Sunday, January 31

Flavor of the Month: Zinfandel Ice


'Tis pity wine should be so deleterious, for tea and coffee leave us much more serious”
~ Lord Byron

After following Bake at 350's Flavor of the Month parties for several months, I now have a blog and am actually participating.  It probably sounds silly to say that I am nervous, but I have the greatest respect for Bridget and her baking.  Have you seen her cookies?  They are absolutely stunning.  I find myself just staring at the photos and drooling.  I have often wondered if I could be her next door neighbor.  I would gladly be a guinea pig for her creations.  Then again, that would also make it really hard to lose baby weight.  Oh well.

Bake at 350
Back to this post... without further adieu (and just a few butterflies), may I present my contribution to this month's theme of Boozy... Zinfandel Ice.

When my husband and I were first married, we kept ending up with bottles of Merlot.  I can't remember why.  Maybe they were house-warming gifts.  Maybe they were wedding gifts.  Whatever the reason, we had quite a bit of wine in the house.  However, our tastes run toward the sweeter end of the spectrum.  Give me a Riesling or an Asti and I am a happy woman (add a hot bubble bath and an hour of quiet and I am even happier).  But Merlot... I can only drink it on a rare occasion.

[Pink Tea Warning:  Wine Aficionados should stop here, lest I offend.  Enjoy your glass of wine for its pure flavors and pretend you never heard of anyone turning it into a dessert.]

One day I came across a recipe for a Merlot Ice in my Southern Living Cookbook.  It was delicious, simple, and a great use of merlot.  While thinking about this month's challenge, I got to thinking about that old recipe.  However, I don't have any Merlot in my house right now (and there is a foot of snow outside, so I am not planning on picking any up).  But I do have a number of other wines, and since necessity is the mother of invention, the recipe has been reinvented based on my snow-bound pantry (and wine rack).

Ingredients:
3/4 cup White Zinfandel
1 cup water
1/4 cup sugar

Direction:
Boil the water and add to sugar, stirring until dissolved.  Allow to cool slightly.  Add wine.  Pour the liquid into a shallow pan, cover, and freeze until firm.  Once ready to serve, let stand for 5 minutes.  Scrape the mixture with a fork until fluffy crystals.

Yields 2 servings

This is such an easy recipe to customize with different wines.  Use a little more sugar with a drier wine and less sugar with a sweeter one.  You may also want to vary the amount of water depending on how full-bodied the wine is.  I am dying to try this with a Shiraz as well.

Keep in mind that the alcohol is not cooked out in this case.  My friend and I forgot this once and then wondered why we were feeling a little light-headed.  Have I mentioned that I can be a bit ditzy at times?

Hope you enjoy.  Let me know what versions you try. Pin It

7 comments:

bridget {bake at 350} said...

What a great idea...and it's so PRETTY!!! I'm with you, I love a good Riesling, too.

Thank you so much for linking up! I'm so glad you did!

Suzy said...

Looks delicious, and beautiful! Can't wait to give it a try. I wonder how it would work with sparkling wine?

CJ {Pink Tea} said...

Bridget... thank you. I'm so honored that you like it.

Suzy... that is a great idea to try. I wonder if it would keep any of the effervescent.

Jeanne said...

What a unique way to drink wine. It sounds really tasty!

TidyMom said...

This sounds AND looks so yummy!! What a fun treat!!

~TidyMom

Kate said...

Love this idea! I've never tried this! Perfect for a sunny day. Congrats on starting your blog. It's such a great hobby!

kitchen koala said...

Welcome to Flavor-of-the-Month! You'll really enjoy it, and you'll "meet" so many new people! Like you, my taste in wine runs on the sweet side (I don't have teeth, just one BIG sugar tooth!). I'd really enjoy your Zinfandel ice since it's probably my favorite wine.

Related Posts with Thumbnails