Delectable Food and Cocktail Recipes for Your Holiday Festivities

Here are two crowd-pleasing meat recipes (one beef and one chicken) and 11 cocktail suggestions that will put the jingle in your juice! Use these recipes for your holiday gatherings. They are gifts from Chef Melissa Gunderson and the Corners Fine Wine & Spirits Team.

Find Patrizia Winsper’s article Hosting the Perfect Holiday Party in the December 2023/January 2024 Issue of Peachtree Corners Magazine. Happy Holidays!

Beef Bourguignon

Recipe by Chef Melissa Gunderson of Morsels by Melissa

Yields 1 gallon.

Ingredients

• 3 lbs. beef (stew beef or beef tenderloin)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 3 cups red wine
• 4 cups onions, Julienned or small pieces
• 1 lb. pearl onions (frozen is OK)
• 1 Tablespoon garlic, finely chopped
• 4 cups mushrooms, quartered
• 4 cups carrots, bite size pieces
• 1 ½ Tablespoon beef paste
• 1 ½ Tablespoon rosemary, finely chopped
• 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• ½ can tomato paste
• ¾ cup flour
• ¾ cup butter

Directions

1. Cut the beef into small, bite-size pieces. Salt and pepper them.
2. Get a frying pan nice and hot. Place some olive oil (or oil of choice) in the pan.
3. Put some of the beef in the pan. Let the beef sit without disturbing it so it gets seared. There should be a dark color on the beef for a rich flavor.
4. When there is color, move the beef around and wait again. Once the beef has a great color on all sides, deglaze it with some of the red wine, bringing up the bits of meat stuck to the pan.
5. Put the cooked beef into a roasting pan or stew pot.
6. Repeat until all the beef is seared and in the pot.
7. While searing the beef, prep the vegetables.
8. After all the beef is finished, put more oil in the pan and cook the onions and garlic.
9. When the onions have a little color, deglaze them with leftover wine or water. Add this to the pot.
10. Add all the other ingredients into the pot.
11. Roast in the oven at 300° F, stirring every 30 minutes or so until the beef is tender and the carrots are cooked. 
12. If you are cooking on your stovetop in a pot, stir every once in a while and cook it until the beef and carrots are tender.

Chicken with Wild Mushrooms and Roasted Garlic Sauté

Recipe by Chef Melissa Gunderson of Morsels by Melissa

Yields 4 servings.

Ingredients

• 1 garlic head, with the top fourth cut off
• 3 Tablespoons olive oil
• ½ cup dried porcini mushrooms
• ¾ cup boiling water
• 1 ½ lbs. boneless chicken thighs, cut into 2-inch pieces
• Salt and pepper to taste
• ½ lb. assorted fresh mushrooms, quartered (shitake, cremini, oyster etc.)
• 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
• 2 Tablespoons butter, chilled
• 2 shallots, thinly sliced
• ¼ cup dry red wine
• ½ cup chicken stock
• 2 medium tomatoes, diced into 1-inch pieces
• 1 Tablespoon tarragon
• Crusty bread of choice

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 350° F and roast the garlic.
2. Soak the dry porcini mushrooms in water for about 15 minutes. Remove the porcini mushrooms and chop, saving the soaking liquid and setting it aside.
3. Brown the chicken with olive oil in a sauté pan.
4. Remove the chicken and transfer it to a bowl. Sauté the fresh mushrooms and season them with salt and pepper.
5. Cover and cook until it’s browned and the liquid has evaporated.
6. Transfer the mushrooms to a plate.
7. In a skillet, melt the butter and olive oil. Add the shallots and wine. Boil until it’s reduced by half.
8. Pour in the reserved porcini mushroom liquid.
9. Add the chicken and cook until it’s done.
10. Finish with tarragon and extra butter.
11. Serve with crusty bread.

Eleven Holiday Cocktails You Should Try

Recipes by the Team at Corners Fine Wine & Spirits

These cocktails were crafted as signature drinks for writer Patrizia Winsper. ‘Tis the season of giving, however, so we’re sharing them with you. Simply substitute Patrizia’s name with yours to make them your own. Cheers!

Patrizia’s Pink Pajamas

• 1 ½ oz. Bourbon Cream
• ¾ oz. citrus gin
• 3 dashes of cranberry bitters
• ½ oz. simple syrup

Patrizia’s Spice & Everything Nice

• 1 ½ oz. Uncle Nearest Small Batch Whiskey
• 1 oz. Kahlua
• ½ oz. espresso
• ½ oz. milk
• 1 oz. simple syrup
• Garnish with cinnamon or top with whip cream.

Patrizia’s Partridge in a Pear Tree

• 1 oz. pear vodka
• 1 oz. elderflower liqueur
• 1 oz. champagne
• Garnish with 1 or 2 slices of pear.

Patrizia’s Peppermint Stick

• 1 ½ oz. peppermint schnapps
• 1 ½ oz. white crème de cacao
• 1 oz. light cream

Patrizia’s Poinsettia

• ½ oz. orange piquet wine
• 2 oz. cranberry juice
• 3 to 4 oz. champagne

Patrizia’s Gingerbread Martini

• 4 oz. Irish cream
• 4 oz. vodka
• 2 oz. coffee liqueur
• 2 oz. gingerbread syrup
• 2 scoops vanilla ice cream
• Top with whipped cream and crumbled gingerbread cookies or serve with a whole gingerbread cookie across the top of the glass.

Patrizia’s Peppermint Russian

• 1 oz. vodka
• 1 oz. coffee liqueur
• ¾ oz. peppermint schnapps
• Ice and heavy cream
• Garnish with a peppermint stick.

Patrizia’s Christmas Kiss

• 1 ½ to 2 oz. vodka
• ¼ oz. maple syrup
• 1 oz. half-and-half / cream
• Fresh ground nutmeg

Patrizia’s Candy Cane Cooler

• 1 Tablespoon crushed candy cane
• 1 ½ oz. mint-infused vodka
• ½ oz. B&B (Benedictine and Brandy)
• ½ oz. half-and-half / cream
• Use a peppermint stick and mint sprig to garnish.

Patrizia’s Christmas Punch

• 2 Granny Smith apples, chopped
• Whole fresh cranberries
• Green grapes
• Pomegranate seeds
• Champagne / Prosecco / Cava

Winsper Wassail

Yields about 10 servings.

• 2 apples
• 1 orange
• 8 cups apple cider
• 2 cups orange juice
• ½ cup lemon juice
• 4 cinnamon sticks
• 15 whole cloves or ½ teaspoon ground cloves
• ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 4 whole allspice berries
• 1 Tablespoon light brown sugar

Instructions

1. Poke some of the whole cloves into the apples on all sides. 
2. Slice the orange into orange wheels.
3. Put all the ingredients into a large pot over medium low heat. Or start earlier and heat the wassail in a crockpot. 
4. Bring to a simmer. Simmer for 30-45 minutes. 
5. Remove the apples and whole cloves.
6. Ladle into mugs and enjoy!

The wassail can be prepared up to five days in advance. 

Storage: Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Reheating: The microwave, stove or slow cooker can be used to reheat the wassail. Heat it to your desired temperature.