Strawberry Bellinis

Happy New Year! I hope everyone enjoyed your night, whether you were out partying or at home keeping it low key as I did. I spent most of the day yesterday making pizza dough and sauce to stock my freezer and then relaxed during the evening.

Last night I made some Simple Strawberry Sauce (recipe below) to keep in my refrigerator to use as a topping for ice cream, a thin jam for toast, or my favorite – drizzled on plain yogurt and granola. As we got closer to midnight, though, I thought it would be fun to add some to our New Years champagne and make a non-traditional bellini.

I am not a huge fan of peaches, so I don’t order traditional bellinis that often, but I did have a fabulous raspberry one once in a restaurant and was willing to experiment with the strawberries. I used approximately 2 t. of strawberry sauce and then filled the glass with champagne and stirred. If you try this, be sure to stir it over a sink as the champagne will bubble over rather quickly.

I did not strain the strawberry mixture since making bellinis was not its primary purpose, but if I made it again specifically for drinks I would be sure to remove the seeds because they sank to the bottom of the champagne flute.

Simple Strawberry Sauce

- 1 16 oz. bag frozen unsweetened strawberries, thawed
- 1/3 c. white sugar
- 1 T. lemon juice

Add all ingredients to a blender and puree. Pour into a skillet and heat over medium heat for 5-10 minutes until bubbly and thick. Cool completely, transfer to a container with lid, and store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 2 months.

Makes approx. 1 1/2 cups.