Strawberry Lemon Cocktail

Hey y'all! I'm back from France in time to wish you all a Happy Memorial Day! Thanks to all of the former soldiers, current soldiers, and future soldiers and God bless America.

What's more American and appropriate for Memorial Day than sporting a baseball cap, kicking back with an ice cold cocktail, and firing up the B-B-Q? I don't know about you, but that's exactly what I've got going on today.

I've mentioned it before, but I'm not a big drinker anymore. There was a time where I'd pound back an entire bottle of wine by myself on a weekday but I can no longer afford the calories and that much wine in one sitting will give me an awful hangover. But, I do like a libation or two once in a while. I want to try and post more yummy cocktails here so I'm making an effort to hit up the liquor store once in a while. Today's cocktail recipe is crazy simple but it's delicious so I think it's worth a share.

Ingredients [serves 4]
1 bottle of chilled sparkling wine - I used this cheap-o Verdi Spumante which has a low alcohol content and is really mild and sweet
zest of one lemon
3 or 4 lemon slices
handful of strawberries
raw sugar to rim the glasses

Start by running a little piece of lemon around the edge of your glass and then dipping it into some sugar. You can also use a bit of honey and use your finger to brush it around the rim. The honey will certainly help the giant pieces of raw sugar stick a bit better, but I just stuck to the lemon juice.

Quarter a few strawberries, cut slivers of lemon peel, and cut a few lemon slices and chuck them all into a pitcher. Then, pour in the bubbly wine, stir, and serve in the sugar-rimmed glasses. It's that simple. The longer the drink sits, the better it gets, but be mindful not to let it sit too long, as you'll lose the carbonation.

This is a great brunch cocktail because it's fruity and light but this would also be a lovely drink for sipping on a porch on a warm summer evening. It's crisp, the lemon is fragrant, the berries are sweet, it's pretty yummy.

If you're not keen on alcohol at all, you can substitute the sparkling wine with some sparkling grape juice or tonic water or seltzer. Fresca would also be a great virgin alternative.

I didn't make a recipe page for this because it's so simple. You're smart, you don't need one.

By the way, I was in France for almost 10 days so I've got hundreds of photos to sort through. I've also got photos from my sister and cousin and cousin-in-law to look at. I have to sort and edit these before I can post. I'll probably have something French up in about a week, maybe two. Give me some time, okay?

Cheers.