Labor Day weekend traditionally is summer’s last hurrah, when everyone tries to scramble out of town for last-minute beach vacations, or backyard pool parties and barbecues with friends and neighbors before the weather (finally!) starts to cool down. I, myself, actually have a three day weekend, which is nearly unheard of in the restaurant industry. How am I putting this free time to good use, you might ask? Well, I wish I could say I was grilling burgers and whipping up potato salad to share with a large crowd of awesome acquaintances, but that is not the case this weekend. I am, however, relaxing as much as time will allow, and sipping on this fruity, sparkly tribute to the end of summer. Even though the Arizona desert still has about 2 months before we see really cool temperatures, I can at least toast to the fact that we’re heading away from the hottest time of year, instead of hurtling painfully toward it. Bubbly pink moscato, with a few scoops of vanilla ice cream and tart raspberry sorbet — this should be your end-of-summer beverage of choice.

raspberry-vanilla moscato floats

(makes about 4 drinks)

1 bottle pink moscato, well-chilled
1 pint vanilla ice cream
1 pint raspberry sorbet

First off, this is hardly a recipe, so if you’re busy with other weekend shenanigans, it shouldn’t be too hard to serve up some of these tasty drinks. Grab 4 tall glasses and fill them each about half way with chilled pink moscato.

Drop a scoop of vanilla ice cream into the moscato, and follow that with a scoop or two of raspberry sorbet.

Add a straw to each glass. Sip your way to relaxation and say goodbye to hot days and too-warm nights! The vanilla and raspberry flavors really bring out the fruity qualities of the moscato. A glass of this would also be most welcome for a Valentine’s Day celebration with your sweetie, I suspect!

This recipe would be equally good if made into a punch for a large crowd (say, a bridal shower or brunch?) — just pour the moscato into a punch bowl instead (feel free to add a splash of some club soda or lemon-lime soda to dilute a bit), and float the scoops of ice cream and sorbet around the bowl just before serving. Garnish with some fresh raspberries and maybe some mint leaves if you’re feeling extra fancy! (Grey Cat, my little troublemaker, wanted in on the ice cream action, as you can see below).