Tis The Season...Eat, Drink and Be Merry!

Later today I am heading over to a holiday open house to be with our neighbors and watch the kids decorate their tree.  Even though Christmas is not a holiday I celebrate, I love seeing the skies light up at night with the twinkling lights and candles in the windows, and every since I was a little girl, I enjoyed trimming the tree at the homes of family friends.
It's hard for me to go anywhere empty handed so I decided to bring a couple of different things to add to the merriment: a vegan candy cane bark and sangria!
For my 40th birthday party I had purchased bottles of Ed Hardy sangria, and I still have a 1.5 liter bottle left.  I poured the entire bottle into a beautiful pitcher, added thinly sliced rounds of one orange, large diced pieces of an unpeeled granny smith apple, and for an added kick, 8 ounces of Stoli Razberi.  It would look beautiful in a glass pitcher but I don't have one big enough for this amount of sangria.  Regardless, it will be both delicious and potent ~ good thing I don't have to drive!
I also wanted to make something that even the kids could enjoy, so I found a recipe for vegan peppermint bark, which I modified just a bit.
Cover a 9"x13" baking sheet with wax paper.

In a double boiler, melt 14 oz. of your favorite dark chocolate. I used some Lindt bars.  Be sure the water doesn't bubble over into your chocolate or it will be scalded and you'll have to start again.  Once it's melted, mix in a cup of crushed candy canes and then spread it evenly on the wax paper. Let it cool in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
Next, melt 2 bags of Ghirardelli or another vegan friendly semi-sweet chocolate back on your double boiler.  Once it's melted, stir in a 1/2 teaspoon of peppermint extract, and spread this mixture on top of the now hardened dark chocolate.
While still warm, top the semi-sweet chocolate with another 1/2 cup of candy cane and put it back in the refrigerator to cool for another 20 minutes.  Then, break it into small pieces and place it in a pretty dish.  How can it be bad?
Note: we're talking about candy here.  If you want thicker layers of chocolate or more candy cane, go for it!  If you celebrate, Merry Christmas!