It's Bellini Time!

Now that it's pretty much Summer here on Maui, and the humidity has stepped it up a notch, all I can think about is having an ice-cold, tasty, and oh-so-refreshing bellini in my hand while getting sun-kissed by the beautiful rays of the Hawaiian Sunshine.

The first time I made these, it was a spontaneous success.. It was a beautiful Saturday morning spent with friends for brunch, which eased into the rest of the afternoon lounging poolside. Perfect, right? We just so happened to have a TON of fruit and booze from a previous party, too, so it couldn't have worked out better. All of our pool parties seem to start like this come to think of it. Pretty sure it all started with these bellini's..

Ingredients
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
1 (16-ounce) bag frozen peaches, thawed
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
1 (16-ounce) bag frozen strawberries, thawed
1 (16-ounce) bag frozen blueberries or blackberries, thawed
4 to 6 (750-ml) bottles Prosecco or other sparkling wine, chilled
Fresh strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries, for garnish
Orange peel twists, for garnish

Directions
Stir the sugar and water in a large saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Cool completely.

Puree the peaches and orange peel in a blender with 1/2 cup of the sugar syrup until smooth. Strain through a fine-meshed strainer and into a bowl. Cover and refrigerate. In a clean blender puree the strawberries with 1/3 cup of the sugar syrup until smooth. Strain through a clean fine-meshed strainer and into another bowl. Discard the seeds. Puree the blueberries in a clean blender with 1/3 cup of the sugar syrup until smooth. Strain through a clean fine-meshed strainer and into a third bowl. Discard the seeds and solids. Pour each of the purees into clear glass bowls or small pitchers.

For each serving, pour 2 to 4 tablespoons of the desired fruit puree into a Champagne flute. Slowly pour enough Prosecco into the flute to fill. Gently stir to blend. Garnish with the whole berries, as desired, and serve.

* Do-Ahead Tip: The fruit purees can each be made 1 day ahead. Cover separately and refrigerate.