British Mulled Wine and Mince Pies

Posted at Foodie Friday

Mulled wine is often drunk around Christmas time in Northern Europe. It's a hot, spiced wine, in France it is known as vin chaud, in Italy as vin brûlé. Germans drink Glühwein. The Swedish name for it is glögg.

Here in Heidelberg, you can buy Glühwein from the Weinachtsmarkt and you get a special Christmas mug to keep. We have 2 from last year and 1 from this year, I've put them up as part of our Christmas decorations.

Here is how you can make it yourself at home and it's real easy. I am going to be making some next week.

Ingredients

Red wine -- 1 (750-ml) bottle
Sugar or honey -- 3 to 5 tablespoons
Cinnamon sticks -- 2 to 4
Cloves -- 4 to 6
Cardamom pods -- 3 to 4
Orange peel -- from 1 orange

1. Place all ingredients in a pot and slowly bring to a simmer over a low flame. Do not boil. Cover and let steep on a very low flame for about 15 minutes.
2. Strain, ladle into mugs and serve

See, easy. You can adjust the seasoning and sugar to your own taste and also add a few shots of cognac or brandy if you like. It is delicious, I love the stuff.

I was going to put a recipe for mince pies, which are traditional British fare for Christmas. However upon looking at my recipe I realised that the mincemeat (which is not meat) has to be made two weeks in advance. The Brits are lazy and we normally just buy a jar of mincemeat from a local supermarket, I brought some back with me from England this year. Instead I'll give you a link to the recipe, perhaps you can use it next year? Also a link to the history of mince pies because it's quite historically interesting, they date right back to medieval times.

A food post with no photos? I know, I'm a horrible person.