Adventsblog Day 7

Glühwein????

 Why not?

Here's a video with the recipe ( thought this guy was so funny!!)

Enjoy±

Adventsblog Day 6

What I have always wanted to try and never get down to actually making one is "eggnog"
Hopefully this year!

Christmas dessert (by Aggeliki)

Chocolate filling: 350gr bitter chocolate
225gr butter
125gr thin sugar
1 spoon rum

Performance:
We melt the bitter chocolate and then we let it cool for a few minutes. After that we mix softly the butter with the sugar until it turns white. Then we add the chocolate and the rum and finally we mix it till it blends very well.
Put it into the fridge until it becomes solid!

Eggnog

12 eggs, separated
6 cups milk
2 cups heavy/ thickened cream
2 cups bourbon
1+ ½ cups sugar
¾ cup brandy
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg

In a large bowl and using a mixer, beat the egg yolks together with the sugar for approx 10 minutes (you want the mixture to be firm and the colour of butter).
Very slowly, add in the bourbon and brandy - just a little at a time.
When bourbon and brandy have been added, allow the mixture to cool in the fridge (for up to 6 hours, depending on how long before your party you're making the eggnog).
30 minutes before your guests arrive, stir the milk into the chilled yolk mixture.
Stir in 1+ ½ teaspoons ground nutmeg.
In a separate bowl, beat the cream with a mixer on high speed until the cream forms stiff peaks.
In yet another bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Gently fold the egg white mixture into the egg yolk mixture.
Gently fold the cream into the egg mixture.
After ladling into cups, garnish with the remainder of the ground nutmeg.

Serves: 8.

For more:
http://www.eggnogrecipe.net/

Glühwein

Hot Mulled Wine (Glühwein, "glow wine")

Ingredients (serves 2-3 persons)

• 1 bottle of dry red wine (750 ml)
• one lemon
• 2 sticks of cinnamon
• 3 cloves
• 3 tablespoons of sugar
• some cardamom (or ginger)

Directions
Heat the red wine in a pot (don't boil). Cut the lemon into slices and add to the wine. Then add the cinnamon, cloves, sugar and a little cardamom (to taste). Heat everything for about 5 minutes - do not boil - and let stand for about an hour. Before serving, reheat and strain. Serve in prewarmed glasses or mugs.

http://german.about.com/library/blrezept_gluehwein.htm

Aunt Smaroula's Pastitsio

Ingredients

- No 2 pasta for pastitsio

- ½ kg minced meat

- 1 tin tomatoes (1 ½ glass)

- 1 onion

- salt

- pepper

- 300gr yellow cheese

- 2 spoons butter

- 1 egg

- Oil

- Béchamel sauce powder

- Milk

Procedure

Boil the pasta al dente

Put pasta in a saucepan mix with butter, half of cheese and the egg

For the minced meat:

Grate the onion and put in a large frying pan with salt, pepper, tomato and minced meat. Heat until it boils.

Spread butter all over the baking tin.

Put half of pasta then the minced meat and then the rest of the pasta.

Mix the béchamel sauce powder with milk and pour it on top of the pasta.

Ready for the oven!

When the crust becomes brown, grate cheese on top and let it melt

Tsoureki

Description:

Τσουρέκι / λαμπρόψωμο: symbolizing the resurrection of Christ. The Greek word Lambropsomo is a combination of two words: lambro (Greek: λαμπρό) which means "bright light"; and psomo (Greek: -ψωμο from ψωμί) which means bread: lambropsomo translates to shining-bread or the epiphany-bread, representing the light given to Christians by Christ's resurrection and the passing over from what we are to what Risen Lord wants us to be: "partakers of divine nature". Another name for this is "Λαμπροκουλούρας" Lamprokoulouras, which means the same. This braided bread can be shaped either into a circle or into two large braids and sprinkled with sesame seeds. It is adorned with beautiful red Easter eggs and sometimes red rosebuds for decorations. The Easter eggs are dyed deep red to represent the blood of Christ, the eggs also represent new life and springtime. It is traditionally eaten during the Resurrection Meal. After Orthodox Christians' fast, which lasts 40 days to represent Jesus' time in the wilderness and the solar year (amongst other things lasting a long time), the Easter feast has to begin slowly, with a light meal after the midnight Divine Liturgy on Saturday night. The fast is generally broken with magiritsa, an offal-based soup flavored with avgolemono sauce; tsoureki, the fluffy, egg-laden Easter bread, salad and a bowl of red dyed eggs. Greeks have a custom when it comes to the eggs: they crack them one-to-one. Whosever egg remains intact, supposedly has good luck in the ensuing year.This bread recipe was traditionally prepared with an essence drawn from the seeds of Mediterranean wild cherries, called makhlepi, (Greek: μαχλέπι), which makes the kitchen smell delicious. The kernels of the makhlepi cherry spice are loved for specialties like tsoureki, but some people at times may elect to prepare this beautiful bread without the seed essence. Besides mahaleb kernels, the bread can be flavoured with mastic, the resin from Pistacia lentiscus, var. chia which is used in Greek cuisine. In more recent years, vanilla-scented tsoureki has also become quite popular. Sometime tsoureki is used as gifts for special occasion, for instance, it can be given as an Easter gift from children to their godparents.

Ingredients:

10 mL Cinnamon

5 Whole Egg Or egg substitute

2500 mL Flour

15 mL Mahlepi Powder

250 mL Milk

1 Pinch Salt To taste

500 mL Sugar May substitute with honey

225 g Sweet Butter

125 mL Water Warm

2 Package Yeast Active dry yeast

Directions:

In a small saucepan bring the milk to a boil.

Pour it into a large mixing bowl and add the sugar, butter, mahlepi, and salt.

Let cool to lukewarm.

Dissolve yeast in warm water and add to lukewarm milk.

Beat 4 eggs and add to the milk mixture.

Gradually stir in flour with a wooden spoon until the batter becomes too thick to stir.

Coat your hands with flour and work in the rest of the flour by hands until a soft, elastic dough forms.

Cover with waxed paper and a thick towel and let stand in a warm place free of drafts for 2 to 3 hours or until the dough doubles in bulk.

Punch down dough and knead again.

Divide the dough into 12 balls about the size of oranges.

Roll each ball on a board into a rope 1.5"x 2" thick and 15"-20" long.

Braid three ropes together to make a "twist."

Pinch ends and tuck under.

Place on greased baking sheets and let rise until twists are doubled in bulk.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Brush the twists with the remaining egg (well-beaten) and bake until tops are a deep chestnut color, about 30 minutes.

Check after 15 minutes, and if the color is darkening too quickly, reduce heat to 275 degrees and continue to bake for 1/2 hour.

Cool on baking sheets for 10 minutes and then invert on racks to finish cooling.

Store in covered containers or wrap and keep in the freezer

Vassilopita: Greek New Year's Cake

Vasilopita (Βασιλόπιτα) is a traditional New Year's Day bread or cake in Greece and many other areas in eastern Europe and the Balkans which contains a hidden coin or trinket which gives good luck to the receiver. It is made of a variety of doughs, depending on regional and family tradition, including tsoureki.
It is associated with Saint Basil's day, January 1, in most of Greece, but in some regions, the traditions surrounding a cake with a hidden coin are attached to Epiphany or to Christmas.
In other areas of the Balkans, the tradition of cake with a hidden coin during winter holidays exists, but is not associated with Saint Basil at all. Hasluck (1927) documents the practice among Ukrainians (a pirog is cut); Romanians; Serbs ("chesnitza", eaten on Christmas); Albanians ("pitta", eaten by both Christians and Muslims); Bulgarians (pogatcha, Novogodichna banitsa (for New Year's), Svity Vasileva bogatcha); etc

Recipe

INGREDIENTS:
3/4 cup of butter
1 1/2 cups of sugar
6 eggs
4 tablespoons of brandy
grated peel of 2 oranges
4 cups of self-rising flour
3/4 cup of evaporated milk
1 coin wrapped in foil
confectioner's sugar (optional)
grated coconut (optional)
marmelade (optional)

PREPARATION:

Bring all ingredients to room temperature, and preheat the oven to 390F (200C).
Cream the butter in a mixing bowl. Beating continuously, add in order:
the sugar, very slowly
the eggs one at a time
the brandy
Still beating, sprinkle in the grated orange peel to distribute evenly throughout the batter.

Add milk, then flour, a small amount at a time.
Flour a round 12" to 13" diameter tapsi (baking pan with 2-3" sides) and pour in the batter.
The cake will bake for a total of about 45 minutes, but halfway through, when it has started to set, insert the coin carefully into the dough, pushing it down just below the surface. (Inserting the coin when the cake is slightly firmed will prevent it from sinking to the bottom.) Insert it anywhere except the exact center of the cake.
Continue baking until done. Allow to cool for 5 minutes. Place a large plate over the top of the tapsi and invert it so the cake comes out on the plate. Take a second plate (for serving) and put it over the cake, inverting to get the cake right side up.
Allow the Vassilopita to cool for 4 hours before serving.

Topping & Decorations
(See photo) Sift confectioner's sugar to cover (decorations optional).
Coat lightly with marmelade and sprinkle with grated coconut (decorations optional).

Traditions of Cutting the Vassilopita

Each family has its own tradition for cutting the Vassilopita, however they all have one thing in common: the wish for good fortune in the new year. Traditionally, pieces are cut ceremoniously by the head of the household and allocated to the church (Holy Trinity and Virgin Mary), then the head of the household (male), his wife, their children (oldest to youngest), other family members by degree of relatedness, then guests. The coin or small medallion (flouri, pronounced floo-REE) is a tradition symbolizing an extra measure of good fortune for whoever gets the piece where it has been hidden during baking, and this can cause serious confrontation if ownership of the coin is disputed.

Therefore:

when inserting the coin, insert parallel to the way a knife will cut so it will remain in one piece;
when making the first cut, declare loudly who gets the pieces on either side of the knife so there are no disputes;
if a coin does end up between two pieces, the piece that has the larger part gets the coin.

Καλή Χρονιά! Happy New Year!

(source: www.wikipedia.org

http://about.com )

Christmas Pudding

The Ingredients

To make 2 x 2 pound or 4 x 1 pound puddings
3 ounces of flour
5 ounces of bread crumbs
5 ounces of suet
1¼ pounds of mixed dried fruit
1 small orange
1 small lemon
1 small cooking apple
2 eggs
1 tablespoonful of treacle
½ teaspoonful of mixed spice
½ teaspoonful of cinnamon
½ teaspoonful of nutmeg
1 small carrot
6 ounces of sugar (brown or white)
4 ounces of candid peel
Pinch of salt
To make 4 x 2 pound or 8 x 1 pound puddings
5 ounces of flour
10 ounces of bread crumbs
10 ounces of suet
2½ pounds of mixed dried fruit
2 small oranges
2 small lemons
1 cooking apple
4 eggs
2 tablespoonfuls of treacle
1 teaspoonful of mixed spice
1 teaspoonful of cinnamon
1 teaspoonful of nutmeg
1 carrot
11 ounces of sugar (brown or white)
6 ounces of candid peel
1 pinch of salt

The Method of Mixture

Mix flour, bread crumbs, suet, and mixed dried fruit into a large bowl. Add grated orange and lemon rind and juice. Add grated cooking apple. Mix well. Add eggs, treacle, spices and grated carrot. Add sugar, candid peel and salt. Mix well. (Optional ingredient tablespoon of whisky or brandy).
Allow mixture to stand over night in a covered bowl.
Place mixture into well greased pudding bowls. Cover with grease proof paper and secure with string.
Pressure cook according to pressure cooker instructions.
Allow to mature for approximately one month before final serving.
The Serving
Warm through using a saucepan of water on a low heat for two hours approximately, being careful not to let any water enter the pudding or the saucepan to boil dry. DO NOT MICROWAVE.
The pudding may then be flamed at the table. Pour over the pudding two tablespoons of high proof whisky and set alight.
Ideally serve with a brandy or whisky sauce.

Eggnog

6 eggs
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 cup brandy
1/3 cup dark rum (Captain Morgan for best flavor, but Myers is fine)
2 cups whipping cream
2 cups milk
All liquids should be very cold. Refrigerate in advance.

Beat the eggs for 2 or 3 minutes with an electric mixer at medium speed until very frothy. Gradually beat in the sugar, vanilla and nutmeg. Turn the mixer off and stir in the cold brandy, rum, whipping cream and milk Chill before serving. Sprinkle individual servings with more nutmeg.

Makes about 2-1/2 quarts.

Easy Egg Nog

From Sean Paajanen,

Egg nog is a pretty simple drink to make. This is the perfect recipe for egg nog novices. It's non-alcoholic, so make enough to share with the kids.
INGREDIENTS:
2 eggs, beaten well
3 tbs sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp nutmeg, ground
2 1/3 cups milk
PREPARATION:
Blend all ingredients together and serve chilled.

Nussplätzchen (von Vaso)

In Deutschland sind feine Nussplätzchen gebacken.
Zutaten
Mehl
1 Teelöffel Backpulver
1 Päckchen Vanillezucker
150gr Zucker
3 Tropfen Bittenmandel öl
4 Esslöffel Milch
100 gr Butter oder Margarine
200 gr gemahlene Haselnüsse und einige ganze Haselnüsse

So geht’s
Alles in eine Schüssel tun und einen Knetteig herstellen, anschließend den Teig dünn ausrollen. Steche von diesen ausgerollten Teig runde Plätzchen aus, kannst auch Herzen oder andere Motive benutzen.
Lege deine fertigen Plätzchen auf ein gefettetes Backblech und bestreiche sie mit etwas Dosenmilch.
Jetzt nur noch die Haselnusskerne in die Mitte drucken.
Bei 190° ca. 15 Minuten goldgelb backen.

Spitzgebäck by Christina

Ingredients

250 gr butter
250 gr sugar
1 egg
200 gr hazelnuts
1 P. Vanilla sugar
375 gr flour



Preparation

In the beginning you mix all the ingredients together until they become a paste. Then you put it into the refrigerator for half an hour.
Afterwards you cut the paste into pieces.

Then you put one by one into the machine and you start turning the handle.

The paste comes out in the shape of a star.
We cut this into little pieces and join the ends together so in the end it looks like a circle.

After that we bale it for 10 minutes in the oven.

The temperature should be around 175 – 200C

In the end you can melt chocolate and pour it in the cookies, so you can have a variety of tastes.

Note: Christina not only wrote the recipie, but also made the cookies and took the pictures herself!!

KOURABIEDES

NAME
KOURABIEDES - Traditional Greek Christmas cookies coated
with powdered sugar
This is one of the two kinds of confection that are tradi-
tionally consumed in large quantities in Greece during the
holiday season (the other is melomacarona). As a quick les-
son in greek, ``kourabiedes'' (pronounced ``kou-ra-bi-ETH-
es'', is the plural of the word ``kourabies'' (kou-ra-bi-
ES). Now all you need to enjoy them is the recipe. I got
this one from a Greek cookbook and translated it into
English.
INGREDIENTS (makes about 30 pieces)
500 g unsalted butter
130 g powdered sugar
3 egg yolks
50 ml brandy
10 ml vanilla extract
600 g flour
60 g blanched almonds, chopped
500 g powdered sugar (one package)

PROCEDURE
(1) Beat the butter with the sugar until it becomes
fluffy.
(2) Add the egg yolks one by one, beating continu-
ously.
(3) Add the brandy and vanilla.
(4) Blend in the almonds and the flour, a cup at a
time. Use enough flour to get a firm dough (it may
take a bit more or less than the amount mentioned
in the ingredients list). Use your hands to do the
mixing, as an electric mixer will be useless after
the first two or three cups of flour have been
added.
(5) Place the dough in the refrigerator for at least
one hour.
(6) Shape the dough into balls, about 2-3 cm in diame-
ter, flatten them, and place on greased cookie
sheets. Bake at 175 deg. C for 20 minutes.
(7) Remove from the oven. Roll each cookie, while it
is still hot, in the powdered sugar, and put it
back on the cookie sheet. Repeat this step once
more, so that you get a thicker coating.
(8) Place the coated cookies on a platter, liberally
sprinkling each layer and the bottom of the
platter with powdered sugar. When you are done,
there shouldn't be any sugar left.
(9) Let them cool, and they are ready to eat!

NOTES
The cookbook suggests the following variations: using ouzo
or scotch instead of brandy, and almond extract instead of
vanilla extract, but I have not tried any of them. Also,
putting granulated instead of powdered sugar in the dough
didn't seem to affect the recipe-there's so much sugar in
it, that you couldn't tell the difference anyway.
The cookbook also suggested using twice the amount of sugar
for coating. This is obviously too much, but it should make
you realize that you must really be liberal with the sugar!

Dresdner Stollen

Stollen has been sold at the Dresden Christmas market since the 15th century. Each year the city puts on a Stollen Festival to celebrate the food that takes its name from the Saxon city. In imitation of the gigantic Stollen baked in the city in 1730 on the occasion of Augustus the Strong's grand festival of baroque proportions, each year the bakers of Dresden produce a 3000 to 4000 kg stollen. It is cut into half-pound sections and served to the festival visitors. The following recipe won't supply an entire city but the two 12-inch loaves it produces will feed a good-sized family.

Ingredients

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup currants

1 cup candied lemon & orange peel

1 1/2 oz. candied angelica

1/3 cup glacé cherries

1/2 cup rum

1/4 cup warm water

3 packets active dry yeast

2/3 cup sugar

5 1/4 cups flour

3/4 cup milk

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. almond extract

1/2 tsp. finely grated lemon rind

2 eggs

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) softened butter, cut small

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

3/4 cup slivered almonds, blanched

2 Tbsp. powdered sugar

Preparation

Place the candied and dried fruits in a bowl.

Pour the rum over the fruit, mix well, and let soak for 1 1/2 hours.

In a small bowl, combine the warm water, yeast, and 1/2 tsp. of the sugar.

Stir and allow to stand for about 5 minutes or until frothy.

Drain the fruit, setting the rum aside, and dry it on a paper towel.

Sprinkle with 2 Tbsp. flour and allow the flour to become absorbed.

Set aside.

Heat the milk, 1/2 cup of the sugar, and salt in a saucepan, stirring constantly until the sugar has dissolved.

Add the rum, almond extract, and lemon rind.

Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly before adding yeast mixture.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the 4 1/2 cups of the flour with the milk/yeast mixture.

Beat the eggs until frothy and add to the dough.

Mix in the softenend butter.

Form the dough into a ball and turn out onto a board sprinkled with the remaining flour.

Knead the dough for about 15 minutes or until all the flour is incorporated and the dough is smooth and elastic.

Gradually add the fruit and almonds, kneading just enough longer to incorporate them.

Place the dough in a buttered mixing bowl.

Cover with a towel and let stand in a warm place for 2 hours or until doubled.

Punch the dough down and divide in half.

Let stand 10 min.

Roll the halves into 12 x 8-inch slabs approximately 1/2 inch thick.

Brush each with 1 1/2 Tbsp. melted butter and sprinkle with 1 1/2 Tbsp. of the remaining sugar.

Fold each strip by bringing the edge of one long side to the center of the strip and pressing down the edge.

Repeat on the other side, overlapping the folded edges by about 1 inch.

Place the loaves on a buttered baking tray and brush the tops with the rest of the melted butter. Let rise in a warm place about 1 hour or until doubled in volume.

Bake the loaves on the baking tray at 375°F for 45 minutes or until they are golden brown and crusty.

Let cool on a wire rack.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar and cut into 1/2-inch slices before serving.

Based on a recipe from German Traditional Cooking by Tony Schmaeling (out of print).

Glühwein

German Mulled Wine Recipe

Ingredients
4 quarts dry red wine (zinfandel, merlot, burgundy, etc.)
1 pint brandy
1 cup sugar
6 cinnamon sticks
12 cloves, whole
1/8 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp mace
2 oranges, sliced
1 lemon, sliced

Directions
Pour the wine into a large pot and begin heating over low heat.
As it begins to warm, add sugar and spices. Stir until sugar is dissolved.
Add the brandy.
Heat thoroughly, but do not allow to boil!
Add the lemon and orange.
Steep for about 1 hour over low heat.
You may add more sugar during this time if desired, stirring well so it disolves.
Serve hot and garnish with orange slices. A stick cinnamon could also be used.