Merry Christmas Fellow Winos!

We had a happy accident last night as I was preparing the Seven Fishes Christmas Eve meal.  It varies from year to year but I normally include cod, shrimp, clams, scallops, haddock, halibut, and calamari.  I normally fix a Cioppino style fish soup using shrimp, clams, calamari, and scallops.  I was actually going to smoke the scallops but was outvoted on that point.  Then it turns out no one was in the mood for the red soup but I had already thawed the fish.  We went about eating the cod salad, aka, baccala, haddock, shrimp and halibut but suddenly I was without 3 of my 7 fishes.  As I finished my plate I thought, "What the heck, I'll just sauté the remaining shrimp, clams, calamari, and scallops so I can eat it that way and have my seven fishes."  

As the sauté was simmering in a buttery EVOO with salt, fresh cracked black pepper, and fresh chopped garlic I looked into the fridge to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything for dinner.  I spied the container of heavy cream I had used a small part of the night before to make a tomato basil soup.  WHAM! A flash of inspiration.  The cream went into the sauté and with the liquid that had sweat out of the fish............instant fish soup!  It wasn't a chowder because it had no onion and potato, but it was delicious! 

I put the soup in a bowl with some oyster crackers and fresh chopped chives.  My wife and daughter saw me eating it with the Amish bread I had made the day before. "What's that? they asked.  "Fish soup no one wanted" I answered.  They both jumped up and ran to the kitchen.  My wife is a born and raised Texan who tolerates my Christmas Eve tradition.  Fish to her is a close cousin to Kryptonite and Superman.  She looked at me and said "This is absolutely delicious.  It is so light and refreshing.  Please make this again next year instead of the red soup."  In that instant a new Christmas tradition was born.

The wine never got uncorked, but it will today! 

Sorry no pics, but lots of memories!

Merry Christmas Leah,

Ray       

Wow, a cioppino party for 80!!!!  I can't even imagine.  Very impressive Leah, and those pics made my mouth water.

Here's a bit more Christmas joy we shared.  As a tribute to my wife's German ancestry we made Gluhwein Christmas night.  Here is the recipe and the backstory.   

Gluhwein

This traditional hot beverage is called Gluhwein (pronounced Gluu-vine) in Bavaria.  Gluhwein means "glow wine."  It is a festive seasonal drink.  I was introduced to Gluhwein when my wife and I went to Innsbruck, Austria on January 1, 1988, the day after I got out of the Navy. A senior chief I worked with at the time said I had to try the local seasonal beverage called Gluhwein.  The tavern in the basement of the hotel where we stayed served Gluhwein in ceramic carafes and cups.  We loved it!  We tried for years to duplicate the flavor since with no success.  When we found the recipe below we could tell just from the smell alone it was perfect. 

I got this recipe from Panera Bread Company.  It was called Donna's Glow Wine.  It makes a party sized volume of Gluhwein so the recipe can be cut in half, which is what I do at home.  With the minor adjustments I made to her recipe (already included below), this is EXACTLY what we remember drinking in Innsbruck.  The type of red wine you use makes a big difference in taste. Choose a fruitier wine for smooth drinkability, sometimes too smooth, but it is by far the wine of choice when served at a party.  We typically use an Old Vine Zinfandel.  A dry red wine changes the flavor quite a bit, slows down the consumption, but is less popular for people trying it for the first time.  

Ingredients (Cut in half for two - four people)
3 quarts water
6 tea bags (black tea)
1 lemon, peeled and cut into wedges
2 oranges, peeled, thinly sliced
1 cup sugar
2 bottles  red wine (choose a fruity one like Red Zinfandel, Merlot, Beaujolais, Pinot Noir)
1 pint dark, spiced rum
3 cinnamon sticks
6 whole cloves

Directions

1. Bring the water to a boil in a large nonreactive pot. Add tea bags. Turn off the heat and cover the pot. Steep tea for 5 minutes.

2. Remove tea bags. Add lemon, oranges, sugar, wine, rum, cinnamon, and cloves. Gently reheat heat for about 10 minutes. Keep it covered while heating it to avoid cooking off all the alcohol.  Remove cloves, cinnamon sticks, and fruit. Serve warm.

Good Morning Leah,

You are always so generous and genuine with your compliments.  That is your year-round Christmas Spirit Gift to us all.

I have never heard of the Swedish Glögg so I looked it up online. I found a delicious sounding recipe on All-Recipes.com and put it in my personal recipe file.  YUM!  Thanks for sharing your experience. 

Have a fantastic Saturday.

Ray

Happy New Year's Leah!

Okay, you'll get a kick out of this.  We visited my Dad and sister the last few days.  They live in SoCal, we're in NorCal, so it is about a 7 hour drive with stops and holiday traffic.  We took them wine and I received a bottle in return from my sister.  I looked at the bottle and have been scratching my head for days trying to figure out where I'd seen that EXACT bottle before.  I even mentioned it to my wife, Dad, and sister when she gave it to me. 

This morning your post about the wild boar popped up and the mystery was solved!  Ahhhh, I can sleep again.

Enjoy the day and the evening.  Ring in the New Year with some fun!

Ray

Yum, yum and more yum!  Too bad for hubby's tummy.  We've all had a bit of his issues off and on the last few weeks. 

I'm going with our traditional apple, onion, and "double smoked ham" (a new addition to the recipe) 15 bean soup for New Years.  It is simmering away and reducing on the stove as I type.  We'll finally break open the white table wine from the friend's vineyard we missed Christmas Eve as we curl up at home and miss all the craziness tonight.