xo amys

‘December 23^rd– Time to wind down with a festive pear cocktail made from roasted honey pears’

Many of you are getting ready to roast the pig overnight while others may be wrapping gifts has households wind down. It is officially one day before Christmas Eve and I think a well-deserved cocktail is in order. The past two days have gone in a whirlwind of cooking, baking, running last minute errands, finalizing gifts and cleaning. It is late evening already and there are still a few remaining things to do, but slowly the winding down process has begun. This festive honey pear cocktail is the perfect way to begin the Christmas celebrations. I have my Christmas playlist in the background, candles on and I’m testing out tomorrows outfit. I’m planning on wearing a long glitter dress that has an open back or a champagne-colored silk gown that is simple but elegant. There is a lot of uncertainly in the air at the moment around the world- many people are facing lockdown and can’t spend it with family and others are terribly lonely over the holidays. Take the time to make those distant phone calls this year and give a helping hand to those who need it. My parents are spending Christmas just the two of them at the countryside to be on the safe side and us kids are spending the eve tomorrow together. It’s sad, but the responsible thing to do. I hope everyone stays safe this year and thinks twice about the people they choose to see. Thankfully we are all in this together and this year has shown what uncertainly can look like. Whether you have decided to skip Christmas totally this year or are spending it with your loved ones, let’s try to be grateful for the small things in life. Currently, I’m grateful for the cosines in our house, the flickering of our stunning tree and the fact that most of the Christmas cooking is done. Despite the fact that Siena has a puppy flue and I spilled coffee all over our linen curtains, I’m ready to sip on this honey roasted pear cocktail that I scouted from Pinterest. I made some dried clementine slices last night, as they slowly cook in the oven for 4 hours.

For this recipe you need honey roasted pears that you will turn into a purée. In terms of alcohol, you can use sparkling wine as a base or something stronger like whiskey or vodka. For a mocktail version, use grapefruit juice. The recipe calls for all kinds of winter spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar rims and rosemary for garnishing.

Ingredients

• 5 pears sliced in half
• 3-5 tablespoons Honey
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• Pinch of cinnamon
• Pinch of ground nutmeg & ground clove
• 2 tbsp apple juice or water
• 1 tsp vanilla paste
• Sparkling wine

Garnish: dried clementine slices & rosemary, Brown sugar to coat the glass rims

Directions

Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Line a baking tray with a greased sheet. Add the halved pears (remove stems) on the tray. In a small bow whisk together 2 tbsp honey, 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar, cinnamon, and ground nutmeg. Brush this over the pears and place into the oven for about 25 minutes until browned and soft. Remove from oven and once cooled, remove the seeds with a spoon. Next, place into a blender with the vanilla paste and apple juice or water and blitz into a puree. Scoop into a maison jar and refrigerate until served.

Once ready to serve:  in a pitcher, add some of the pear puree, a pinch of ground clove, 3 tablespoons of runny honey, and your alcohol of choice. Mix together.

Meanwhile coat the cocktail glasses rims with brown sugar. (Do this by adding lemon to the sides and placing the rims into some brown sugar). Pour some cocktail into them and garnish with a twig of rosemary and a dried clementine slice.