Making mulled wine ()
If it's too cold for you to venture outside, you can make all your favorite Christmas market treats at home. Make your own delicious Glühwein, savory Thuringian sausage sandwiches and sweet crepes and get in the Christmas market mood.
Servings: 4
Start to finish: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
4 raw bratwurst sausages
Olive oil
Directions:
Put sausages into pot of water. Bring to boil. Simmer very gently for about 10 - 15 minutes.
Drain sausages and brush with oil. Grill briefly until browned and crispy on the exterior OR fry them gently in a bit of oil in a medium-hot frying pan. Turn frequently until nicely browned on all sides.
Serve with mustard and buns, sauerkraut or an easy potato salad.
(www.quick-german-recipes.com)
Sweet German Pancakes With Sugar and Lemon
Servings: 2 - 4
Start to finish: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
Optional: 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon butter
Garnish: 1 lemon, juiced
Garnish: granulated sugar
Directions:
Gather the ingredients. Stir together flour, sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl.
Break eggs into a large cup, add milk and vanilla and whisk together until smooth (or use an immersion blender).
Add the milk to the flour and stir until no lumps remain. Let the batter rest for 15 minutes. This lets the flour granules swell and bind.
Heat the butter in a frying pan or crepe pan, preferably non-stick. Make a test pancake with 1 tablespoon batter. Add milk to thin, if necessary.
Use a quarter cup measuring cup, cook pancakes until set, but not brown.
Flip over for a few seconds and remove to serving tray or plate. Add butter to the pan and repeat.
These are best eaten right away, by sprinkling with sugar and lemon juice and rolling up. Serve and enjoy!
Servings: 4 - 6
Start to finish: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
1/2 medium orange
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup turbinado or granulated sugar
20 whole cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
2 whole star anise
1 (750-milliliter) bottle dry red wine
Rum or amaretto, for serving (optional)
Directions:
Using a vegetable peeler, remove the zest from the orange in wide strips, taking care to avoid the white pith; set aside. Juice the orange and set the juice aside.
Combine the water and sugar in a large, nonreactive saucepan and boil until the sugar has completely dissolved. Reduce the heat and add the cloves, cinnamon, star anise, orange zest, and orange juice. Simmer until a fragrant syrup forms, about 1 minute.
Reduce the heat further and add the wine. Let it barely simmer for at least 20 minutes but up to a few hours. Keep an eye out so that it doesn't reach a full simmer.
Strain and serve in small mugs, adding a shot of rum or amaretto and garnishing with the orange peel and star anise if desired.
To really take your market to the next level, be sure to hang Christmas lights everywhere and bask in their beautiful glow. Open a window or two if you really want the experience to feel authentic and wear your mittens for the rest of the evening. You could also do a Christmas craft and make your own homemade gifts for loved ones.
It’s important to remember all the things we are thankful for this holiday season. We are thankful that we can spend quality time with our immediate family. We are thankful for our good health. We are thankful for the food on our plates. We are thankful for steady employment. I hate to be cheesy, but I think Dr. Seuss had it right with the Grinch: “Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before! What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!”
