Baby, it’s cold outside! Warm up in the kitchen with Geoffrey Zakarian’s recipe for a mulled wine cocktail. The Iron Chef shows Us how to make the festive and delicious drink at his restaurant – The Lambs Club – in the heart of Times Square. Watch the video to see how to make it, and for the full recipe – see below.
The cocktail, which has rosemary, fresh vanilla beans, and cinnamon sticks in it, is not only going to taste like Christmas, but it will make your home smell like the holidays too. The Food Network host told Us, “When you’re cooking this, put this on before a party. When the guests come over, they’ll smell the house and it’s just incredible.”
The recipe calls for a bottle of white wine, and Zakarian recommends using a Chardonnay. You can also use leftover wine to make it. He explained, “Ancient Greeks, they made wine and they were very parsimonious, they didn’t throw it away. So when the wine was kind of iffy, they heated it up a bit and put a bunch of spices in it. Hence, mulled wine.”
Party Tip: To keep it warm your drink warm throughout the night, place it on a very low simmer on a hot plate.
Catch more of Zakarian on Food Network’s The Kitchen Saturday mornings at 11 a.m. ET.
Holiday Spiced Mulled Wine
1 bottle of white wine (I recommend Chardonnay)
2 tablespoons sugar
¼ cup honey
1 lemon, thinly sliced
1 pear, thinly sliced
3 allspice berries
2 star anise
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
3 cinnamon sticks
3 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 vanilla bean, split
1 cup unsweetened apple cider
⅓ cup ginger liqueur (I recommend Giffard’s)
In a medium saucepan, combine all of the ingredients except the ginger liqueur. Bring to a gentle simmer, about five minutes, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Turn off the heat and let the wine steep for 20 minutes. Stir in the ginger liqueur. Gently reheat, another five minutes. Ladle into glasses and serve garnished with lemons, pear and spices.
