Wine Granitas Food

WINE GRANITAS

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, combine water, sugar, and basil. Heat on medium until sugar dissolves, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Let stand until cool, about 1 hour. Strain basil from syrup and discard.
• In 2-quart metal baking pan, combine syrup, wine, and lemon juice. Freeze 4 to 5 hours or until frozen, scraping with fork every hour to break up ice crystals. Serve garnished with cherries, mint, and lemon slices, if desired. Store in freezer up to 1 week, covered with plastic wrap, scraping again before serving.

MULLED WINE GRANITA

Steps:

• Bring the wine, sugar, cinnamon stick, cloves, allspice and peppercorns to a simmer in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Cook 5 minutes, then remove from the heat and let stand 15 minutes. Strain the mulled wine into an 8-inch-square baking dish and freeze until hard, about 5 hours. Scrape with a fork and divide among glasses. Serve with whipped cream.

WINE, HONEYDEW, AND TARRAGON GRANITA

Steps:

• 1. Combine the wine and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring until the sugar is dissolved, then cool.
• 2. Puree the honeydew and tarragon in a blender, then strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a mixing bowl. Combine the wine, honeydew juice, lemon juice, and a pinch of salt, then transfer to a square baking dish. Put in the freezer until firm, scraping and stirring with a fork every 30 minutes until the mixture is slushy, about 2 hours. Serve garnished with tarragon leaves or sprigs.

CHAMPAGNE GRANITA

Steps:

• Combine the sugar and 1 cup water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and stir until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and place in the refrigerator until cold, about 1 hour.
• Using the finest grater you have, lightly scrape the skin of 1 lemon, removing only the top surface of the peel. Squeeze out the juice and remove the seeds from both lemons.
• Open the Champagne or sparkling wine, and pour it into a 9 by 12 by 2-inch pan. Mix in the simple syrup, lemon juice, and grated zest. Place mixture into the freezer. Check after 30 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, break up any ice formed on the sides and stir into the rest of the liquid. Continue to freeze and repeat this procedure every hour for at least 3 hours. Before serving, fluff the granita by "chopping" up any clumps with the spoon or gently whisking the frozen mixture. Spoon into small glasses or cups and serve.

RED WINE GRANITA

Steps:

• Place a 9" x 13" metal baking pan in the freezer for 2 hours to pre-chill. Dissolve honey in water in a saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely. Combine honey mixture and wine in baking pan and return it to the freezer. Freeze, stirring and scraping frozen parts every 30 minutes to create ice crystals. You want a slushy, snow cone texture, not a solid freeze. Spoon into dessert cups.

HONEY-DEW AND SAKE GRANITA

Steps:

• To make the granita:
• In a small saucepan combine the sugar and 3-1/2 cups water and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring. In a blender purée the ginger with the syrup, the wine, and the food coloring, chill the mixture until is cold, and stir it. Transfer the mixture to 2 metal ice-cube trays without the dividers or to a shallow metal pan and freeze it, stirring and crushing the lumps with a fork every 30 minutes, for 2 to 3 hours, or until it is firm but not frozen solid. The granita may be made 2 days in advance and kept covered and frozen. Scrape the granita with a fork to lighten the texture.
• On each of 4 plates arrange 2 of the honeydew slices and top 1 of the slices on each plate with a scoop of the honeydew and sake granita. Top the other slices with a scoop of the pickled ginger and plum-wine granita.