Peach and Apricot Cider

Rain, rain, go away. Wow — I was just getting the chicken off the grill for family dinner when the earlier few drops of rain turned into a serious rainfall. OK, so much for Monday night tennis.

There are 2 good things from this cancellation though. One, I actually blew my hair dry earlier today (gotta look good when meeting friends for lunch) and I have to say it looks pretty good. So, now I don’t have to muss it up with sweat and showers and such.

And two. I made a batch of PEACH AND APRICOT CIDER (pg. 168 Sandra Lee semi-homemade Cocktail Time)  in preparation for what was to be a chilly night on the courts. And now, its MINE, all mine! I thought about saving it for book club night Wednesday, but, a.) once I tasted it, there was no getting the mug out of my hand, and b.) I can whip up something equally fun for Wednesday night.

So, before I refill my mug, here’s the recipe for PEACH AND APRICOT CIDER, courtesy of Sandra Lee.

Peach and Apricot Cider

• 2 cans (11.5 oz each) peach nectar
• 2 cans (11.5 oz each) apricot nectar
• 1 bag (12 oz.) frozen peach slices
• 3 cups water
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup bourbon
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 1 tsp. ground allspice
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• Cinnamon stick

In a 4 quart slow cooker, combine peach nectar, apricot nectar, peach slices, the water, brown sugar, bourbon, lemon juice, allspice, and 2 cinnamon sticks.  Cover and heat on Low heat setting for 2 or 3 hours.  Discard the cinnamon sticks.  Turn slow cooker to Warm heat setting.  Serve in mugs with additional cinnamon sticks.  Makes 10 drinks.

Now you can either take your batch of PEACH and APRICOT CIDER to a chilly evening sporting event, or keep your hair looking good, Southern style, by staying inside and enjoying a serving  or two of this cider in your favorite mug.  Like any other cocktail, I find that drinking this cider out of  a beautiful glass makes it even more enjoyable.

T-Cee reviews Sandra Lee semi-homemade cocktails

Rating time – does the Peach and Apricot Cider get a Semi-HomeTested rating of LUSH IT, LUSH IT A LOT, or LEAVE IT?

You’re on a roll Ms. Sandra Lee – the Peach and Apricot Cider gets a LUSH IT A LOT rating.

Definitely serve this Peach and Apricot Cider at your holiday gatherings.  Your family and friends will love it.  And I have to say at only 1 cup of bourbon for 10 servings, it is not going to knock anyone out.  You can adjust accordingly.  I’ll never tell.

Salude!

T-Cee

P.S. Click on Leave a Comment below and tell me how you enjoyed it.

Does anybody else find all the services offered by the “Med Spas” confusing?  I went into two different Med Spas today to try to make sense of all the services.

First, they hand you a sheaf of papers to fill out – my response was, “No, I don’t really want to give you my medical history – what I wanted was to get some information from you”.

OK then. I get to go to a private office to speak to the ‘consultant’. NOW I’M THINKING…. Should I be concerned that her face doesn’t really move much??? She informs me that she just “loves facial fillers and BOTOX”… Gee…. ya think? I am not opposed to any of these helpful services, but everything in moderation, yes?

So I get out of there pretty quick.

Then I check out another place. They tell me about facials, chemical skin peels, facial fillers, BOTOX, and something called Photo Facial Rejuvenation. And wait.. there’s also Facial Thread Lift! What??? And then there’s something called Smooth Shapes to get rid of cellulite. Now that sounds awesome and the pictures look great — BUT — I can’t help wondering if this really would work – and it’s REALLY expensive.

So, I sign up for the light chemical peel – this will supposedly get rid of uneven skin tones, blah, blah, blah. But wait… I can sign up for a monthly service – and there are 3 different plans each with different services. So, I get too confused to sign up for those – it would be a full year commitment after all.

Now, I’m home ready to enjoy a Daffodil Driver cocktail (pg. 94 Sandra Lee semi-homemade Cocktail Time) reading the forms that the Med Spa wants me to fill out and bring with me tomorrow before my chemical peel, and it says ‘no sun for at least 1 week’. Crap. I’m going to be in the sun every day for the next month. So, I guess I have to postpone that idea till the Fall. Maybe I can just get a good old pore cleansing facial.

Anyway, the Daffodil Driver cocktail is a mix of tequilla, apricot brandy, and Gran Marnier, topped off with apricot nectar. The cocktail looks beautiful, but it tastes a little ‘syrupy’ to me. I look at the apricot nectar ingredients and find that it is water, high fructose corn syrup, and apricot puree. Ahhh – that explains what I was tasting - I wasn’t fond of the texture or the taste. I tried adding more Gran Marnier and that made it slightly better. But not much.

So, LUSH IT, LUSH IT A LOT, or LEAVE IT? I give the Daffodil Driver cocktail a Semi-HomeTested rating of LEAVE IT. Sorry Ms. Sandra Lee.

Now… I’ll just have to figure out what to do with the rest of the Apricot Brandy. Maybe I can create a new facial??!

Salude!