knowing how to cook or make their way comfortably around the kitchen. To combat this Jamie Oliver has created a foundation called The Ministry of Food, which are centers he's set up in England, Australia, the US and now Canada, where local folks are offered free lessons about cooking basics. We here at Beams would like to jump into this fray, helping to enact this self-reliant food culture by sharing (and receiving) recipes, ideas and knowledge around food.
On that note, today's offering is a recipe for mulled wine. It's a hybrid of a recipe by Jamie Oliver and couple of others. I had it the other night and can attest to its full flavors and heavenly glow. One of the things about cooking from scratch, and about using fresh whole ingredients as this recipe does (I'd never seen a vanilla pod in all my years as a chef!), is the amazing aromas that fill the room. This is to be shared with company to be sure, a festive and rousing (and ancient) beverage to accompany the dark nights and the seasonal lights. Enjoy, and for those with contributions to add this burgeoning food culture, send us a note!
1/2 - 1 cup natural organic cane sugar (to taste, I prefer it not too sweet)
3-4 Cinnamon sticks
1 vanilla pod
5-8 whole cloves
2 medium mandarins (juiced) no peal
1 lime (juiced) - no peal
2 bottles of red (I like Italian or French)
1/2 - 1 cup of brandy.
Mix the first 6 ingredients and 1 cup of wine in a pot. Bring to a boil (rolling boil for about 4-5 minuets) or until mix turns to syrup. Reduce heat, slowly add the rest of the wine and the brandy. Heat on lower temps, do not boil!!
Serve warm.
