'Tis the Season for toasting!

I love a holiday recipe that gets the whole house smelling wonderful.  This is definitely one of those.  A little like mulled wine ... but a little sweeter and more refreshing.

Holiday Sangria

Sangria in it's basic form is sweetened red wine with fruit.  I have an awesome Autumn Sangria recipe, and this one is very similar and just uses seasonally inspired more festive fruits.

One of those is Carambola, otherwise known as starfruit.   It looks sort of like a little melon and when sliced creates little 5 point star shaped pieces.  It tastes like a cross between citrus and melon, but not quite as tart or sweet and it makes an excellent garnish for the holidays.

The other two fruits I used were raw cranberries and tangelos.  I chose tangelos since they're a little smaller than oranges and easier to add to a glass or pitcher.

In addition to spicing up your holidays, this sangria makes an unique gift for friends, neighbors or party host.  All you need is a sealable jar, similar to the juice jar I have pictured.

Here's what you'll need ...

Ingredients

2 bottles Merlot

1 bottle ginger ale

1 cup sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp ground nutmeg

½ tsp ground clove

4 to 6 oranges or tangelos

6 to 10 cinnamon sticks

1/2 bag of cranberries

Directions

In a medium pot, combine Merlot, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Let simmer for ten minutes, stirring occasionally until sugar is dissolved.

Pour immediately into a sealed pitcher or other container. Chop apples and add them along with the cinnamon sticks to the mixture. Cover and refrigerate for at least 24 hours.  Add ice and ginger ale to serve.

For a more carbonated punch or mimosa, add the ginger ale to the wine after it's cooled ... then it will keep the fizz.

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