiting for this rain to stop too.
    Rita

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  5. wow girl, 1945?? Thats historical cooking, love it!

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  6. That is really awesome, love cranberry orange juice there, it is from old cook book, make it more special.Here we are waiting for some rain.

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  7. Doh. Sorry about the court...but did you say a little or a lot of bourbon?

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  8. Hi Peggy, wow this drink has been around for such a long time yet looks so delicious! It was a nice weather here in SF but it starts to get windy now. Next week is going to be 73-74 with sunny I can't wait. Hope the rain will be over soon for you... Good luck on your studies!

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  9. Bourbon? Great for drinking and baking! Yes, please!

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  10. That drink looks so colorful and tangy... Would love it anytime

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  11. That's one luscious looking drink. Hope the rain will be over soon.

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  12. I somehow don't have the tendancy of mixing juices. I drink juice as it is. I start being creative with drinks this summer.

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  13. I envision sitting on my verandah, pouring a cup of this, and possibly spiking it with bubbly.

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  14. It is raining here as well, the weather is aweful. This punch made my day!

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  15. Hayırlı sabahlar, ellerinize,emeğinize sağlık. Çok leziz ve iştah açıcı görünüyor.

    Saygılarımla.

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  16. It must be raining everywhere - we have had 20 year record rains here in Sydney!! It's gotta stop soon!!!!

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  17. Ah so it's been one of THOSE weeks...now I see why you've got bourbon on the brain :P Seriously, though this looks delicious and so refreshing!

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  18. Love the vibrant color, pass a glass will yah!

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  19. This really sounds wonderful. It has a perfect color and will appeal to almost everyone. I hope you have a great day. Blessings...Mary

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  20. Peggy - I'm a huge fan of "virgin" cocktails and this one looks like it will really hit the spot. Thanks for sharing it, and good luck on your last final! :)

    ~ Cleo
    author of The Coffeehouse Mysteries
    Coffeehouse Mystery.com
    Cleo Coyle on Twitter

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  21. Cranberries and ginger ale in a punch sounds great! If only they were in season...

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