Ph'estive LPC Webpage
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The History Of Mulled Wine
There is nothing better to warm your cockles during Christmastime than a bit of mulled wine. If you have never tried it or heard of it, then you are certainly missing out on something. Mulled wine is essentially hot, sweetened red wine made aromatic with the addition of citrus fruits and warming spices such as cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg. It’s history goes right back to the Ancient Greeks. Before mulled wine was the drink hippocras, which was supposedly invented by the Greek scientist and Father of Medicine, Hippocrates. The idea being that it was something of a tonic. The wine was either red or white and not necessarily hot either, but it was spiced and sweetened with honey. In Britain, the drink was very popular and there are several recipes for it. Here’s one from The Good Housewife’s Jewel by Thomas Dawson (1596): To make Hypocrace Take a gallon of white wine, sugar two pounds, of cinnamon, ginger, long pepper, mace not bruised galingall [sic]…and cloves not bruised. You must bruise every kind of spice a little and put them in an earthen pot all day. And then cast them through your bags two times or more as you see cause. And so drink it. Not heating it up obviously meant you had plan a little ahead if you wanted to have a few goblets of hippocras at your Tudor feast. 
By the seventeenth century, mulled wine recipes start to appear such as this eighteenth century recipe from Elizabeth Raffald in The Experienced English Housekeeper:
Grate half a nutmeg into a pint of wine and sweeten it to your taste with loaf sugar. Set it over the fire and when it boils take it off to cool. Beat the yolks of four eggs exceedingly well, add to them a little cold wine, then mix them carefully with your hot wine a little at a time. Then pour it backwards and forwards several times until it looks fine and bright. The set it on the fire and heat it a little at a time for several times till it is quite hot and pretty thick, and pour it backwards and forwards several times. Then send it in chocolate cups and serve it with dry toast cut in long narrow pieces. It is strange that the Tudor recipe actually seems more like modern mulled wine that the newer one. |
Recipe for mulled wine
(it is difficult to add quantities as you add most things to taste. It is also quite difficult to give an official list of ingredients; you can add any warm spice you like really , so this recipe is more a guideline than anything.) Ingredients
In a large saucepan, add all the ingredients and slowly heat the wine, stirring every now and again to dissolve the sugar and get the flavours dispersed. ENJOY. |
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can Click Here to Donwload a PDF for printing |
A New Fathers Guide to Surving Christmas!
(Based on advice from one our committee members (who, for his own saftey, will stay annoymous!) 
1 - As soon as the wife mentions Christmas shopping - fake illness.
2 - As soon as you hear that wrapping paper crinkling - pretend to fall asleep. 3 - Always allow your wife to buy her own gifts. Then she will not be disappointed about the rubbish you brought on. Christmas Eve in the pharmacy/garage. 4 - Ensure that you check that the food in the fridge and cupboard isn't Christmas food! Otherwise you'll be in trouble if you've eaten grandad's mince pies! 5 - As a father, your main role will be to provide and install a vast amount of batteries on noisy and annoying toys. So have your screwdriver ready and lots of AAA and AA batteries to hand. An extra tip would be to have lots of alcohol to drown out and forget about your feral kids causing mayhem. Happy Christmas |
The follwoing recipeputs some of our favourite festive flavours into an afternoon tea classic – the scone. To make these scones all christmassy, you replace some of the milk with brandy and mix in some mincemeat and balls of marzipan. The marzipan melts during cooking and goes a bit gooey – really delicious if you eat them warm from the oven. However, the oozing marzipan can make them look a little uneven so if you like your scones neat and round, leave out the marzipan and add a slither in the middle of your scone when you’re eating instead. Makes 9 small or 6 medium scones
Ingredients
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Method
- Pre-heat the oven to 220ºC/200ºC fan.
- Lightly grease a baking sheet with butter (or alternatively, use a bake-o-glide sheet and greasing isn’t necessary).
- Put the self-raising flour (250g) into a large bowl. Cut the butter (50g) into cubesand add it to the flour.
- Gently rub the butter into the flour until it is the consistency of breadcrumbs.
- Cut the marzipan (50g) into small cubes.
- Add the caster sugar (30g), baking powder (1/2 tsp), salt (1/4tsp), marzipan, mincemeat (100g) to the flour and butter. Give it a quick stir to ensure that all of the ingredients are evenly distributed.
- Make a well in the centre and add the full-fat milk (85ml) and brandy (50ml). I like to keep a tablespoon or two of milk back to add at the end to help collect up any
- stray bits of flour.
- With as little action as possible, mix the milk and brandy into the dry ingredients using your hands until the mixture has come together. If there’s any flour left at
- the bottom then add a touch more milk to help collect it up.
- Sprinkle a dusting of flour onto your work surface. Place the dough onto the floured surface and pat it flat, about 1. inches thick (don’t use a rolling pin). Using a round cutter (I used a 6cm diameter cutter to make 9 small scones), press into the dough and carefully lift out the scone and place it onto your baking sheet. Cut as many scones as you can, ball up the remaining dough, pat flat and repeat cutting out more scones until all of your dough has been used.
- Brush a little milk onto the top of each scone.
- Place into the oven and cook for 12-15 minutes until they are cooked (I like to tap on the bottom to see if they sound hollow, as you would do with bread).
- Once cooked, remove them from the oven and place onto a wire rack to cool (oreat them while they’re still warm!)
Click the image below to enlarge.
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For most of us, the thought of holiday fun and defecation definitely do not go together. Sure, rich holiday foods can often cause a troubled digestive system, but
most of the time relieving one's bowels is nothing to celebrate. That is, unless it is Christmas time and you are in Catalonia, Spain, home of the extremely odd Caga Tio. Literally translated, Caga Tio means Pooping Log and this hollowed out, smiley-faced piece of wood brings laughter and joy to Catalonian children in a long established tradition. It is cherished because it "poops" out presents. Beginning on the night of December 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, the Caga Tio is placed by the fireplace, covered with a blanket, and treated as a pet. Each evening the children of the household feed the log fruit, nuts, and chocolate in hopes that it will grow bigger. Loving parents secretly swap out the log with a progressively bigger one until magically, by Christmas, it is full grown. On Christmas day, the children of the household gather round their Pooping Log pet and sing songs to urge it to release its loot. The song lyrics translate as "Poop log, poop candy! If you don't poop well, I'll hit you with a stick. Poop log!" The children then beat the little log with sticks to force it to defecate traditional presents like Turon nougat candy, small toys, and coins. |
Using a range of spices you can create a really dynamic and vibrant tea that warms the heart and soul.
During those magical, but chilly months of the year, there isn’t anything more relaxing than sipping on a hot cup of spicy Chai goodness.
There are many variations to it and you can always alter the spices a little or add something extra in.
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Ingredients
Makes 8 cups
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Preparation Instructions
Combine all ingredients except the milk and sweetener, and boil for 10 minutes. Strain. Add in the hot milk, stir and then simmer for a few minutes with either honey or brown sugar to sweeten it. Helpful Hints Place the ground cardamom in a tea bag, or muslin bag, if you don't want cardamom sediment in your chai. |
Video Instructions
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Recipe
Ingredients 8oz Turkey breast 2 Carrots 1 Parsnip 1 Onion 4 floz gravy 2 tbsp sage & onion stuffing Ready to roll shortcrust pastry |
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Method
Dice turkey, carrots, parsnip & onion, cook in a little oil until soft Make gravy, add to mix, stir in sage & onion stuffing, let cool Put in pie dish, top with pastry, egg wash, bake for 20-25 mins 180c gas mark 5 Served with creamy mash & veg |
Eggnog, a Christmas favourite is incredibly easy to make. Homemade eggnog is made with just five
ingredients — four if you leave out the booze.
Ingrediaents - Makes 6 cups, recipe can be easily scaled up or down
ingredients — four if you leave out the booze.
Ingrediaents - Makes 6 cups, recipe can be easily scaled up or down
- 6 large eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 to 1 1/2 cup bourbon, rum, cognac, or a mix, optional
- Freshly grated nutmeg, to serve
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Instructions
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Raw Eggs vs Cooked Eggs
Remember this recipie willc ontains Raw Eggs. Consuming raw or undercooked eggs can increase your risk for certain food-borne illnesses, especially if you have a medical condition. You may wish to opt for cooked eggnog. To do this you will need to warm the milk and cream in a saucepan over medium heat until just starting to bubble around the edges. Meanwhile whisk the egg yolks together in a separate bowl. Slowly whisk the warm milk into the eggs, then return the mixture to medium heat and continue to cook, stirring gently, until thickened to your eggnog-y liking. Serve immediately or chill for up to 3 days before serving. For extra thickness, whip 1 cup of whipping cream and fold into the eggnog before serving. Richer Eggnog: If you play with the proportions of whole milk to cream, keeping 3 cups total dairy you can make the Eggnog richer. Heavy cream will make your eggnog thicker and creamier. Boozy eggnog will also continue to thicken in the fridge as it ages. Eggnog Aging Aging your eggnog for even a short time does wonders for its taste and texture. The distinct flavors of egg, cream, and liquor meld together even after just a day or two in the fridge, making a smoother, more balanced cup of nog. The proteins in the eggs also start to thicken, giving eggnog its signature spoon-coating thickness. |