Monday, December 10, 2007

Congealed cocktail

from the 2006(?) edition of Joy of Cooking:

Broth on the Rocks

A salty-sweet refresher with a beautiful tangerine color. Be sure the broth is not too rich in gelatin, or it may congeal. For each serving, combine equal quantities of:
Chicken broth or beef consomme
Tomato juice
Orange juice

Pour over ice cubes and add:
A squeeze of lemon juice


And now a holiday beverage for those of us who aren't 97 years old, or who require vegan drinks:
Across the globe, there are very few people who take Christmas as seriously as the Germans do. Germans gave us the Christmas tree (Tannenbaum), the advent calendar, and Silent Night. Unfortunately, they also gave us...fruitcake. Perhpas in recognition of the dyspepsia often caused by ingesting rocklike fruitcake, Germans have also given us another holiday tradition: Glühwein, "glow wine" - their version of mulled wine. Grandmother's punch (Großmutters Punsch) is an elaboration of tradional glow wine, which is nothing more than heated red wine with cinnamon, lemon, sugar, and cloves. Rich, smooth, and strong, this very special punch is traditionally served at midnight on Christmas Eve.

Serves 12

1 cup packed brown sugar
25 whole cloves
25 allspice berries
1 cinammon stick
2 vanilla beans, finely chopped
2/3 cup loose black tea
Two 750 ml bottles red wine
1/2 cup dark rum

In a large pot, combine the sugar, spices, and vanilla beans with 4 cups of water. Bring to a boil and cook over high heat, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes or until half the liquid has evaporated and teh remainder is syrupy. Remove from the heat, stir in the tea, and allow to steep for 10 minutes. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into another large pot and stir in the red wine and rum. Warm over medium heat until steaming, about 7 minutes. Serve warm, garnishing each glass with a cinammon stick stirrer, or chilled, over ice.



-Punsch recipe from Hot Toddies by Christopher B. O'Hara. New York : Clarkson Potter, 2002. This book has nice pictures. I recommend.

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