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The Origins of Christmas; Gifts; Mince Pies and Crackers etc.:-
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Once In Royal David's City ....... Good King Wenceslas ....... O Come All Ye Faithfull ....... Away In A Manger
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| CHRISTMAS RECIPES |
 |
MULLED WINE |
Ideal for those cold winter evenings, a hot glass of fruit
punch or mulled wine.
Now this is the kind of recipe I enjoyed researching!
1 bottle red wine
1/2 pint lemonade
4 ounce of sugar (or to your taste)
4 cloves
3 inch cinnamon stick
1 orange
1 lemon
Gently heat the lemonade (or water I suppose) adding the sugar
and spices.
Slice the orange and lemon (including the peel) and add to the
mixture.
Then add the bottle of red wine and warm gently again, stirring
well.
Serve warm (place a spoon in the glass whilst filling to avoid
cracking)
Maybe serve with a warmed mince pie.
For more of a fruit punch just add a tin of fruit salad.
For larger quantities just multiply up on the ingredients.
For something less alcoholic for the kids or drivers, add more
lemonade (or water).
CHRISTMAS PUDDINGS |
 |
Original recipes for Christmas puddings included chopped game
and poultry, and dated from the Middle Ages.
Soon spices and fruit were added to the mix, plus dashes of
alcohol! But by the 18th century meat had generally
dissapeared from the Christmas pudding comtents. In the UK the
Christmas pudding was introduced to the
Victorians by Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's husband.
Here's how the famous Mrs. Beeton suggested making Christmas
puddings - naturally for the time,
because of large families and big dinner parties, the quantities
used were huge.
For smaller meal groups just reduce all the quantities by the
required amount.
CHRISTMAS PUDDING (Rich, boiled)
10 ounce sultanas 1 level teasp mixed spice 10 ounce currants 1 level teasp grated nutmeg 8 ounce raisins 8 ounce breadcrumbs 2 ounce sweet almonds 10 ounce finely-chopped or (skinned and chopped) shredded suet 1 level teaspoon ground ginger 6 eggs 8 ounce plain flour 1/2 gill stout Pinch of salt Juice of 1 orange 1 pound soft brown sugar 1 wineglass brandy 8 ounce mixed finely-chopped candied peel 1/2 pint milk (approx)
Grease three 1 pint pudding basins. Prepare the dried fruit;
stone and chop the raisins; chop the nuts.
Sift the flour, salt, spice, ginger and nutmeg into a mixing
bowl. Add the sugar, breadcrumbs, suet, fruit , nuts and candied
peel.
Beat the eggs well and add them to the stout, orange juice and
brandy, and stir this into the dry ingredients
- adding enough milk to make the mixture of a soft dropping
consistency.
Put the mixture into the prepared basins. Cover and boil steadily
for 6 to 7 hours.
Take the puddings out of the water and cover them with a clean
dry cloth and, when cold, store in a cool place until required.
When required, boil the puddings for 1 1/2 hours before serving.
Serve with brandy butter.
3 puddings - each to give 6 medium helpings
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Last updated: 28 December 2009 .......................... xmasr.htm ............................. Grahame Newnham's Web Pages