Winter Wassail

Winter in Kansas City has finally arrived…in mid-February!  We had our first legitimate snowfall yesterday (a mere 2 inches) which caused a total mess on the roads but all the white should be gone later this week as warmer temps and rain roll in.

Before winter disappears completely, I wanted to share this family recipe with you.  I associate wassail with the holidays but since Christmas 2011 has come and gone, keep this recipe in your repertoire for Christmas 2012 or do something crazy and make yourself a pot on a cold winter weekend.

Ingredients

• 1 bottle Cranberry Juice Cocktail
• 1 bottle Apple Juice
• 1 bottle White Grape Juice
• 1 Navel Orange (thick sliced, pithy ends removed)
• 3 Whole Cloves
• 1 Cinnamon Stick

Directions

1. Pour ½ bottle of cranberry, ½ bottle of apple and ½ bottle of white grape juice into large pot on the stove or into a crock pot.  Note:  Your pot may hold more or less liquid...just make sure each juice type combines in equal parts.
2. Add orange, cloves and cinnamon stick to the mixture.
3. Set crockpot on high for 2 hours or bring mixture to a boil on stove.
4. Once mixture is warm, switch to low/warm setting (crockpot) or low (stove).
5. During the holidays, this will be on the stove for most of the day at our house.  As I’m writing this, I’m not sure that’s 100% safe but we’ve gone quite a few gatherings with no issues :)
6. As the mixture is consumed and your pot gets low, add juices in equal parts to the crockpot/large pot, warm as directed above and serve.
7. Leave the lid off the crockpot/large pot if you’d like the smell of wassail throughout your home.  Keep the lid on the crockpot/large pot if you don’t.  If you do remove the lid, check the mixture occasionally as some of the water will evaporate which causes your mixture to become concentrated.  Just add additional water to taste and warm.
8. If all of the mixture isn’t consumed, remove the orange, cloves and cinnamon stick and pour the mixture back into the cranberry, apple or white grape juice bottles.  Refrigerate to enjoy cold or hot in the future.

Enjoy!