White Wine Sangria

1 Bottle of white wine (Riesling, Albarino, Chablis, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc)
1/2 cup white sugar
3 oranges (sliced) or may substitute 1 cup of orange juice)
1 lemon (sliced)
1 lime (sliced)
1/2 liter of ginger ale or club soda


Pour wine in the pitcher and squeeze the juice wedges from the orange,lemon and lime into the wine. Toss in the fruit wedges (leaving out seeds if possible) and add sugar. Chill overnight. Add ginger ale or club soda just before serving. If you'd like to serve right away, use chilled white wine and serve over lots of ice.




--Adapted from here (About.com)

Boston Creme Cupcakes

These cupcakes are very impressive-looking for not a whole lot of effort. We made them for Father's Day and they were a hit.

Ingredients:
1 butter yellow cake mix
1 3-oz. box French vanilla instant pudding
1 cup half and half
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tsp. vanilla extract
¼ cup powdered sugar
1 ½ cup chocolate ganache

Directions:
Prepare yellow cupcakes as directed on box.

In the meantime, prepare the vanilla custard filling by combining the instant pudding mix and the half and half in a medium bowl. In a stand mixer using the whip attachment, combine whipping cream, vanilla and powdered sugar and whip at medium speed until soft peaks form. Gently fold in the pudding mixture to the whipped cream until it is fully incorporated and smooth. Place filling into a pastry bag, or a ziploc bag with a metal tip.

When the cupcakes have cooled, place the tip of the pastry or ziploc bag inside each cupcake and pipe in filling, being careful not to overfill.

When all the cupcakes have been filled, prepare your ganache. Dip the tops of the cupcakes in the ganache. Place glazed cupcakes on a cooling rack to dry.

Drain and pat dry maraschino cherries. While the cupcakes are slightly “wet” from the glaze, place a cherry on top for garnish.

Source: adapted from Joelen’s Culinary Adventures and the blog, "Annie's Eats"