Vin Chaud, Good Drinks, and not doing Dry January

It's been a long time since December was a boozy month for me. I don't find the pressure of the busiest time of year mixes well with alcohol, so when things slow down a bit in January, I'm ready to responsibly enjoy a small amount of alcohol - anything more than that plays hell with my peri menopausal system. Given there's a long haul of winter still ahead it also seems counterintuitive to get all austere now. I have tins and tins of unfinished Christmas biscuits, most of a cake, and we were given some very nice bottles this year; I'm not turning my back or otherwise wasting any of it.

The responsible and small amounts part of alcohol consumption is covered by instigating a cocktail habit - a single drink to hit the moment between dinner going in the oven and it being ready to eat. Partly inspired by Virginia Miller's Uneasy Elixirs - a really very good cocktail book that had a lot of things we wanted to try in it that got us started, and then dusting down books I haven't used much since leaving the wine trade it's making Winter feel much more lightsome.

I have written about, tested, and quoted from Ambrose Heath's Good Drinks many times over the years, it's one of the few books I have that really covers hot alcoholic drinks, and once again I'm sitting here with the outside temperature hovering around freezing day and night wondering why we don't do more hot punch type drinks, and why we leave mulled wine behind in December. 

Anyone who's known me for a while, or used to read this blog a few years ago will probably know that  have strong feelings about mulled wine, although nowhere sells out of the pre-bottled stuff like they used to. I think this might just be because it's less popular than it was, but there's nothing better for a lazy, freezing, weekend day off. 

The easiest version of a mulled wine I've found is Ambrose Heath's Vin Chaud - Good Drinks was published in 1939, and this version is by far the simplest I can find - which is a big part of its appeal, current recipes feel over-complicated and don't have the differentiation from other versions of mulled wine to make it stand out.

Ambrose Heath only asks that you sweeten a bottle of claret of burgandy (any cheap but not awful red wine will work) to your taste and heat it in a pan with a stick of cinnamon. As soon as it approches boiling remove from the heat, extract the cinnamon, and serve in mugs or glasses "in the bottom of which there is already a slice of lemon." Simple, quick, not too strong. Perfect.

New Year, New Ways to Procrastinate

After a very busy peak period at work I managed to get the first week of January off (worked on the 2nd, but missed the last weekend of the school holidays). Somewhere at the back of my head was a plan to really start writing here - but instead I started a jigsaw puzzle so fiendish that I gave up on it after 3 days and took it to a charity shop. And then, having learnt nothing, started another, more enjoyable one. It still isn't finished either.

I did at least finish the jumper I started in autumn 2024 on New Year's day, in time for the very cold snap, but otherwise it's been some light reading, lighter film watching, cooking, and generally not going out very much. We had thought about going away, but the weather being what it has I'm glad we didn't. The chance for a few really lazy, unproductive days has been delightful, especially as my job role changes the day I go back which is exciting - but lots of new challanges too. 

Meanwhile I've been working through Diana Henry's Around The Table - predictably excellent. 52 essays about her life and food. There are no recipes as such, but a lot of tips and pointers that are promising. Husband has fallen somewhat in love with Diana Henry's cookbooks, particularly Oven to Table and Bird in the Hand. He's more or less taken over daily cooking and appreciates these ones because it's food we both like and more importantly the recipes turn out as promised, his efforts look like the pictures, and it's given him a real boost in confidence when it comes to trying new things.

The only new recipe (and it's barely a recipe) that I've tried is from Skye McAlpine's wonderful Christmas Companion - this is currently half price in various places (Waterstones and Amazon for sure). I bought it for vibes and have no regrets. It's a gorgeous book that mixes completely over the top with really practical. Under the really practical heading is Panettone pudding as a twist on bread and butter pudding. 

We ended up with a serious excess of Panettone this year after I bought one early and forgot about it, bought another, and then yet another (the M&S chocolate and Cherry version being impossible to resist). Chopping up half of one of them and covering it with custard is about as simple as it gets, though I see no reason not to use pre-made custard if it's there, so it could be even simpler. This is absolutely worth buying an extra (or indeed a sale) Panettone for. It was incredibly comforting to eat on a night when the temperature outside hit -5 and we were struggling to keep warm.