Happy Hour Handbook

Autumn is officially upon us and the holidays are right behind, so I'm in full-on entertaining mode. Festive fall fetes and glamorous wintertime gatherings call for a cocktail spread that's in ship shape. Stock up on my essentials for a season's worth of happy hours, from sleek decanters and colored glassware, to my secret for hosting in small spaces (hint: it's all about the collapsable table!). You can find all of my favorites for holiday hosting and sneeky necessities on my Open Sky page.

Below you can find a few of my favorite holiday sneaky recipes!

Apple Cinnamon Sangria

When I think of Sangria It brings me way back to working for my mom (patty Powers) in her catering business in Weston, Ct.  When I was a kid we were taught how to do everything from opening a bottle of wine, to setting the table to even lighting my dad his daily cigar. Not quite of age yet I learned how to make a tasty batch of sangria.

2 bottles of one white wine and one of red (Don’t pick something too good because it will be getting mixed with all of the items below)

2 Granny Smith apples

2 mangoes

2 peaches

3 lemons

3 limes

2 cups apricot brandy

½ cup brown sugar

1 T cinnamon

Slice fruit and put in bowl or 2 gallon Ziploc bag with brandy, brown sugar and cinnamon.  Soak overnight.

Frostbite Spritz

3 oz champagne 1/2 oz Aperol 1/2 oz St. Germaine 1/2 oz Meletti amaro 1/2 lime squeezed

Pour champagne over ice. Add Aperol, St. Germaine, Meletti and lime.

Top off with: Frozen cranberries, a homemade ice cube, frozen grapes or a small candy cane

Lulu's Kir Royale

My clients love this festive and flirty drink. Garnish it with a few pomegranate seeds.

Serves 1 

1 tablespoon Chambord

6 ounces Champagne or sparkling wine, well-chilled

Pour the Chambord into a Champagne flute and add the Champagne.

Lulu’s Tip: I like to garnish this drink with a dressed-up ice cube. I use long ice cube trays that I find at IKEA. I fill them with filtered water, add pomegranate seeds and sprigs of fresh thyme or rosemary, and freeze. They look beautiful floating in the drink. Another fun garnish is a sugared rim: simply moisten the rim of the Champagne flute with water, turn it upside down, and dip it in a bowl of superfine sugar.

Happy Holidays friends and remember, drink responsibly!

Lulu's Apple Moonshine Punch

2 12 oz. cans of frozen Limeade2 cans of dark rum 2 oz. Amaro Meletti 2 cans of prosecco or champagne 2 cans of Simply apple 2 cans club soda 1 tablespoon cinnamon 1 tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice

Use your empty limeade can as your measuring cup. Mix all ingredients together. I came up with this drink for my cooking club. Make it in batches and store for impromptu gatherings. Being on the west coast fall is one of the seasons I miss the most, this drink transports me right back to the east coast. I like to garnish it with a slice of orange or apple. I used my custom made Lulu Powers stickers and tags to label my finished product. You can find my stickers and tags at Lulu's Store. I'm so excited to have my own personalized stickers and tags. I've been labeling everything in my pantry! I love them...check them out!