Rachael Ray's Mulled Cran-Cider

Rachael Ray's Mulled Cran-Cider

Do you have a favorite celebrity chef? I do! I have a few favorites; Rachael Ray is one of them. She's one of the hottest chefs on the Food Network channel. Every time I'm back for short holiday breaks at my hubby's hometown, one of my moments of indulgence is watching the Food Network channel on Astro the entire day. Haha!

About a week ago, I was watching Rachael Ray's 30-Minute Meals. She made Mulled Cran-Cider. I did a quick search, found her recipe online, and I made it too!

Actually, I'm just curious to find out how does a mulled beverage taste like. :D

Recipe from here.

Ingredients:
(Serves 2)

Note: I've halved the recipe.

1 cup all-natural cranberry juice 
2 cups apple cider (or unsweetened apple juice) 
1/2 cup whole fresh cranberries
1 (1/2-inch) ginger root, peeled
A long curl orange peel
1 whole clove
1 cinnamon stick 
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar (optional)


How to:

Combine both juices, cranberries, ginger, orange peel studded with cloves, cinnamon, and cider in a medium saucepan over low heat. Bring to a low simmer and steep the mixture for about 15 minutes. Discard the orange peel and clove. Pour into mugs to serve.


Tips from Rachael Ray:

To make it easy to discard those tiny cloves, pierce them like studs on an orange peel before using. You can easily fish out the orange peel curl and discard both in one go.

The ingredients.

Fresh cranberries from Presto, Citta Mall.

Simmering has started.

Final verdict? I love the combination of flavors from the spices, juices, and cranberries. Fresh cranberries are actually very tart to taste. But they are surprisingly nice to munch after they are cooked and burst. The apple cider vinegar adds a little tanginess that makes you go for second, third or more helpings!

Hubby suggests to make this beverage again on Christmas eve for our family dinner. Yay! :)

I'm linking this post to Cook and Celebrate: Christmas 2014 organized by Yen from Eat your heart out, Diana from Domestic Goddess Wannabe and Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids.