tell me about it

First batch of mulled wine made, sans vanilla essence (how on earth does my kitchen lack vanilla essence? Mom must have put it somewhere I can’t find :/) and with a Chilean red wine and half a cup of Ruby Red Absolut vodka.

Next time, I am putting in maybe a tablespoon of vodka, lots of vanilla essence, and more cinnamon.

The ethanol fumes are crazy intense! Had to add quite a bit of sugar to counteract red wine and make it sweet. It’s not too bad but I suspect hot wine would taste better in cold weather.

Edit: I found the vanilla essence and stirred some in. It’s now sitting in the refrigerator waiting for company so I can heat mugs of it up and share :D

Christmas is coming and this year I think I might just eschew my perennial egg nog for mulled wine. I’ve wanted to try this for a long long time and I finally remembered to look up a recipe online. The following one is cobbled together from several recipes - I’ve adjusted sugar and other ingredients slightly. I’ll try this out and let you know how it went.

Sounds so yummeh!

Simmer the following ingredients for 20 min. It’s better if you steep in the refrigerator overnight, but if you prefer, strain & drink right away. Serve warm.

* 1 bottle of fruity red wine (Spanish wine is a good choice)
* Sugar to taste (from a few tbsp to 1/4 cup depending on your wine)
* 2 cinnamon sticks
* 3 whole cloves
* 1 tsp grated nutmeg
* 1/2 tsp toasted whole black peppercorns
* 1/2 tsp allspice
* 1/2 vanilla bean
* 1 star anise
* 1 sliced orange
* 1 sliced lemon
* 1 cup cognac/brandy/sloe gin

I’m gonna make myself some Dulche de leche!

It means “sweet milk” and is actually caramelized condensed milk, called ‘milk jam’ by some people in some parts of Europe. I got this recipe off David Lebovitz (who is an amazing American chef/baker/foodie person living in Paris and whose blog inspires an excess of saliva in the mouth).

Dulce de leche is fantastic swirled onto brownies, in yoghurt, on bread, just about anything really.

Dulce de Leche or Confiture de Lait

From David Lebovitz’s book, The Perfect Scoop (Ten Speed Press)

Preheat the oven to 425° F (220° C).

Pour one can (400 gr/14 ounces) of sweetened condensed milk ( not evaporated milk) into a glass pie plate or shallow baking dish. Stir in a few flecks of sea salt.

Set the pie plate within a larger pan, such as a roasting pan, and add hot water until it reaches halfway up the side of the pie plate.
Cover the pie plate snugly with aluminum foil and bake for 1 to 1¼ hours. (Check a few times during baking and add more water to the roasting pan as necessary).

Once the Dulce de Leche is nicely browned and caramelized, remove from the oven and let cool. Once cool, whisk until smooth.

Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Warm gently in a warm water bath or microwave oven before using.

Spoon warm Dulce de Leche over Vanilla Ice Cream or smear it on toasted slices of baguette for your morning breakfast, as I’ve been doing.