Cointreau

Madeira is combined with Cointreau, honey and spices in a simple English-inspired hot drink for the holidays.

When he was the chef at the Carlton Hotel in London, Escoffier created Strawberries Americaine Style — strawberries in orange liqueur, blended into whipped cream and softened ice cream. Little did he know that it would one day be the star dessert of every posh dining spot in California. "Prince" Mike Romanoff "borrowed" the recipe and gave it a new moniker. Soon it was the hottest item on the West Coast. The L.A. Biltmore called it "Strawberries Biltmore." The Palace Hotel in San Francisco served it with anisette and maraschino.

We thought we would update the popular Cosmopolitan by substituting Champagne for the usual lemon vodka. We garnished the drinks with skewers of sugar-coated fresh cranberries (thawed frozen ones will work just fine, too).

You can find canned litchis in the Asian section of most supermarkets.