Posted by Chris on March 13, 2008
Wow
wow
WoW… taste buds don’t fail me now.
This recipe on Life The Universe and Every in Between was translated from Dutch by Nina and Peter.
Ingredients:
300ml red wine
Zest of one Lemon
Zest of one Orange
4 Star Anise
1 Cinnamon Stick
6 Cloves
220g Caster Sugar
12g Gelatine
900ml Cream
1 Vanilla Bean
Method:
On low heat combine the wine with zests and whole spices (excluding the vanilla bean) with 55 grams of the caster sugar in a saucepan. Stir until the sugar is dissolved then leave for 15mins on low heat to let the flavors infuse. Remove from heat and strain the spices from the mixture setting aside half of the wine mixture (with spices) for a finishing drizzle. Add 5 grams of the gelatine to dissolve in the remaining (strained) wine mixture in saucepan letting it cool down a little before portioning it in to 6-8 small (oiled) ramekins or tea cups. Place in the fridge to set for AT LEAST one hour.
In another saucepan heat the cream, remaining sugar and contents of the vanilla bean together until at a simmer. Remove from heat and dissolve the rest of the gelatine (7g) in the mixture stirring occasionally until the gelatine starts to take form. Then pour the vanilla cream mixture on top of the set wine and refrigerate for AT LEAST 6hours before serving.
Serving:
Ease the edges of the ramekins/tea cups with a knife and then dipping the cup surface in bowl of hot water for 3seconds. This helps to release the contents before placing upside down on a saucer and drizzling with the chilled spiced wine reduction.
Serves six
Enjoy!
Posted by Chris on March 10, 2008
Mulled wine is naturally international, crossing numerous borders and languages. Belladonna’s trip across Europe includes an evening in a Hungarian restaurant sipping mulled wine to fight back the cold.
We managed to find our hostel thanks to Maddy’s compass and my hastily scrawled directions from the website, dropped our bags, showered, and set off to see the city. We ate delicious Hungarian food and I sipped hot, mulled wine to guard against the grey chill of the rainy weather and Maddy and I explored the historic center and made insider archival jokes and talked about too many funny things to write down and generally had a marvelous time.
Moments like this one are fantastic. Traveling is always fun - the good, the bad, all of it. Well, almost all of it. Either way, there is a great chance that the next train stop on your trip will have restaurant with a warm mug of mulled wine to keep you toasty.
Posted by Chris on March 7, 2008
Joe of Egészségére! wrote about his multiple experiences with mulled wine while they took part in a little pigsticking, which is apparently illegal except for in “heritage” places. I am not sure I understand why bull fighting is ok and pigsticking is not but, well, I digress… About the day of pigsticking and mulled wine:
We arrived at 9:30 in the morning, and were greeted with shots of palinka. Palinka is a honey-apricot brandy sort of liquor. So we had two shots of that, then watched the pig die, it’s hair was burnt off, and then they cleaned the skin. While watching this, we got mulled wine. Then we went inside for breakfast, and had more mulled wine. The breakfast was interesting. They fried pigs blood and pig fat together, until it turns into little black lumps, and we were served this, and then more pigs blood is mixed with eggs and onions. This and bread rolls was breakfast. We went on a walk to see the animals, and played around with the electric fence, and then came back to watch the pig’s head come off. We got more mulled wine to celebrate this. After this, we stood around and watched the pig be dismembered. I was not as bothered by this as I thought I would be. We were served mulled wine throughout. we then had a three course lunch. First we were served soup made with noodles and the spine of the pig. Next was the entree, which was blood sausage, liver sausage, and simple sausage with paprika potatoes. Dessert was a Hungarian style custard pie with marmalade topping. It was alright, but after hearing all of the things that went into the foods, I couldn’t bring myself to get that excited about the foods.
It sounds like the day was more about drinking than about anything to do with pig skin but so is American football, right?
My understanding is that pigsticking is a traditional event about the enjoyment of the feast. The blood is enjoyed along with many of the usually-less-desired parts. hmmmm.
Posted by Chris on March 5, 2008
Professor FUFU-U posted this bit of knowledge last week and I thought it should be shared. The professor may have been indulging in gluhwein a little when he wrote his Mulled Tipple.
Glühwein is usually prepared from red wine, which is heated and spiced with cinnamon sticks, cloves, walking sticks, sugar and string. …. The oldest Glühwein tankard is documented and attributed (*) to the high noble German and first Riesling grower of the world, Count Tippler IV of Katzenelnbogenbogey around 1420, (see above painting).
Admittedly, the addition of walking sticks and strings makes me question the rest but it seems viable enough. It’s on the internet, right?
Good stuff.
Posted by Chris on March 3, 2008
It’s March 3rd! Today is National Mulled Wine Day - the biggest wine event of them all!
Unfortunately, it has yet to become a bank holiday but we are working on that. Ideally, it would be a day when children still have to go to school but grown-ups can stay home and enjoy mulled wine. 
Share a mug of the warm spicy stuff with a friend or loved one this evening. It just makes you feel good - too much might have the opposite effect, though.
If you want to learn more about National Mulled Wine Day…
The Nibble’s take on National Mulled Wine Day includes a little mulled wine history.
Cooking by the Seat of My Pants brings up the fact that mulled wine was requested by George’s Guardian Angel, Clarence, when they were at the bar - good moment for mulled wine.
This is a list of American Food and Drink Holidays - just interesting.
If you want to celebrate National Mulled Wine Day a day or two late, you can always buy mulled wine mix online. We offer overnight shipping.
Posted by Chris on March 2, 2008
I think Karl’s description of Gluhwein is the most accurate and sentimental one I have ever seen about Glogg. He’s right, though - God bless him. His glogg recipe looks just as nice - sweet, hot, boozy. mmm, goodness.
2 cups red wine
2 cups port
4oz. brandy
Mulling spices
2 Cinnamon sticks
Optional:
Aquavit / Grain alcohol
Slivered almonds
White raisins
Combine the wine & port together in a saucepan. Put the cinnamon sticks and about a palmful of mulling spices in a cheesecloth, tea ball or other such spice restraint in the saucepan with the wine mixture. (Mulling spices can be purchased as a mix, and is typically a mix of sweet and aromatic spices like cardamom, clove, allspice, orange peel, maybe some peppercorn, so on.)
Being careful not to get the mixture too hot - above about 175 degrees F will kill the alcohol - heat the wine to a temperature above warm but not yet hot. Let it heat long enough to let the spices open up - you’ll smell them. Shouldn’t be longer than a half hour, but let your nose tell you.
Remove spices & cinnamon sticks and add your brandy, as well as the aquavit if you have it/choose to use it. Serve in an Irish coffee mug with slivered almonds and white raisins at the bottom. After you finish the glögg, the wine-sloshed remains are a nice treat.
I would like to point out that what he calls “mulling spices” are also available in syrup form, which is much easier to use than the typical spice blends and requires no strainer or cheese cloth.
Reheated is a food blog dedicated to showcasing the food and recipes in The Reheated Cooking Thread at Fazed.net.
Posted by Chris on February 29, 2008
Sarah of “What’s up with ELM” (and also the owner of ELM) wrote this article about her cool day at the snowshoe event with the ELM members. ELM (Equilibrium Lifestyle Management) is (first, a really cool idea) “a fitness and lifestyle management group based in the Comox Valley on Vancouver Island, BC. [whose] mission is to assist you in achieving your vision of living a healthier and more balanced lifestyle.”
Back to the mulled wine in the hot tub…
After a day of showshoeing at Forbidden Plateau, the members of ELM enjoyed a nice dinner together and had mulled wine in the hot tub. This definitely goes into the gluhwein moments list - and I think I will add it to wine events as well.
I know most of our readers are from the US but check out ELM. It seems to be a great group to bring out your inner courage and zest.
Posted by Chris on February 28, 2008
By my calculations, this giant gluhwein recipe from Nekochan of Food Safari will make 72 (Seventy-Two) servings. I figured that using 5 servings per 750 ml of volume but even if you use 4/bottle it still makes 57 servings of gluhwein.
Anyway, it’s enough for a party. Here’s the recipe:
GLUHWEIN
Ingredients
12 bottle red wine (Beaujolais)
1.2 liter water
0,3 liter cognac
7 pieces whole cinnamon
8 pieces of whole lemon sliced
5 pieces cardamom
4 pieces cloves
300gram sugar
Method
Add all ingredients in a suitable pot and heat up the wine. Simmer for 5 mins. and switch off the heat. Then cover the pot with a lid and keep it aside for 30 mins. DO NOT remove the lid.
Once the 30 min.are over, remove the lid and heat up the wine, till you reach nearly the boiling point before it becomes to boil strain it through a strainer.
To serve:Add one thin slice of lemon and 1-2 pieces of cinnamon stick into the glass and pour the wine over, serve it immediately.
This gluhwein recipe strikes me as a bit light on the cloves but those with sensitive palates will know the difference. Beaujolais is probably my favorite wine to use for making gluhwein because its hearty full-bodied flavor carries the spices well.
Enjoy!
Posted by Chris on February 27, 2008
I think Mike really is living An International Life as well as writing it.
Gluhwein being enjoyed by Melinda on the Riggi in Switzerland.
Thanks to Mike and Melinda for their gluhwein moment.
Posted by Chris on February 26, 2008
No other words are necessary to underline the greatness of gluhwein. It is undeniably hard to resist. Muffles might have given us our favorite quote of 2008.
I don’t drink alcohol, but I love gluhwein.
That says so much.
Thanks, Mulffles.
