Wassail

1 quart of strong tea (can use 2 if you have large pot)

3 sticks of cinnamon

1 can of orange juice (46 oz)

1 1/2 cups of sugar

1 can of grapefruit juice (46 oz)

1 can of pineapple juice (46 oz)

1/2 cup of grape juice

1/2 cup of lemon juice

12 cloves

Add water to taste, simmer until warm but be sure you do not let it boil. Serve or let cool and reheat in microwave in mug for 1 1/2 minutes.

Store in refrigerator when not drinking to keep from fermenting.

Hot Chocolate and Toast

My husband grew up eating warm, buttered toast dipped in steaming mugs of hot chocolate. When I first heard about this tradition, I thought it sounded kind of strange. But I was hooked after just one bite. The crisp toast soaks up the hot chocolate and becomes something so much more than the sum of its parts.

This is our family’s favorite treat after a day in the snow or a brisk night of Christmas caroling.

1. Toast thick slabs of bread (we prefer white bread for this) and spread generously with butter.
2. Prepare hot chocolate.  My family loves Paula Deen’s recipe.
3. Dip and enjoy!

Preacher’s Wife Punch

*6 pks raspberry Kool-Aid
6 cups sugar
6 cups water
4 cups tea
1 large can pineapple juice
1 large can orange juice
2 gallons water

Cook first three ingredients five minutes or until sugar dissolves. Add remaining ingredients. Freeze. To serve punch take out of the freezer 5 hours before you serve. It should be served at slush-like consistency.

*If you prefer a red punch for the holidays, substitute a different flavor Kool-Aid for the Blue Raspberry.

Palmer Family Lemon Tean

Loi Palmer, July 2005 MMCW
5 family-size tea bags, 1 quart water, 2 cups sugar, 5 large lemons. Pour water and sugar into medium sauce pan. Heat until boiling. Remove from heat and add tea bags. Cover and let tea steep for 15 minutes. Gently squeeze tea bags into tea to remove excess water and concentrated tea. Discard tea bags. Pour tea into a gallon size container. Squeeze lemons and add the juice to the tea along with enough cool water to fill up the gallon container.

Easy Southern Sweet Tea

Bring 3 cups of water to boil. Add 4 family-size tea bags (my choice is Tetley tea). Boil water and tea bags for three minutes. Turn off the heat. Remove and discard the tea bags. Immediately add 1 1/2 cups sugar to the hot tea; stir until sugar is dissolved. Pour the tea into a gallon-sized container and add enough cool water to fill up the container.
Hints: For a clear honey colored tea, remove the tea bags while the water is still hot. To avoid the sugar settling on the bottom of the pitcher, add the sugar while the water is hot. To avoid a bitter or acid taste, add a pinch of baking soda to the boiling water.

Crock-pot Wassail

1 (46 oz) can pineapple juice, 1 (24 oz) bottle apple cider, 1 (6 oz) can frozen orange juice concentrate, 1 (12 oz) can frozen lemonade concentrate, 1 cup water, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 2 cinnamon sticks, 4 whole cloves, 1 cheesecloth bag.

Tie cinnamon and cloves in cheesecloth bag. (If you don’t have a cheesecloth bag you can improvise with a coffee filter tied with a twisty tie.) Add spices in cheesecloth to crock pot along with other ingredients. Cover and heat on high for 3 hours. Remove cheesecloth bag. Turn crock pot to warm and serve. This serves 10 to 12 mugs of wassail. You can also cook the wassail in a large pot on the stove.

Peppermint Punch

In a large punch bowl mix the following: 1 quart egg nog, 1 quart softened peppermint ice cream, 1 liter of ginger ale.