What a jolly week this has been for me; the whole house smells like Christmas, and I've been spreading the festive cheer by pressing spiced wine on every visitor bar the postman (who said it was too early. Scrooge).
Now, mulled wine is all very well, but by mid-December, I've had my fill ofthe acrid stuff doled out in pubs and at office parties, so I'm pleased to have three alternatives to add to my winter repertoire: aDickensian smoking bishop, a non-alcoholic warm apple teafor the drivers, and a quite blissful warm spiced scrumpy.
But Cook readers being an adventurous bunch, it doesn't end there – fans of egg nog might like to ring the changes this year with Kate Hackworthy's spiced pumpkin milk punch, but I'll be serving up cold gingerfires as an aperitif on 25 December. A seasonal takeon the kir royale, it's practically popping withfestive fire: just the ticket for getting everyone inthe party mood.
The winning recipe: cold gingerfire
This is a spin on the classic kir royale and looks wonderfully Christmassy. It provides an elegant glass of golden fizz, perfect for parties, or to kick off the big day in style.
Guardiannomad (via GuardianWitness)
Makes 300ml syrup (about 30 glasses)
50g crystallised ginger
60ml whisky
40ml ginger wine
150ml chilled sparkling wine, per person
1 Roughly chop the crystallised ginger and steep in a 60/40 blend of Scotchwhisky and ginger wine forat least aweek.
2 Put two or three chunks of ginger into a tumbler. Cover with a little of the steeping liquid. Top up with cold, drysparkling wine.
Smoking bishop
There are three constants in my life: food, literature and history. So if I cancook or drink something that combinesall of these loves, I count myself very happy indeed. A smoking bishop is an irreverent winter warmer dating from at least the 18th century; allegedly named for the rich red ofabishop's robes.
Essentially it is a mulled port with citrus and spices, and it's the perfect fillip on a cold winter's day. As for its literary appeal, a mention in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol gives itafestive angle too.
MarmadukeScarlet (viaGuardianWitness)
Makes 14 mugs
5 oranges (seville, if in season)
2 lemons
1 lime
10 cloves
¼ tsp ground allspice
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground mace
2cm chunk of root ginger, peeled andchopped
150g demerara sugar
750ml fruity red wine
3 cinnamon sticks
750ml port (ruby is best)
Grated nutmeg, to serve (optional)
Miscellaneous citrus fruit, quartered, toserve
1 Start prepping this the day before you plan on quaffing it. Wrap the whole citrus fruit in foil and bake at 120C/250F/gas mark ½ for about 90 mins, or until lightly browned.
2 Stud the fruit with cloves and place ina large bowl. Add the ground spices, fresh ginger, sugar, any cooking juices and the red wine. Stir until the sugar begins to dissolve. Cover and set asidefor 24 hours.
3 Cut the baked citrus into quarters and squeeze out the juice into the spiced wine. Sieve into a large saucepan, pressing as much liquid out as possible.
4 Add the cinnamon sticks. Bring to theboil, then simmer for 5 minutes, before adding the port. Gently heat for10-15minutes.
5 At the last minute, turn the heat right up – which takes your winter warmer from plain bishop to smoking bishop – then pour into heatproof glasses. Serve with a bit of grated nutmeg and garnish with citrus wedges.
Winter-spiced pumpkin milk punch
I adore a nice hot co*cktail in the winter. Warming hands around a glass of mulled wine, drunken hot chocolate orspiced cider … ah, bliss. For this alternative, I've added pumpkin and warming spices along with a good shot (or two) of dark rum for a nice kick.
Kate Hackworthy, veggiedesserts.co.uk
Serves 2-3
4 tbsp pumpkin puree (tinned, or steam ½ a fresh pumpkin or squash until tender, thenpuree)
500ml whole milk
1 tbsp caster sugar, or to taste
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
1-2 shots of dark rum, to taste
1 Combine all the ingredients except the alcohol in a blender and whizz untilfrothy.
2 Heat gently in a saucepan until hot, then stir in the dark rum to taste, andserve.
Hot apple tea
This is a delicious, tangy and flavoursome drink you could enjoy while sitting on a cosy sofa on a frostyevening.
Derpicus (via GuardianWitness)
Serves 2
1 teabag or 2 tsp loose-leaf tea
2 tart apples or 1 glass apple juice
A pinch of nutmeg
½ tsp cinnamon or a cinnamon stick
1 or 2 star anise
2 tsp honey or sugar
2 orange or lemon wedges
Citrus wedge, cinnamon stick or apple wedge, toserve
1 Brew the tea as normal. Press the juice from the apples, ifnecessary.
2 Mix the tea and apple juice in a small pan, add the spices and bring to the boil. Then add the honey or sugar and the citrus wedges and cook for 4-5minutes.
3 Strain into heatproof glasses. You can decorate the co*cktail with another citrus or apple wedge and a cinnamon stick if you like.
Dark and wintry
A version of the popular dark and stormy co*cktail, warm and spiced to keep the chill atbay on cold winter days. Enjoy in front ofaroaring fire with a good book. Bliss.
ActualLuke (via GuardianWitness)
Serves 2
200ml ginger beer
2 shots of dark spiced rum
2 slices of lemon
1 cinnamon stick
A slice of fresh ginger, to garnish
1 Gently warm the ginger beer in a small pan or microwave until it's the temperature of a cupof tea.
2 Put the rum and lemon in a heatproof tumbler, and top up with warm ginger beer. Stir with a cinnamon stick and then garnish with a slice of ginger.
Hot spicy cider
From the heart of south-west England, a mulled cider that will warm the co*ckles (and beat any winter bugs into submission). Iwon't say this cures them,but I don't worry about them somuch after amugortwo.
Barbara Pugh (via GuardianWitness)
Makes 10 mugs
3 tbsp soft brown sugar
2 tbsp honey
1 lemon, sliced plus 1 tbsp lemon juice
2 litres scrumpy cider (not the fizzy stuff)
1 clementine, sliced
Dark rum, to taste
Amaretto, to taste
For the spice mix
10 Szechuan peppercorns
½ tsp grated nutmeg
10 cloves
2.5cm cinnamon stick
2 star anise
1 Place the sugar, honey, lemon juice, cider and sliced fruit in a pan. Give the spices a quick bash in a pestle and mortar and eitherput them in a muslin bag or chuck themstraight in. Warm the mix on a very low heat for about 10minutes – don't let it boil.
2 When it's around the same temperature as a hot cup of tea, add a good splash of dark rum and a slightly smaller splash of amaretto before serving. Of course, it's the cook's prerogative to taste the cider to check it's got the right amount of rum and amaretto in it.
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