Glögi - Mulled Wine Recipe

Flavors of Filand

Total time: less than 15 minutes

Difficulty: Requires a certain dexterity

Chef's Note

December in Finland is a time for getting together with family and friends, who are always offered a cup of glögi, spiced sweetened hot wine, to warm them up.

Ingredients

For 10 servings

- 2 liters (8 cups) red wine

- 10 cloves

- 2 cinnamon sticks

- 200 ml (3/4 cup) sugar

- 100 g (3 1/2 oz.) blanched almonds

- 100 g (3 1/2 oz.) raisins

- 200 ml (3/4 cup) vodka (optional)

Method

1. Pour the red wine into a saucepan; add the cloves, cinnamon and sugar;
2. heat the mixture and leave on the heat for 10 minutes without letting it boil;
3. add the liquor; strain and serve very hot with a few almonds and raisins.

Lebanese Coffee Recipe

Flavors of Lebanon

Total time: less than 15 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Chef's Note

The Lebanese have a long tradition of hospitality and they like entertaining at home. But this tradition also extends to business so that whether you’re visiting a friend or a carpet maker, you’ll always be served a traditional Arab coffee as a sign of welcome, served in a demitasse (100 ml / 3-4 oz.) The coffee is thick, strong and sometimes lightly flavored. It is poured out in front of the guest from a long-handled coffee pot, and generally served with a glass of water. It is so much a part of the culture that it is joked that a Lebanese who didn’t drink coffee could lose his nationality!

Good Lebanese coffee is made with a rakweh (special coffee pot).

Consider asking your guests how they take their coffee: with or without sugar, since sugar is added during preparation, not afterward.

When you drink Lebanese coffee, stop before you reach the grounds (tefl) left in the bottom of the cup.

Ingredients

- 1 cup of water

- 1 tsp. coffee

- 1 tsp. powdered sugar

- A pinch of cardamom (optional)

Method

1. Place the water and coffee in the rakweh; set over medium heat. To ensure the coffee is well distributed, stir continually.
2. Before it comes to a boil, the coffee will start to rise. Using a spoon, remove the foam (achweh) that forms on the surface and place it into each of the cups.
3. Return the rakweh to the heat and let the coffee rise up three times.
4. Serve the coffee to the guests who prefer it plain.
5. For the others, add the sugar, mix and let it boil up again.

Creole-Style Hot Chocolate Recipe

Flavors of French West Indies

Total time: less than 15 minutes

Preparation and cooking time: A few minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

Ingredients for 4 bowls or 6 cups

- 1 liter (4 cups) milk

- 1 egg

- 4 heaping tbsp. grated or powdered Cocoa

- 6 tbsp. cane or brown sugar

- 1 tbsp. cornstarch

- 1 vanilla bean

- 1 cinnamon stick

- A pinch of grated Nutmeg

- 150 g (5 oz.) toasted almonds or peanuts

Method

1. In a saucepan, heat the milk with the split and scraped vanilla bean, the cinnamon and the nutmeg;
2. in a small bowl, combine the cocoa, sugar, cornstarch and egg with a few drops of cold milk;
3. pour the mixture into the hot milk; let thicken over low heat;
4. remove the vanilla bean and cinnamon stick; add the peanuts or almonds and serve very hot.

Brazilian Hot Coco Recipe

Flavors of Brazil

Total time: less than 15 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Chef's Note

This is a creamy and aromatic hot chocolate, and even if the proportions seem a bit strange to you, don't worry - they perfectly evoke warmer climes

Ingredients

For 4 bowls

- 250 g (9 oz) of chocolate

- 500 ml (2 cups) boiling water

- 1 litre or 4 cups of very hot milk

- 200 g (3/4 cup) sugar

- 125 ml (1/2 cup) very hot strong coffee

Method

1. Melt the chocolate in boiling water;
2. whisk in hot milk, sugar and strong coffee; once the sugar has completely dissolved, serve immediately.

Austria and Chocolate Recipe

Flavors of Austria

Total time: less than 15 minutes

Difficulty: Requires a certain dexterity

Chef's Note

The scholar Johann Volckammer tasted a cup of hot chocolate on a trip to Naples and brought cocoa beans back to Nuremberg, Germany in 1645. From there, cocoa crossed the Austrian border and became royally established in Vienna. At the beginning of the 18th century, King Charles of Spain returned to Vienna, and from his native land, set up a network for cocoa importation.

Chocolate is often associated with "viennoiseries," chocolate-filled Viennese pastries, but what really left a mark on the history of Austrian pastry was the appearance of the famous Sacher Torte in 1852.

Method

Viennese-Style Hot Chocolate

• Make a hot chocolate, let cool slightly;
• add half an egg yolk per cup;
• whisk over low heat until thickened, being careful not to let it boil;
• serve hot, topped with a spoonful of whipped cream.