Kir Royale Granita {Sundays with Joy}

Today is my 11th anniversary. Or, the day my husband decided to put up with me forever.

Kidding.

I really do believe that I married my best friend. I know it's cheesy, who doesn't say that? But it's so totally true.

We met in college. I was 20. He was a "returning student." We became friends over HTML and confusing java script codes.

Fast forward a couple years. He was freshly divorced and I pounced.

Kidding. Not really. I'll admit; I pursued him. I chased him until he caught me.

Our first two "dates" were as friends. By the end of the second outing (a long hike) I was in loooove. I mean, we had pretty much everything in common. From then on we were inseparable.

We were engaged 5 months later. (However, I knew we were going to get married within two weeks. We even talked about it after just a month.) A little over a year after that hike we were married.

Back in the days before we had a kid, when you know, we could actually go out and have fun and not care if we didn't want to get out of bed the next day, we'd have a drink at the bar before sitting down to dinner at a nice restaurant. At some point, I was introduced to a champagne drink called a Kir Royale.

A Kir Royale is made of champagne and Chambord (a raspberry liqueur). Now, some purists might say it needs to be made with Cream de Cassis...but I always remember it made with Chambord. The good bartenders rub the edge of the glass with lemon before popping some of the rind into the glass, creating a good fizz.

{Seriously, talking about this has made me want a cocktail. Badly. Guess what I'm ordering at dinner tonight?}

When I realized Sundays with Joy fell on our anniversary, and that her espresso granita was what was on the schedule, I was stumped. I wanted to make something for us to enjoy after dinner tonight...but my husband doesn't like coffee. Somehow, I thought of champagne...and that led me to a Kir Royale.

Making a granita is one of the easiest things ever, so don't be intimidated by its elegant name. You just place liquid in a dish, pop it in the freezer, and stir it once an hour for three or four hours. Easy peasy.

Believe you me, it's reeealllly difficult to make a champagne granita at 9am. Because as much as I wanted to eat it, I couldn't because I needed to be a responsible parent. (Darn kids.)

Plus, by not eating it, I can save it to share with my sweetie tonight.

Happy Anniversary to my dear, sweet husband. Thanks for being my rock for more than 11 years and for always just nodding and saying "mm hmmmm" when I get in one of my moods.

I'm looking forward to our next few chapters. And the rest of the next 50 years we'll be together. :)

Kir Royale Granita

by Crazy for Crust

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• 2 mini bottles Champagne (about 1 3/4 cup)
• Zest and juice of 1/2 lemon, plus additional zest for garnish
• 3 tablespoons Chambord

Instructions

1. Heat sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Cool. Place in a jar and chill until ready to use. (You will not need all of the simple syrup for this recipe.) Chill champagne and chambord.
2. Add champagne, chambord, zest, juice, and 1/2 cup of simple syrup to a 9x9 glass baking dish. Stir gently. Place in the freezer.
3. After 1 hour, stir with a fork, breaking up clumps. Repeat after an additional hour, then again twice more in 30 minute increments. Once granita is frozen but flaked, transfer to a resealable container until ready to serve.
4. Garnish with lemon scented whipped cream or plain whipped cream and lemon zest.

I can't give you the lemon cream recipe...you'll have to buy Joy's book for that! :)

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Thanks for reading!

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