Black pepper bloody mary and chocolate doughnut plant donut. Try it before you knock it. Spicy, smooth, savory, and chocolatey.
Bran’s Kentucky Artichoke - 2 parts rye, 1 part Cynar, juice of 1 lemon, 1 egg white.
Good Morning, Monday (After) Wilted rocket topped off w/ a sunny side up egg and a lil pecorino
Good morning, Monday (Before)
Nothing like a campari spritzer with a slice of beautiful blood orange after a long day. I actually used luxardo bitter liqueur, which is pretty much the same deal as campari - bitter, potent - for less bucks.
Vegan lunch. Fried tofu and romaine wedge drizzled with a tahini and soy sauce dressing.
Roasted Green Pepper Patron - My boo got me patron as a joke (or so she says) for the holidays. I put roasted green peppers into the last of the bottle and mixed it with three drops of lime juice and three drops of bitters, but who’s counting. Tastes like round, vegetal rose water.
Choice brunch pairing:
After five months interning at Wineberry, a boutique NY and NJ importer/distributor, I’m finally parting. I’ll have to find a special occasion to drink my farewell gift, a ‘99 Pommery Cuvee Louise. Wine Spec describes it as a “well-integrated wine with pastry, green pear, fresh greens and lemon zest notes.”
Quaffable’s back and drinking Domaine le Serp ‘06. Dark and chewy. Licorice and stewed berry. Mostly Tannat, w/ a little Cab Franc to sharpen the edges. A powerful wine not for the faint of heart.
It’s beginning to feel a lot like..
At approximately 9:15 this morning, the first icy flakes of snow descended upon our urban island. While the flurry was brief, it was a sure indicator that much-awaited mulled wine season has finally arrived. This weekend, celebrate the season by staying in and curling up with a warm mug of seasonally spiced mulled wine. This drink is incredibly simple to prepare and can easily be made in large quantities for a cozy gathering.
Hardware:
Large pot
Ladle
Software:
1 bottle of (cheap) red wine
Whole cloves, cardamom pods, cinnamon sticks, star anise, fresh orange peel, or other winter-y spices
A little brandy
A good amount of sugar (not pictured)
Making any drink is a craft more than an art and an art more than a science. I hate giving exact amounts of ingredients in a drink recipe, since virtually all the components are flavoring agents. They don’t serve a technical purpose, like egg whites do in a merengue for example. Since everyone’s palate is a little different, I encourage you to make your drinks to taste and follow my recipe as more of a guideline than an alchemic formula.
To make your mulled wine, simply combine all the “software” listed above in a large pot and slowly bring the mixture to a simmer. The order in which you add the ingredients isn’t important, since everything will slowly come together.
I wouldn’t go crazy with the brandy as mulled wine is already quite a heavy drink. I would, however, be generous with the sugar, using half to an entire cup. As far as spices go, use your judgement. I threw a little bit of everything I had in my pantry. You do have to make sure to use whole spices though. And as for the wine, honestly anything goes. As you can see in the picture above, I chose to go with the ultra-classy Little Penguin, which can be easily found for under ten dollars a bottle.
After letting your ingredients mull (I’m going to just assume this can be used as a verb) for about twenty minutes, or until the wine begins to smell fantastic, you can take the mixture off the heat and serve it up.
I chose to serve my mulled wine in glass mugs for that simple Scandinavian aesthetic, but any novelty/holiday/second-grade-art-project/found-on-a-brooklyn-stoop ceramic or otherwise heat-proof drinking vessel will do.
Happy mulling!
