Cranberry Cider Margarita

Whether you’re greeting guests at the door or closing the evening with a nightcap, this year try trading in the basic wine for a signature holiday cocktail. We think that this gorgeous, fall-inspired Cranberry Cider Margarita recipe from Lauren Fister is sure to put your friends and family in a festive mood.

Lauren is a girl who knows the kitchen inside and out, working as a kitchen designer for Studio Snaidero by day and blogging by night over at Chat N’ Chow.

Favorite Thanksgiving Dish or Tradition: Growing up my mom (who’s from the south) always had a baked ham in addition to the turkey. I always love to have a bite of fresh sliced ham on a biscuit with my Thanksgiving dinner!

Pumpkin Pie or Apple Pie? Pumpkin Pie – if I had it available to me I would eat it for breakfast every morning!!

Cooking Mantra? Just roll with it! If you’re going downhill with a recipe stick it out to the end so at least you gave it your all and you will have learned what not to do for next time. Also, never apologize (as Julia said)!

What are you thankful for this year? I started my blog a year ago in December. At first it started out as something I did to fill my time and my content was just OK. There was a turning point a couple months ago where I got totally inspired to push myself for higher quality content and to put more of myself into my posts. When this happened I found such an amazing community of readers and bloggers who inspire me even more. I don’t know where it’s going but I’m thankful to have discovered an outlet where I can creatively express myself and focus my energy!

Cranberry Cider Margarita

When I entertain I like to have cocktails ready for guests as they come in. This is a great cocktail because vodka could be easily swapped if someone doesn’t like tequila. Cocktails are also great at Thanksgiving because they can add fun edge (vs. just only having red and white wine) to what can sometimes become a stressful day (you know how it can go with all the different personalities that come together but only a few times a year). I show two serving ideas, as a martini and on the rocks. I think guys might like it on the rocks and ladies might like it in a martini glass. Mixing Note – I use a small shot glass as my measure for 1 oz.

Rimming the Glass
I think rimmed glasses are a fun & flavorful addition to cocktails. For this cocktail I ran the lemon wedge around the rim of the glass to make it wet, I then dipped the glass in the following mixture spread out on a plate:

1 Tablespoon kosher salt
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
zest of one orange

Optional garnish:
For a sliced apple garnish, place apple slices or wedges in a dish with cool water and the juice from half a lemon or lime. This will keep the apple from turning. Keep the dish at hand when making the cocktails.

Cranberry Cider Margarita (serves 1)
2 oz tequila – I like silver tequila
1/2 oz triple sec
1 oz cranberry juice
1 oz fresh cider
Juice from 1/4 of an orange

In a cocktail shaker combine all of the ingredients with ice. Shake well. Pour into chilled rimmed glass and garnish. Enjoy!!

Thanks again to all of our haute guest bloggers and to you, haute reader, for celebrating this foodie favorite holiday with us!