Ship of Fools: Sip of fools

Thread: Sip of fools Board: Oblivion / Ship of Fools.

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Posted by Pangolin Guerre (# 18686) on :

I'm looking for favourite and interesting recipes (ancient and modern) for punches, hot or cold. My focus is the current season, but all welcome. If they come with interesting back stories, histories, or regional explanations, all the better.

Cheers/Slange/Kippis!

Posted by Pangolin Guerre (# 18686) on :

Oooops.... misposted.... Should be in Heaven. Could admin facilitate a migration?

Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :

Oh, why not?

Jump into the sleigh, folks, as UP we go...

Kelly Alves
Admin

Posted by Amanda B. Reckondwythe (# 5521) on :

I won't comment on the liquid ingredients of a good punch, but I like to take a half-gallon of vanilla ice cream and float it in the punch bowl. Luscious as it starts melting.

Posted by Brenda Clough (# 18061) on :

My favorite is smoking bishop, recommended by Ebenezer Scrooge to Bob Cratchit. It is far better than wassail. Here is the recipe I use.

Posted by Moo (# 107) on :

I like hot spiced apple cider with apple jack.

You need cider that has not been treated in any way.

Moo

Posted by Piglet (# 11803) on :

When we lived in Belfast I used to do mulled wine and mince pies for the choir after the last rehearsal before Christmas. IIRC this is what I did with the wine:

Dissolve about 4 oz white sugar in half a pint of water in a large saucepan over a medium heat.

Add a couple of broken cinnamon sticks (or a teaspoon or two of ground cinnamon) and an orange and lemon, each sliced and the slices stuck with a few cloves

Add two bottles of inexpensive but reasonably fruity red wine and heat through, without letting it boil.

If you like, you can fortify it with port, brandy or whisky - but don't use anything Very Special - it's wasted on the heat.

[Deleted partial post
jedijudy, Heaven Host]

[ 19. December 2016, 03:22: Message edited by: jedijudy ]

Posted by balaam (# 4543) on :

Water and sugar? <shudder>

Start with a reasonable spicy wine, e.g. shiraz/sirah add cloves, cinnamon sticks and star anise. Heat but do not boil, leave on the low heat for a good time.

Drink.

Posted by Piglet (# 11803) on :

quote:
Originally posted by balaam:
Water and sugar? <shudder>

Sorry about that. [Big Grin]

I was following instructions given by a friend, and I suppose it caters for those with a sweeter tooth. With ordinary wine, I'd usually say the drier the better, but I'll confess to liking a wee bit of sweetness in mulled wine.

Each to his own, eh? [Smile]

Posted by no prophet's flag is set so... (# 15560) on :

Spruce beer is a good winter drink. Usually a medium ale with a happy hint of Christmas tree. Boil up a half cup of new growth spruce tips, and add a wee bit to each glass of beer. To taste.

[ 18. December 2016, 16:47: Message edited by: no prophet's flag is set so... ]

Posted by Sarah G (# 11669) on :

This is an amazing wassail.

Posted by la vie en rouge (# 10688) on :

Mulled wine for cheats (via a German friend): get a bottle of ready-made Sangria. Add a few spices if you feel so inclined. Heat it up. Voilà!

A cold Caribbean punch: Mix the following ingredients:

one bottle orange juice
one bottle mango juice
one bottle guava juice
a slug of pina colada syrup
one cup of white rum

Add a couple of cinnamon sticks and a vanilla pod. Leave to marinate for a few hours. Add some chopped fruit (apple, mango, whatever) before serving. Strength obviously depends on how you dose the rum, but be warned that it’s very sweet to the taste and consequently a bit treacherous in the alcohol stakes [Biased]

Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Amanda B. Reckondwythe:
I won't comment on the liquid ingredients of a good punch, but I like to take a half-gallon of vanilla ice cream and float it in the punch bowl. Luscious as it starts melting.

Add whisky, Kahlua and cream to vanilla ice cream and you have a Don Pedro. It's sweet again, so it's all too easy to go past the safe-to-drive point.

Posted by Ferdzy (# 8702) on :

This one is a bit different from the others suggested so far as it is served cold and has no alcohol - I found it in an old cook book under the name "Quaker Punch". Being a Quaker, I had to try it! It's been very popular.

2 tea bags
3-4 sprigs fresh mint
1 tablespoon peeled, chopped fresh ginger
1 litre boiling water
1/2 cup sugar
3 lemons
3 oranges
1 to 2 cups cold water

Put the tea bags, mint and ginger in a 1-litre canning jar (or any other vessel you like, although this is the easiest for measuring.) Fill it up with boiling water. Cover, and let steep for 6 or 7 minutes. Strain, discarding the solids and keeping the liquid. Mix in the sugar.

Meanwhile, squeeze the juice from the lemons and oranges. Mix the juice with the punch, and add 1 cup cold water. Taste the punch, and adjust the sugar if needed. Also add more water if it seems too strong. (Keep in mind: it will be sweeter when cold, and if you are serving it over ice you may want it a tad strong.)

Posted by Og, King of Bashan (# 9562) on :

When I was in college, I went to the German house Christmas party, despite not being a German student. The drink that night was gluhwein (actually boxed wine that had been heated with mulling spices). The presentation, though, was special. They suspended sugar cubes over the punch bowl, doused the cubes with high-proof rum, and lit the whole thing on fire. The host then scooped wine out of the bowl, and slowly poured it over the blue flames, causing caramelized rummy goodness to drip down into the wine.

I'd suggest having a fire extinguisher ready, not wearing loose fitting clothing, and tying your hair back, if necessary, but it makes for both a good show and a tasty drink.

Posted by Og, King of Bashan (# 9562) on :

The other option, if you have a large contingency of folks who can hold their drinks, is the famous Chatham Artillery Punch.

Put a quart of strong, cold green tea, the juice of three lemons and 1/2 pound of sugar into a large stock pot. Add to that a quart of dark rum, a quart of brandy, and a quart of American (rye or bourbon) whiskey. Add a stave of oak to give it a barrel-aged flavor, if you want. Store in a cool, dark place for about a week to let everything mix.

When ready to serve, place the aged mixture in the punch bowl over ice and lemon slices. Mix in one bottle of sparkling wine for every six cups of mixture and serve.

Best served when no one has anything to do before about 2:00 the next day.

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Og, King of Bashan:
When I was in college, I went to the German house Christmas party, despite not being a German student. The drink that night was gluhwein (actually boxed wine that had been heated with mulling spices). The presentation, though, was special. They suspended sugar cubes over the punch bowl, doused the cubes with high-proof rum, and lit the whole thing on fire. The host then scooped wine out of the bowl, and slowly poured it over the blue flames, causing caramelized rummy goodness to drip down into the wine.

I'd suggest having a fire extinguisher ready, not wearing loose fitting clothing, and tying your hair back, if necessary, but it makes for both a good show and a tasty drink.

Sounds like fun! Did you happen to notice what kind of string/thread they used to suspend the sugar cubes? I'd be a little concerned what other than sugar might drop into the bowl. Pure cotton thread would probably be safe enough, though.

Posted by Og, King of Bashan (# 9562) on :

I seem to remember that they wrapped aluminum foil around a bent to shape non-pained coat hanger, and strained any foil out, but it was nearly 15 years ago, so I'm a little foggy.

There are a lot of videos online, and it appears that there is a tool for suspending the sugar, if you make this often enough. Just look for Feuerzangenbowle. And be aware that you want a punch bowl that is rated for flame- at least one video has a bowl exploding and setting someone's dining room table on fire. Maybe another time where your stockpot should be put to use?

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :

OMG. I'm almost ready to pop for the $99 to get a Feuerzangenbowle set and have rum-roasted-sugar, hot punch, it looks sooo good!

Posted by cliffdweller (# 13338) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Amanda B. Reckondwythe:
I won't comment on the liquid ingredients of a good punch, but I like to take a half-gallon of vanilla ice cream and float it in the punch bowl. Luscious as it starts melting.

I like to use sherbet rather than ice cream-- it adds even more fruitiness. It's a flashback to probably the 70s, but sherbet, ginger ale, fruit juice, and fruit slices for a non-alcoholic punch is always yummy. Probably add a bit of vodka if wanting something more adult.

Posted by ArachnidinElmet (# 17346) on :

Mulled apple juice is lovely using orange peel, star anise, cinnamon sticks, cloves and a bashed thumb of ginger. If you add sugar and boil hard until reduced it makes mulled apple syrup which can be added to booze, other long drinks, or reconstituted with boiling water (and optional pale rum) for a hot drink. I've been know to bottle it for presents.

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