Punch up your next holiday celebration

By Karen Miltner
Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle

Useful to know A gallon of punch fills about 32 punch cups, and each guest will drink two or three cups. A gallon serves about 12 people. A block of ice is better than ice cubes because there is less dilution, and it is easier to work around a block with ladle. To keep punch from weakening, freeze some of the nonalcoholic liquids and use them as the ice block. If tea is an ingredient, make it strong by using additional tea leaves rather than by long steeping, which results in a bitter taste. Because sugar is hard to dissolve in cold fruit juice, and even more so in liquid containing alcohol, keep sugar syrup on hand for adjusting sweetness.

Nothing says, "I don't want to drink alone" like a punch bowl. Put one out, and thirsty people are bound to congregate.

Since colonial times, punch has enjoyed a prominent place on the American party scene and has been an enduring sign of hospitality.

The 19th-century Boston merchant Harrison Gray Otis had a reputation for setting a 10-gallon tank on his stair landing every day, keeping visitors well-quaffed.

The historic vessel has yet to undergo a retro-hip reincarnation like that of the fondue pot. Nowadays, the perennial punch bowl is most often associated with proms, weddings and bridal and baby showers. The winter holidays are also high season for the punch bowl, when party throwers are thinking eggnog, wassail (ale or wine sweetened with sugar and flavored with spices), toddies, grogs and other festive concoctions.

Despite — or perhaps because of — the drink's old-fashioned appeal, cookbooks, cooking magazines and celebrity chefs such as the youthful, gap-toothed Briton Jamie Oliver of Food Network fame keep cranking out updated punch recipes. There are several at www.epicurious.com and www.foodtv.com.

In fact, finding a new punch recipe may be easier than finding a new punch bowl. Once a must-have on bridal registries, some retailers have discontinued selling them. Others simply don't have the selection of yore.

For those who like punch but remain bowl-less, there are two other choices: rent from a party supply shop or improvise. If all else fails, there are always ceramic pitchers, ceramic slow-cooker inserts or crocks (especially good for hot punches) and even clean (and preferably new) fish bowls.

Now that's punchy.

Here are some recipes to try.

Pineapple Punch

• 1 ripe pineapple
• 6 to 8 ounces confectioners' sugar, depending on sweetness of pineapple
• 2 cups apricot brandy
• 2 bottles (750 milliliters each) sparkling wine

Peel, core and finely chop the pineapple, place in a bowl, and stir in the sugar until combined. Set aside, covered, in the refrigerator for at least one hour and up to 24 hours.

Pour the apricot brandy over the fruit and steep until needed. (The mixture will last approximately two weeks in the refrigerator.)

When ready to serve, place the pineapple mixture in a punch bowl and top with the sparkling wine. Stir thoroughly and serve well chilled in champagne glasses. Yields 10-12 drinks.

Tips: A quart of pineapple juice, poured into a small container and frozen, makes an excellent ice cube for the punch bowl. Make individual servings by filling a champagne glass halfway with the pineapple mixture and topping with sparkling wine. For a nonalcoholic version, use peach or apricot nectar instead of the apricot brandy, and replace the sparkling wine with ginger ale.

Source: Nick Mautone, managing partner of Gramercy Tavern, New York City.

Minted Punch (unspiked)

• 5 cups water
• 6 whole cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick, 3 to 4 inches long
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh mint leaves for garnish
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 lemon cut in half

In a large saucepan over medium heat, stir the water, cloves, cinnamon stick, ginger and mint. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, until the liquid is reduced to four cups, about 15 minutes.

Add the sugar and stir until dissolved. Remove from the heat.

Squeeze the juice from half of the lemon into the punch and mix well. Strain the punch into a chilled pitcher or punch bowl; discard the solids.

Thinly slice the other lemon half and add to the punch.

Serve the punch warm, or cover it tightly and chill for at least two hours or as long as overnight.

Makes 8 (4-ounce) servings.

Source: "Heaven's Banquet" by Miriam Kasin Hospodar; Dutton, $39.95.