The Adventures of an Anglo-German Christmas Eve

Mid-December, I came across this video. (Hint for Anglophiles: the English Heritage videos are all worth watching!)

As one can't English get ginger wine in the shops here (which is more of a sort of liqueur) and there was'n enough time to get it via Amazon (and frankly, I was pre-Christmas broke), I got a decent white wine and soaked thin slices of fresh Ginger in it for a week in tightly closed glasses in the fridge. I was aware that this wouldn't be close to a substitute for genuine ginger wine, but it had to do.)

The ingredients were meant for a huge bowl, so I broke it down to a much smaller portion, suitable for two.

250g Brown Sugar (85g)
7 lemons (2,5)
750ml Gin (250ml)
750ml Ginger Wine (250ml)
250g Honey (85g)
A Pinch of Cloves
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Nutmeg
Hot Water

When it came to the spices I realized that buying them individually would be prohibitively expensive and got a mixture of German Lebkuchen spices instead which contains cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg and apart from that nothing which would do any harm to the brew, such as allspice, coriander, ginger, fennel, mace and caraway.

The first portion was too sweet, too watery, not hot and not quite spicy enough, so I reduced honey and sugar, put in more gin and spice, heated mixture and bowl gently first and used boiling instead of hot water.

It was a treat!

With it went the, in some regions of Germany, traditional Christmas Eve dish "Würstchen ("Bockwurst" or "Wiener") und Kartoffelsalat". I gave it a little bit more pizzazz by using Berner Würstchen (Bernese Sausages, i.e. "Wiener" wrapped in very thin slices of bacon) and maybe I'll post my very special, heavenly potato salad recipe later. (I did!)

All in all, it was a great success.

Btw, the bowl is the soup bowl from KPM Berlin, "Rocaille" with handpainted flowers, as is the rest of the dinnerware.

Champagne Cocktails

I like Champagne Cocktails because they are unfussy to make without any stress of sticking to exact liquid or other measures or the need for elaborate and expensive equipment or tools. Put the money you are saving into the ingredients, because cheap stuff shows -- or rather tastes. Vile, that is. Simplicity is paramount.

Method: Just see that the glasses and ALL the ingredients are very cold. The champagne-ingredients ratio is really up to taste.

Classic: Sugarcube, some drops of Angostura Bitter. This is maybe the only cocktail that requires real champagne or at least so I think. (Lovely pink bubbles! My favourite!) It's for a reason I can not pinpoint, maybe because it's not fruity, an excellent winter drink. Reportedly, this is one of the few original cocktails that appeared in the first (1862) version of the seminal How to Mix Drinks by Jerry Thomas. The recipe has remained unchanged for 150 years.

Campari isn't really, as some claim, an alternative in the "Classic" for Angostura, but still, it makes a fine champagne cocktail variety.

Buck's Fizz/Mimosa: Freshly pressed orange juice to taste. Add gin and peach schnapps and you'll get a Jacuzzi, but the latter is too fussy a recipe for my idea of champagne cocktails.

Kir Royal: With Creme de Cassis. (I think it's overrated.)

Bellini: Fresh peach puree from a very ripe peach. Peach schnapps (not peach liqueur) won't do any harm. Avoid canned fare.

Pear Bellini: Fresh pear puree from a very ripe pear, pear schnapps. (Preferable to the peach variant, or so I think)

Nelson's Blood: With Tawny Port. Brits sometimes take the opportunity to give a toast, which is very apropos.

Black Velvet: With Stout. (Corrupts two perfectly good drinks by mixing them. Yuck!)

Champagne Cooler: Good for using various content of your bar. For example any Brandy or Cognac, or orange flavoured mixers like Curaçao Triple Sec, Cointreau or Grand Marnier.

Elderflower: Add elderflower syrup. Light and pleasant variety!

I realize that die-hard champagne lovers may think all this a sacrilege, and although it is always recommended to use the most expensive ingredients one can afford, I dare saying that the thing that can be first compromised when making champagne cocktails is -- yes -- champagne. A good Italian prosecco or dry German Sekt will do (almost) as well, with the exception of the "classic" champagne cocktail. Oh yes, and always put the mixers in first before the champagne to avoid overflow.

I positively hate those heavy, herbal mixers, such as Chartreuse or anything minty. Besides, I think green looks vile in a drink. And I don't even WANT to know how that awful German liqeur Jägermeister tastes when mixed with Champagne and the same applies to Pernod. If anything, both are something for a down and out party under the bridges.

Kentucky Derby Mint Juleps

Crushed Ice
2 jiggers Kentucky 100 Proof Sour Mash Bourbon
1 jigger minted simple syrup (below)
cutting of fresh mint, rinsed

Fill sterling silver julep cup or old-fashioned glass with crushed ice. Pour bourbon over ice and then syrup. Belabour somewhat with a swizzle stick until the glass begins to frost. Slip a sprig of mint and a straw into the glass and serve.

Drink with caution. I've tried it once - with drastic results. And believe me, I can hold a lot of liquor.

Bowlen - What Germans Put in Bowls

A "Bowle" (plural "Bowlen"), a word clearly derived from the English "bowl" and pronounced  with an O roughly like the one in "gorgeous", is a typically German old fashioned party drink which had its heyday in the Fifties. Oh those times of innocence! They are long now considered "uncool" and "naff" by the younger generations. It's main variations had been of the strawberry, peach, and for the more adventurously minded, pineapple sort. Fruits, apart from strawberries, used to come from tins. (That hadn't been for lack of good taste, but for the dearth of fresh fruit of the more exotic sort back then.)

Here we have a picture with, fruit-based "Bowlen" of the lemon and lime, melon (I guess) and pineapple varieties.

From Wikipedia

But there are contemporary versions now and they are excellent (as had been by the way, and I'm not shy to say so, the oh-so-uncool old ones). I'm too lazy to translate. If it isn't self-explaining, please ask.

Limetten-Melisse-Bowle
3 Limetten
3 - 4 große Zweige Zitronenmelisse
1 EL Zucker
4 cl Curacao Triple sec
1 Barschaufel gestoßenes Eis
1 Flasche gut gekühlter Sekt oder Prosecco
Eine Limette auspressen, die anderen in kleine Schnitze teilen. Beides mit den Melisseblättern in einen Glaskrug geben und mit Zucker bestreuen. Mit einem Stößel oder Barlöffel gut zerdrücken. Triple sec und Eis zufügen, nochmals durchrühren und mit Prosecco aufgießen.
Großartige Sommer-Erfrischung!

Champagner-Teebowle
4 Teelöffel Tee
1/4 l Wasser
12 Stück Würfelzucker
1 Zitrone
2 Flaschen Champagner oder guten Sekt
Tee 5 Minuten aufbrühen, süßen, mit dem Saft und der Schale der Zitrone versetzen und eine Stunde kaltstellen. Vor dem Servieren abseihen, mit dem kalten Sekt aufgießen und mit einigen frischen Zitronenscheiben garnieren.
Mal 'was anderes als Erdbeer oder Pfirsich!