♬ Countdown to Christmas - Wassail for Saints and Sinners ♬

Monday, December 23, 2013 Add Comment Edit

Photo and Recipe courtesy of Allrecipes.com

The Wassailing Song - Jim Carrol via You Tube

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Back in the day, the excitement in our house on Christmas Eve was so intense that it could be cut with a knife. To keep the children from bouncing off the walls, two other moms and I formed an impromptu children's choir that would go caroling on Christmas Eve. The children had bell clear voices and once they understood they were not trick or treating, we could kill a couple of hours entertaining older neighbors with traditional Christmas carols, that even then, were not often heard. Between us there were 11 children, so supervision of the already excited crew was no easy matter, but it kept the kids occupied and gave us the opportunity to wish the neighbors a timely happy holiday. The outing, of course, ended with hot drinks, usually chocolate, and cookies that were never in short supply. While the children left cookies with the neighbors, an exchange of sorts developed and it seemed they came home with more than they had delivered. Times have changed and certain traditions seem to have fallen by the wayside. Caroling, at least in our area, is one of them. I miss it. Wassailing, or caroling, can be traced back to pre-Christian times when villagers would travel through fields and orchards singing in a raucous fashion believed to drive away evil spirits that might prevent a successful harvest. The custom evolved and in Victorian England, wassailers went from door to door, singing and drinking to the health of their neighbors. The carolers would return home after a night of singing and warm themselves by the fire with a pot of spiced wassail I suspect those whose wassail was fortified with spirits slept quite well. I'm featuring two recipes for wassail in tonight's post. One is fortified, the other is not. If you are looking for a novel punch to serve your guests this holiday, one of these might be just what you are looking for. Here is how they are made.

Wassail for Saints...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:
3/4 cup white sugar
4 whole cloves
1-1/2 cups water
1-1/2 cinnamon sticks
3/4 cup orange juice
1/2 cup lemon juice
8 cups apple juice

Directions:
In a saucepan, combine sugar, cloves, water, and cinnamon. Bring to a boil, and continue to boil for 10 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and allow to cool for 1 hour. Stir in orange juice, lemon juice, and apple juice. Return to heat, and boil for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove cloves and cinnamon sticks before serving. Yield: 16 servings.

Photo and Recipe courtesy of Southern Living magazine

Wassail for Sinners...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Southern Living magazine

Ingredients:
2 (12-oz.) bottles brown ale
2 cups apple cider
1 cup port
1 cup lemonade
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 apple, diced
2 whole allspice
2 (3-inch) cinnamon sticks
6 whole cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
Garnish: lemon wedges, cinnamon sticks (optional)

Directions:
Stir together ale, apple cider, port, lemonade, brown sugar, diced apple, whole allspice, 2 (3-inch) cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, cardamom in a 5-qt. slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW 3 hours or until hot. Remove diced apple, if desired. Ladle into mugs. Garnish, if desired. Yield: 14 (1/2 cup) servings.