Holiday Spirits

I have a confession to make. Whenever I think about Christmas and New Year's as well as remembering the significance of the season, the Incarnation, the time with family and friends I also think about the celebratory aspects. Specifically, I think of the Glogg. Glogg for the uninitiated is a Swedish mulled wine with vodka. Nothing chases away the chill of a New England winter like this fine beverage.

Here is the recipe w/ a new flambe option that I have not tried. I fear it will burn off the alcohol which is much the point of this drink. But it definitely sounds like it would create a memorable event for guests. Far better than setting the inside of your oven on fire the day after Thanksgiving which is how we celebrated the apres Thanksgiving black Friday this year. And our smoke detectors never even went off.

Anyway, cheers!

Glogg recipe


Ingredients
Scale ingredients to servings

2 bottles Cabernet Sauvignon red wine
1 3/4 liters vodka
20 cardamom pods
10 cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
1 piece orange peel
1 1/2 cups blanched whole almonds
1 1/2 cups raisins
10 dried figs
1 lb sugar

Method
1. Pour the wine and vodka into a large pot. Add spices, fruit and nuts. Turn on the heat and bring the ingredients to a temperature just below the boil.

2. Now for the fun part. Invite all of your guests into the kitchen. Place the sugar cubes in a sieve (one that you don't mind sacrificing to the greater good). Don oven mitts and set the glogg on fire. Ladle the burning glogg over the sugar cubes until it has all melted.

3. When the sugar is melted, cover the pot to extinguish the flame. Ladle glogg, fruit and nuts into irish coffee cups and serve.