Happy Thanksgiving!!!! Okay, not yet, but I definitely hope you have a great one that’s full of joy and delicious food. To help you get prepared and inspired, I’m sharing three recipes this week (Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday) that you might want to include on your dinner table on Thursday.

First up is a tasty and easy cocktail to get the spirit flowing among your family and friends. Last Thanksgiving, I shared my recipe for Cranberry Apple Sangria, which was a big hit among my family. Folks were giggling and talking like never before!

After coming across sparkling cranberry juice at Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods, I thought it would be great to use the bubbly beverage to make a refreshing rum spritzer. If possible, use a sparkling cranberry juice that’s 100 percent juice (I got mine from Trader Joe’s), but if you can’t easily find it you should be able to at least find a Cranberry Italian Soda that’s about 4 – 12 percent juice.  Sparkling pomegranate juice/Italian soda is also an option. Enjoy! By the way, what do you plan to make for Thanksgiving?

Cran-Orange Rum Spritzer
Makes one cocktail

3 cubes ice
1 oz white rum
1 oz triple sec
Sparkling cranberry juice
1 orange slice, halved

Place 3 cubes of ice in a short cocktail glass. Add rum, triple sec and top with sparkling cranberry juice until glass is full. Garnish with halved orange slice and a stirrer. Sip and enjoy!

There are so many wonderful blogs out there on the web and Black, Latina, Asian and other women of color are boldly staking their claim on the net making their distinct voices heard and advertisers take notice. With sponsors like Disney, Suave, Mattel, Johnson & Johnson, GM, and many others, it’s clear that niche bloggers are important contributors to the blogosphere.

I represented FlavorDiva.com in full effect at Blogolicious09, but I was also inspired to step my game up. What an inspiration to see all of these sisters pecking away on their macbooks, netbooks and mobile phones – all being present at the conference while simultaneously taking the conversations online via Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites.

One of the wonderful bloggers present included Ananda Leeke of BAP Living who makes full use of video and podcasting. Ananda interviewed me for her YouTube channel – take a look! Other fabulous bloggers included Rosemary Jean-Louis of The Sexy Geek Files (pictured with me in first photo below), Lawanda Amaker of LA Beauty Beat (second photo),  Denene Millner of MyBrownBaby who also happens to be the writer who worked with Steve Harvey on his book Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man, and Ronnie and Lamar Tyler of BlackandMarriedwithKids.com. Believe me, the list goes on. Keep an eye on my blogroll columns to the right where I’ll be adding links to some of my favorite blogs from the Blogalicious crowd.

I definitely came away from Blogalicious with ideas and work to do to bring FlavorDiva.com to more readers and to offer you more flavor! Speaking of flavor, I didn’t want to leave you without a recipe this week so here’s a drink inspired by a smooth cocktail, Pure Silk, which I indulged in at the W’s bar. It includes elderflower liqueur (St. Germain), one of my new favorite liqueurs. Cheers! Here’s to Blogalicious 2010 in Miami!

Elderflower Grapefruit Martini
Inspired by the Pure Silk cocktail of Atlanta’s W Midtown Hotel

1/2 ounce vodka
1 ounce elderflower liqueur (St. Germain)
2 ounces fresh squeezed grapefruit juice
1 Basil leaf

Add all ingredients into a stainless steel shaker with a few cubes of ices. Cover and shake for 15 seconds, then strain the cocktail into a martini glass and enjoy (responsibly of course)!

Earlier this month, I joined my first cousins on my father’s side for an informal family reunion of sorts for our generation – a cousins’ reunion if you will. Our weekend get-together took place at the home of one of my cousins who lives just outside of Atlanta.

In addition to enjoying our time together out and about, we spent a good deal of time in the kitchen and around the dinner table – rolling out pizza dough, peeling peaches, squeezing lemons, talking, laughing, drinking, and eating. As the saying goes, the kitchen is the heart of the home.

Many of us contributed culinary talents to our meals that weekend. Steve made delicious waffles and the dough for making personal pizzas. Of course, I had to get in there and whip up a peach cobbler; after all, we were in Georgia. And Lee wowed all of our taste buds with his ginger mint lemonade.

I can’t recall exactly how many lemons we squeezed to help Lee make his lemonade, but let’s just say I’m sure he was happy to have over four sets of hands available to help him do all that work. My rendition of his lemonade calls for 20 lemons. You can make the task of getting all of the juice out of those lemons a lot easier with the use of a citrus reamer or press. Also, be sure to firmly roll the lemons with the palm of your hand before cutting and squeezing them. This helps them release their juice.

The recipe also calls for fresh ginger and mint, which you use to make an infusion. When peeling the ginger, a great tip to remember is to simply use the tip of a spoon to easily scrape off the peel. To sweeten the lemonade, you can use simple syrup as the recipe states below, or you can add sugar directly since the warmth from the infused water will allow the sugar to dissolve easily.

The weekend I spent with my cousins this month was special and a great example of how food plays such a central role in our lives and adds joy to our time spent with loved ones. Lee’s ginger mint lemonade, along with all of the other drinks and dishes my cousins and I shared together, is a reminder to me of this joy.

Lee’s Ginger Mint Lemonade

20 medium sized lemons
1 large bunch of mint
1 two inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced
12 cups of water
1 1/2 cups of simple syrup (2 cups sugar to 1 cup water)
More sugar to taste

If using simple syrup, make that first by bringing 1 cup of water to a simmer over medium high heat. Then add 2 cups of sugar and stir. Reduce the heat to medium low and stir until sugar is dissolved. Set aside to cool.

Bring 6 cups of water to a boil in a large sauce pot. Once boiling, turn off heat and add 1 cup of mint leaves, packed, and ginger slices. Remove pot from heat, cover, and let mint and ginger steep. After 10 minutes, strain infused water to remove mint and ginger, and set aside to cool. Discard the used mint and ginger.

Meanwhile, squeeze juice from lemons into a large pitcher. Add ginger mint infusion, six additional cups of water and simple syrup. Stir lemonade and taste for sweetness. If desired, add an additional 1/4 cup of sugar (or more). Add several fresh mint sprigs to the pitcher (about 5), cover and let cool for 30 minutes to an hour. Refrigerate over night for best flavor. Serve chilled in glasses with ice and fresh mint.

 Note: You can use simple syrup or granulated sugar to sweeten the lemonade. Usually simple syrup is used to sweeten cold drinks, but if your ginger mint infusion is still warm when you add it to the lemon juice and remaining water, you can use sugar directly. Add a 1/2 cup of sugar at a time tasting until lemonade reaches desired sweetness.

Given the holiday season and all of the partying and gift giving going on, I thought I’d write a little more often over the next two weeks to provide you with gift ideas (some to purchase and some to make yourself) as well as treats you can make for your next holiday party.

Two weeks ago I featured my Cranberry Apple Sangria, which is perfect for a holiday party, but it wouldn’t be right if I didn’t also pass along this cute cocktail that I came across at the Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show. To add more festive cheer to the season, try out my rendition of the peppermint martini that I adapted from a recipe by Tommy Bahama Rum. They were passing out recipe cards with a variety of holiday-themed cocktails at the Tommy Bahama tasting booth during the cooking show, but unfortunately, the recipes are not posted on their site.

Going the more traditional martini route, I use vodka instead of rum (note: martinis are actually traditionally made with gin, but the more modern tradition is to use vodka). Peppermint schnapps give the drink its dominant flavor, and I add a little light agave nectar to sweeten it up a bit. No need to go searching all over for light agave nectar if you can’t find it (usually located in natural food stores); you can easily use simple syrup (1 part water, 1 part sugar heated until sugar is dissolved - cool to room temperature).

When I tested my recipe, I could just image it going great with some Christmas cookies. Make sure you have martini glasses and the festive red sugar on hand along with a cocktail shaker and measure jigger to make a good cocktail. Drink responsibly and have fun!

Peppermint Martini
Adapted from a recipe by Tommy Bahama Rum
Note: To make one cocktail at a time, 1 part = 1 oz.

1 1/2 parts vodka
1 part peppermint schnapps
1 part crème de cacao
1 part whole milk
1/2 tablespoon light agave nectar (or simple syrup, refer to article)
Red decorating sugar

Prepare the rim of your martini glasses first with the red decorative sugar. Empty the sugar onto a plate. Take one martini glass and neatly wet the rim of the glass by running the tips of your pointer finger and thumb under water (clean hands of course) and then running your fingers along the rim of the glass. Next, dip the rim of the glass into the plate of sugar. Complete the same process for any remaining martini glasses you plan to use.

To make the martini, add all ingredients into a cocktail shaker along with a few cubes of ice. Cover shaker with the caps and shake for about 15 seconds. Remove the strainer cover and strain the martini into one of your sugar rimmed glasses. Serve immediately.

Despite the temptation I had to make a variety of dishes for my family’s Thanksgiving dinner, I listened to reason and limited myself to just two small contributions to the meal. Since most of my Aunts and cousins already had everything covered, and since I had to leave at 5am on Thanksgiving morning to take a six-hour drive down to my parents’ house, I stuck to just making a “happy” beverage and appetizer.

As you can tell by the title of this post, my Cranberry Apple Sangria was a hit! One of the main reasons that I’m posting this is because several people wanted the recipe. After the first sip from everyone’s glass, eyes brightened up and lively chatter began.

The key to getting this response from the sangria – aside from the red wine, brandy and triple sec – was the blend of cranberry juice and apple cider and the spicy flavor of cinnamon and cloves. I infused the simple syrup with the spices as well as added two cinnamon sticks to the fully mixed sangria before putting it in the refrigerator to let the juices and spirits meld together. This sangria is sure to liven up any holiday party you may have coming up.

Cranberry Apple Sangria

2 bottles (750 ml each) red wine
1 cup brandy
1/2 cup triple sec
1 cup cranberry juice cocktail (100% juice)
1 cup apple cider or apple juice
Juice of 1/2 orange (large)
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup simple syrup infused with cinnamon and cloves (recipe below)
2 cinnamon sticks
1 – 2 slices of orange studded with 5 cloves along the rind
1/2 apple, cored and cut into 1/4? thick slices

In a large pitcher add the red wine, brandy, triple sec, cranberry juice, apple cider, orange juice, lemon juice and simple syrup. Stir well, then add the orange and apple slices along with the cinnamon sticks. Stir well once more. Refrigerate for 1 – 2 hours before serving.

Cinnamon & Clove Infused Simple Syrup

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
3 cinnamon sticks
6-8 cloves

Add sugar, water, cinnamon sticks and cloves to a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil on medium-high to high heat for 3 minutes, then lower temperature and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat and let spices steep in the simple syrup for 15 minutes.
Pour simple syrup along with the spices in a bowl or container and allow to cool. Once cool, use as needed in sangria or other beverages such as tea.