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Why settle for ho-hum when entertaining this holiday? Swing into the spirit of the season with these festive spins on traditional holiday drinks.
Poinsettia
Two of the most popular holiday staples, cranberries and Champagne, join forces in this holiday classic blazing with festive color. It’s a drink of fairly recent origin, with quite a few variations: I’ve seen it made with triple sec, Cointreau, and Grand Marnier. I prefer a small splash of Cointreau, the clear orange liqueur made from both sweet and bitter orange peels.
Serves 8
1 Large Orange
8 ounces Cointreau, triple sec or Grand Manier, chilled
16 ounces Cranberry juice cocktail, chilled
Two 740 ML bottles Champagne, or other dry sparkling wine, chilled
Using a vegetable peeler or a small paring knife, remove the zest from the orange in long, ½-inch-wide strips, avoiding the bitter white pith. Pour 1 ounce of Cointreau and 2 ounces cranberry juice into the bottom of each martini glass (or use large Champagne glasses). Fill the glass with Champagne, and garnish with an orange twist.
Witches’ Yule Tea
Modern-day witches, known as Wiccans, celebrate a winter solstice festival called Yule right around December 21st. According to their Book of Shadows, this is the appropriate tea to drink while celebrating an authentic Yule. I think it’s delicious year-round.
Serves 8
Peel from half a lemon
5 whole cloves
4 cinnamon sticks
1 Tsp allspice berries
1 whole nutmeg
1 bay leaf
1 Tsp dried Chamomile
8 teabags of black tea
1 apple, peeled and thinly sliced
Stud the lemon peel with the cloves, and place in a square of cheesecloth along with the remaining spices and chamomile. Tie the sachet using kitchen string and place in a large pot or teapot along with the teabags. Bring 6 cups of water to a rolling boil in a separate pot and pour over the sachet and teabags. Allow to steep for at least 3 minutes, then serve the tea in mugs with the apple slices floating on top.
Chocolate Eggnog
It took me a long time to get used to drinking traditional eggnog during the holidays. I liked eggs, but couldn’t stand the thought of drinking raw ones. Fortunately, my combined love of rum and Christmas eventually got me over it, but some people still have trouble. For those folks, there’s chocolate eggnog. It seems that chocolate can overcome any fear of eggs, and by replacing the rum with more milk, you can even make an alcohol-free chocolate nog.
Serves 15
For the Batter:
8 large eggs
1 ½ cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 Tbs vanilla extract
2 cups whole milk
8 ounces dark rum
For the Chocolate Whipped Cream:
4 ounces milk chocolate
3 cups heavy cream
pinch of salt
For the Garnish:
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, grated
15 cinnamon sticks
Make the Batter:
Separate the eggs, depositing yolks and whites into the two separate bowls. Place the whites, covered tightly, immediately into the refrigerator. Whisk the yolks with the cocoa powder, brown sugar, and vanilla until very smooth. Gently stir in the milk and rum. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours
until cold.
Prepare the Chocolate Whipped Cream:
Chop the chocolate into small chunks and heat it in a bowl placed over a saucepan of boiling water, stirring frequently until the chocolate melts. Cool briefly in the refrigerator, but do not allow the mixture to solidify. Meanwhile, whip the cream to soft peaks. Stir in the cooled, melted chocolate and blend thoroughly.
Remove the egg whites from the fridge and beat with a pinch of salt until soft peaks form. Fold the whites into the chilled egg-yolk mixture and pour into mugs. Garnish each with a dollop of chocolate whipped cream, some grated semisweet chocolate, and a cinnamon stick stirrer.
Reprinted from Hot Toddies, by Christopher O’Hara and William A. Nash.
Copyright © 2002. Published by Clarkson Potter, a division of Random House, Inc.
