Winter Solstice Cocktail Party
(Me, my cousin Michelle, Erin, Sunshine and Brenna)
I always love celebrating the seasonal changes at the solstices. It is a way for me to stay connected to the natural cycles and the seasons especially now that I am living in Florida and we don’t have as many stark seasonal changes as we did when we lived in New England. We have made some good friends here in Saint Augustine over the past year and I really wanted to give thanks for new friendships and old by hosting a gathering on the Winter Solstice which is historically a time to celebrate new beginnings, since it is a day to mark the lengthening of the days and shorter nights.
Winter is also citrus season here in Florida, and so I recently got a load of delicious Meyer lemons to make limoncello at the farmers market. I started the limoncello about 2 weeks ago and it is still steeping, but once I removed the rinds from the lemons, there were all these lemons that I needed to do something with. So I started thinking ahead and towards this party.
Lemons are yellow and their taste is bright which I felt corresponded nicely with the holiday we were celebrating – the coming of the sun.
So I focused my menu on lemons and made Limoncello Cupcakes filled with fresh lemon curd and topped with creamy limoncello icing. We also served some signature drinks called “Sunshine in a Cup” made with lemon basil and lemon lavender syrups.
There was Gløgg, a Nordic spiced wine that is traditionally served during this time of year, Eggnog with rum and Panettone which is a common cake served in Italy during the holiday season. We also had roasted chestnuts, and a cheese plate. People also brought treats like spinach dip with olive bread, white bean dip with pita chips, spiced gingerbread brownies, tapenade and of course lots of wine. We had a great time with our friends and I think it would be great to make this a yearly tradition.
Limoncello Cupcakes
Cupcake recipe from Eddybles
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup plus 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 stick plus 1 tablespoon butter, softened
2 eggs, room temperature
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel, no pith
2 teaspoons plus 2 tablespoons limoncello
1 tablespoon milk
1 batch of lemon curd – I used Alton Brown’s recipe http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/lemon-curd-recipe/index.html
1 batch of limoncello whipped cream – just make regular whipped cream and add 1 TBS of limoncello.
cinnamon
METHOD:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In the bowl of a food processor, combine all ingredients except for 2 tablespoons limoncello and milk. Pulse until the batter is smooth. As the food processor runs, slowly add in remaining limoncello and milk through the funnel and mix until completely incorporated into the batter.
2. Divide the mixture up into the 16 bun muffin pan and bake for 15-20 minutes until the cupcakes have risen and are golden brown on top.
3. Remove from the oven and cool the cupcakes for a few minutes in the tin before removing from the tin and cooling completely. Once cool, fill with lemon curd and frost. Sprinkle with cinnamon.
Yield: 16 cupcakes
Sunshine in a Cup
INGREDIENTS
1 oz. shot lemon-basil syrup or lemon-lavender
1 1/2 shot vodka
tonic water
lemon peel garnish
METHOD:
To Make the Syrups:
2 cups water
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves or 1TBS dried lavender
1/2 meyer lemon quartered
Throw all the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Let simmer on low for about 15-20 minutes until fragrant. Let cool. Strain liquid into a glass jar.
Gløgg
This is not a traditional Gløgg recipe as I decided to use plum mulling spices I found.
INGREDIENTS:
1 bottle of red wine
4 TBS Organic Plum Mulling spices by Archer Farms (can be gotten at Target)
1/2 cup sugar
splash of vodka or brandy
raisins and sliced almonds garnish
METHOD:
Pour wine and mulling spices into a large pot. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. let steep for 2 hours. Before serving, let simmer for 15 minutes.
Serve hot with raisins and blanched almonds.
Patsyk - December 22, 2008 at 2:03 pm
Looks like a fantastic menu to bring in the Winter Solstice! I love lemon in the winter- it always makes me feel like summer is coming!
Adam - December 22, 2008 at 2:17 pm
Happy Holidays Jenn. I love Mulled Wine, and think it’s a perfect pair with some lovely desserts. Your cupcakes look great, and that filling pic is dangerous 🙂
Nice call on that ‘Sunshine in a cup’ 🙂
Ben - December 22, 2008 at 2:31 pm
What a great theme for a party! And the way you used the lemons is just brilliant! Happy Yuletide to you and your family and my best wishes for the New year! 🙂
erin :: the olive notes - December 22, 2008 at 2:33 pm
we had a fun time! And the Sunshine in a cup was so yummy…well, really everything was!
Deborah - December 22, 2008 at 4:04 pm
What a spread! Everything looks great!
Arlene - December 22, 2008 at 4:24 pm
Looks like a great gathering. I love all things lemon. Will you be sharing your recipe for Limoncello anytime soon? (I hope, I hope)
Laurie - December 22, 2008 at 5:13 pm
Look at you.. so beautiful even while your cooking!
Those limoncello cupcakes look amazing too. 🙂
Buon Natale Jenn!
Judy - December 22, 2008 at 5:29 pm
Oh I wish I lived a little bit closer…I want to come!!! Everything looked so good Jenn! Love the little cup cakes and you look so pretty!
Natasha - 5 Star Foodie - December 22, 2008 at 6:06 pm
Looks like a wonderful party dinner!
joan nova - December 22, 2008 at 6:39 pm
Very festive! Lucky guests.
Laura Kelley - December 22, 2008 at 7:33 pm
Looks like a wonderful party! And the food all looks and reads so terrific!
Great site BTW as well!
Happy Holidays!
Peter G - December 22, 2008 at 8:57 pm
A great idea Jenn…love all the food, especially the cupcakes. All the best for the festive season!
Louise - December 22, 2008 at 10:43 pm
I couldn’t help but to pucker at the mere mention of lemons but, when I saw those muffins, the drooling began. It really looks like you and your friends sure know how to have a Winter Solstice Cocktail Party.
P.S. I hope you don’t mind if I “borrow” this link for my It’s Winter post. Thanks for sharing Jenn…
Jen of a2eatwrite - December 22, 2008 at 11:14 pm
This looks both lovely and festive! I’m sure you all had a wonderful time.
Natashya - December 22, 2008 at 11:38 pm
Looks like a fab party! I love all the special concoctions and especially your dress!
Sylvia - December 23, 2008 at 6:11 am
Great idea for party Jen, I love all,but the table set is stunning. And you look pretty and elegant is these gray velvet dress
I ´ll hope you had a great Christmas (Your first as a married woman :))full of joy and love among family and friend
kat - December 23, 2008 at 9:36 am
what a great gathering…Happy Holidays!
dawn - December 23, 2008 at 11:51 am
that does look like fun even though I’m not fond of winter, I’m always up for being with friends.
love that dress Jen!
Arundhuti - December 23, 2008 at 12:37 pm
love those cupcakes!
Núria - December 23, 2008 at 1:30 pm
He, he, you look so funny in that last picture!!!! Where is the appron girl? What if you stain that beautiful dress? ;D
The change of the seasons is something I also enjoy but never celebrate as you do… maybe I should think about it…
Merry Christmas sweetheart! Enjoy your holiday days♥
Lyn - December 23, 2008 at 8:05 pm
Lemon basil syrup in a drink sounds really great! The whole spread looks good, actually 🙂
Cris - December 23, 2008 at 8:09 pm
Hi Jenn and Roberto… just stopping by to wish you a wonderful Christmas! Buon Natale! Love the way you used the Christmas lights on the table, what a neat idea! xoxox
Aggie - December 23, 2008 at 9:52 pm
You are so cute in the kitchen Jenn! Love these cupcakes…I love lemon everything!
Ley - December 24, 2008 at 5:32 pm
You made filled cupcakes!!!! 😀
Well?? What did you think about them?! They look amazing!
Johanna - December 26, 2008 at 4:08 am
sounds like a great festive spread – I think solstice is a great excuse for thinking about seasonal food (except in Australia when we want something christmassy and something seasonal and it gets very confusing) – and I smiled to see your Aussie wine as we have a bottle of a merlot from the same label!
Dharm - December 26, 2008 at 4:32 am
Sounds like a great party!! I love mulled wine too. The spread on that table is just fantastic too! Hope you had a great Christmas dear friend!
Jan - December 26, 2008 at 4:34 am
What a lovely lot of food! Sounds like a great party!
Teresa - December 28, 2008 at 3:54 pm
Jenn, happy holidays to you as well. Your gathering of friends sounds like it was filled with a lot of love and friendship…and some good eating too. I love lemons. I think I’ll try making your limoncello cupcakes. Maybe I should try learning how to make limoncello first, huh? 🙂 Have a wonderful and safe new year. May it be filled with health, happiness and prosperity for you and Roberto. Big hugs.
Navita - December 28, 2008 at 6:23 pm
Love the table lay out..yum yum!!
hey Jenn, just a request…could you help me with the pics I uploaded on the RFJ Forum, right now.
Somehow they are so tiny..wanted a larger image, like the way you see at my blog-
http://cooking-up-a-storm-zaayeka.blogspot.com/2008/12/sweet-surrender-nut-n-fruit-maalpua.html
🙁
Plese Help.
Thanks in advance.
Bellini Valli - December 29, 2008 at 10:59 am
I think it is a great idea to be more in tune with the earth. My daughters birthday is on September 21 and I have always wanted to be in Mexico at the temples in Chitzen Itsa on that date.
Bren - December 29, 2008 at 2:10 pm
Limoncello! Yummy! I bought some for a friend last time in I was in Italy, so I never had any! duh! Next time, I’ll know better. Your cupcakes look delish! Glad you had a great Christmas. Nothing better than spending it with fam!
Rico - December 30, 2008 at 7:04 pm
absolutely lovely, anything with lemon, I just love it and the photography is amazing. Saw you on Foodbuzz you are great.