The myriad cookies have been baked. The last package has been hauled to the post office. The halls are very festive. All we have to do now is wrap the presents. That is an undertaking that should be shared with a couple of discreet elves and perhaps some Wassail. Instead pouring a glass of my usual plonk, I thought I should be testing some seasonal recipes to get into the holiday spirit. These are crowd pleasers, but they require a little planning.
French 75s
“Hits with remarkable precision.”
Harry Craddock, The Savoy Cocktail Book
2 ounces gin
1 ounce lemon juice
1 spoonful extra fine sugar
Champagne
Shake the gin, lemon juice and sugar in a cocktail shaker filled with cracked ice until chilled and well-mixed and then pour into tall glass containing cracked ice and fill up the glass with Champagne. This clever cocktail was said to have been devised during WWI, the kick from the alcohol combo being described as powerful as the French 75mm howitzer gun. Some substitute cognac for the Champagne, but not us, the soon-to-be-reformed purists.
“Remember gentlemen, it’s not just France we are fighting for, it’s Champagne!”
–Winston Churchill
Champagne Cocktail
In a Champagne glass add a teaspoon of sugar and enough Angostura bitters to melt the sugar. Add a tablespoon of Grand Marnier or cognac and mix in with the sugar, bitters mix. Add a “fine” quality Champagne and stir. Float a slice of thin orange on top. This is what Ilsa and Victor Laszlo sipped in Casablanca.
“A cause may be inconvenient, but it’s magnificent. It’s like Champagne or high heels, and one must be prepared to suffer for it.”
-Arnold Bennett
As always, our festive friends at Food52 have some delightful ideas for nibbles to help soak up some of the bubbly we are sure to be drinking on Christmas. https://www.food52.com/blog/2807
“New Year’s Day – Now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual.”
-Mark Twain
Andy Goddard’s Glogg
Andy’s recipe calls for 5 or 6 (!) 750 ml bottles of wine. I used 2 – 1.5 litres, so think I would stick with that, but you might have a larger crowd…
2 1.5 liter bottles red wine, (not too dry; a blend or an inexpensive merlot or pinot noir work well)
4 cinnamon sticks
1 scant tablespoon whole cloves
1 small fistful cardamon pods
1/2 cup grated fresh orange peel or dried bitter- orange peel
1/2 inch chunk peeled, fresh ginger, half grated & half sliced
Cheesecloth – for second step
1. Put half of one bottle of wine and spices in large pot. Bring to boil, lower heat and simmer 30 minutes. Strain into bowl, put solid ingredients in cheesecloth and return all to pot.
2. Add rest of wine to pot. Let steep, preferably overnight. Reheat to serve, but do not boil.
Optional: garnish with black raisins and slivered blanched almonds. Some adventurous cooks add brown sugar, vodka, aquavit!
Fish House Punch
The mother of one of my dear Washington College friends served this punch at her annual New Year’s Day party. We have dim recollections of warbling Auld Lang Syne at their piano, and of the crashing headaches the next morning. Strict limit – 2 cups of Fish House Punch! (This is a large batch, suitable for a house full of strait-laced adults, who will soon be singing with few inhibitions.)
36 ounces dark rum
24 ounces fresh-squeezed lemon juice
25 ounces brandy
4 ounces peach brandy
¾ pound superfine sugar
40 ounces water
Dissolve the sugar in some of the water. Add lemon juice and the rest of the water and stir. Add liquor two to three hours before serving, and refrigerate. Serve in a large punch bowl with ice and tiny punch cups. Do not repeat often…
And from our friends at Bon Appétit, this delightful warming, milk punch. https://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2011/03/jaguars_milk_punch
Or, if you are really hankering for some Yuletide wassail: https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Wassail-102329
“Our snow was not only shaken from white wash buckets down the sky, it came shawling out of the ground and swam and drifted out of the arms and hands and bodies of the trees; snow grew overnight on the roofs of the houses like a pure and grandfather moss, minutely -ivied the walls and settled on the postman, opening the gate, like a dumb, numb thunder-storm of white, torn Christmas cards.”
-Dylan Thomas
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