Madly Mulled Wine
2 sticks cinnamon
½ - 1 tsp. black peppercorns
½ tsp. whole cloves
¼ c. sugar
1 cup brandy or kirsch
2 (4/5ths) bottles red burgundy wine
Tie spices in cheesecloth. Gently simmer spices, wine, and sugar 20 minutes to blend flavors. Add brandy. Warm thoroughly and serve. Refrigerate leftovers.
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Brandy Alexander
Traditional
| 1 ½ oz. brandy 1 oz. crème de cocoa 1 oz. heavy cream nutmeg Chill glass in freezer. Pour all ingredients into shaker half filled with ice. Shake til well blended. Strain into chilled glass. Garnish with a dusting of nutmeg.
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With ice cream
| 2 oz. brandy 1 oz. creme de cocoa 2 scoops vanilla ice cream cinnamon or nutmeg |
In a blender, combine all ingredients.
Blend until smooth.
Serve in a tall glass and garnish with a dusting of cinnamon or nutmeg.
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Refrigerator Pickles
7 cups thinly sliced cucumbers
2 large onions, thinly sliced
2 tbsp. uniodized salt
1 ½ cup vinegar
2 ¼ cup sugar
1 ½ tbsp. celery seed
Wash and scrub cucumbers. Slice about 1/8” thick, leaving peel on.
Put cucumbers and onion in large bowl. Mix well and let set for 2 hours.
Mix vinegar, sugar and celery seed in non-metallic bowl. Stir to dissolve sugar. You may have to stir for a few minutes before the sugar dissolves. Set aside.
Drain cucumber mixture. Add vinegar mixture. Put in sterilized jars and stir 3 times a day for 3 days.
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Fire Roasted Peppers
Fire Roasted Pepper Recipe
Get your grill, fire pit, or even fireplace nice and hot. To really do this recipe right you need high heat and you need to be able to get the peppers right up close to some scorching hot embers. If your barbeque or firepit grill grate is too high, you can even do this without the grate. After roasting, the peppers will be skinned eventually so its ok if they get a bit dirty during roasting.
Put those whole peppers right up next to your hot embers to roast. The skins will start to blister and turn black if the heat is hot enough. If after a few minutes they are not turning black, move them closer to the embers. Once one side is getting nice and blackened, turn them with a barbeque tongs. Continue this process until most of the surfaces of the roasted peppers are blistered, burnt and blackened. This should take somewhere between 10 and 20 minutes depending on the heat of your embers and how close the peppers are to the heat.
Side note: if you don’t have a grill you can even do this on your stove top in a pinch. Simply turn your burner on medium heat and place the peppers right on the burner grate. The roast peppers won’t get that nice smoky aroma and flavor from a real wood or charcoal grill but they will still be pretty tasty.
Next, place your peppers immediately on a large platter or in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Secure the wrap under the bowl or plate to keep in the steam. You can also put the roasted peppers in a brown paper bag and secure it. Leave the peppers to rest until they are cool enough to handle (another 20 minutes or so). The peppers will steam in their own juices, loosening their skins.
When you open the bag, gently rub off the skins that are now loose and blistered. Some pieces may require scraping a bit. Do your best to reserve the fluid that is given off by the peppers in the plate or bowl. Next, remove the stem and seeds inside. There will be a bit of syrupy fluid within each pepper, be sure to keep this in the bowl! It will make a delicious dressing for your roasted peppers.
Once all your seeds are removed you can pass the juices through a sieve to get rid of extra seeds and save the juice.
Now slice up those roasted peppers into half-inch strips. Put the sliced peppers back in a bowl with the reserved juices. Add a couple tablespoons of olive oil and toss gently to coat. Now season to taste with freshly cracked black pepper and coarse salt. If you want, you can also add a few drizzles of a nice wine vinegar of your choice.
You can also place the peppers in mason jars and cover them with oil, pop a lid on and they will keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks. Instant jarred roasted peppers.
You can freeze them as well.
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Swedish Glögg
1 rounded tbsp. cardamon (break shell, put shells in)
1 tsp. whole cloves
2 or 3 sticks whole cinnamon (break in small pieces)
2 or 3 leaves whole mace (if you can get it)
1 small piece ginger root (cut in half)
2 cups dark raisins
1 gallon Zinfendell wine
1 cup sugar
2 cups 190 proof grain alcohol
In a small cloth bag, add all spices.
In sauce pan, put in 2 cups of raisins and spice bag. Add enough water to cover raisins. Simmer 1/2 hour.
In a large kettle, heat wine to boiling. Add sugar, stirring until dissolved.
Add raisins and any liquid from raisins and squeeze spice bag into wine.
SHUT OFF FIRE ON STOVE.
Add alcohol, stir well.
Light with match, count to ten, cover (to put out fire).
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