Floating Island Punch

Last one! I guess all these posts today make up for the fact that tomorrow I don't have to make dinner. We're going to my aunt's for my cousin's birthday dinner, and my grandma is making chicken and noodles. Yum!

This punch was served at my baby shower back in October and my friend Danielle's shower in November. I think Jen found the recipe for it on allrecipes.com. Jen A. requested it specifically, and who am I to turn down a pregnant woman's request? I know better than that! ;) Just kidding, I would have chosen this one anyway because it's just so darn tasty.

Floating Island Punch

Ingredients:
2 cups water
2 cups white sugar
1 (12 fluid ounce) can frozen lemonade concentrate
1 (12 fluid ounce) can frozen orange juice concentrate
1 pint orange sherbet
1 liter ginger ale
1 liter carbonated water
1 (4 ounce) jar maraschino cherries
1 orange, sliced in rounds
4 cups ice

Directions:
Bring water to a boil. Add the sugar and boil until it becomes a syrup. Let cool.

In a punch bowl combine lemonade, orange juice, ginger ale, and carbonated water. Mix in the sugar syrup. Add ice and sherbet. Just before serving add cherries and cherry juice and float orange slices on top.

*****

Believe it or not, this was my first time making a simple syrup. I didn't read the directions first and poured the sugar in the saucepan then added water and turned on the burner. It turned out fine. And it really was super simple. I let it boil for 5-7 minutes or so. I couldn't remember what size maraschino cherries the recipe called for when I was grocery shopping, so the jar I got was 16 ounces. Jen B. was helping me make it this morning and dumped the whole thing in, so ours might have been a tad bit sweeter than it usually is. But it was still good. Also, I didn't put the ice in the punchbowl--I had it in an ice bucket because I didn't want the punch to get watered down as the ice melted. Plus I figured the sherbet would keep it cold, and everything else had come straight out of the fridge.