Categorized | Free Rangers, Living
Friday Food Fest ~ Hot Drinks
by MontanaHome
Posted on 23 October 2009 | 7:13 am 
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Does Café au Lait make your day?
Friday Food Fest … Hot Drinks
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Does Café au Lait make your day?
The weather outside is getting frightful … or it will be very soon.
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Time to share your favorite hot drink recipes!
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Do you often go for cocoa?
.ntessa:
From Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa:
Hot Chocolate fit for company ~
Ingredients
❤ 2 1/2 cups whole milk
❤ 2 cups half-and-half
❤ 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
❤ 4 ounces milk chocolate, chopped
❤ 1 tablespoon sugar
❤ 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
❤ 1 teaspoon instant espresso or coffee powder
❤ 4 to 5 vanilla beans or cinnamon sticks, for garnish
Directions
Heat the milk and half-and-half in a saucepan on medium heat to just below the simmering point. Remove the pan from the heat and add both chocolates. When the chocolates are melted, add the sugar, vanilla extract, and espresso and whisk vigorously. Reheat gently and serve immediately. Use a vanilla bean or cinnamon stick to garnish each serving.
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Are you the insider in charge of hot cider?
Or maybe warm whiskey makes you frisky ...
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it’s still in the 80s here
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October 23rd, 2009 at 11:48 am
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SCRAM !!!!
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October 23rd, 2009 at 12:11 pm
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guess we’ll have to do BBQ and Sangria … again :sigh:
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October 23rd, 2009 at 12:18 pm
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I wish I had the makings for Sangria, that would be good for a change.
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October 23rd, 2009 at 12:22 pm
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equal parts red wine, vodka and 7-Up, toss in whatever seasonal fruit.
I’m using white peaches and nectarines tonight
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October 23rd, 2009 at 12:28 pm
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That sounds good, Kel. I make mine 2 C red wine, 1/2 cup OJ, Juice of 1 lemon & 1/2 a lime & sugar to taste. I slice up lime, lemon, whatever & put it in a small pitcher.
There was a Mex rest here that used vodka. It makes a potent mix.
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October 23rd, 2009 at 12:31 pm
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Red plonk/ lemonade/sugar/ loads of fruit/ice…. can throw in a little “Sharpener”
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October 23rd, 2009 at 12:18 pm
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October 23rd, 2009 at 12:24 pm
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honestly, the sandals and tank tops get old after a few months. getting the money’s worth out of the convertible, for sure
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October 23rd, 2009 at 12:39 pm
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Ya got that right. I’ve some lovely sweaters I brought last year. If I stay here, I’ll still be not wearing them for 20 yrs.
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October 23rd, 2009 at 12:47 pm
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Vous aussi
In Jan, I’ll be wearing 3 at a time for work…. look like the Pilsbury Dough Boy with all the layers….. SEXXXXXXXXXXY !!!!
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October 23rd, 2009 at 1:02 pm
(Report comment)
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October 23rd, 2009 at 12:42 pm
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You are really asking for a good arse slappin’ missy !!!
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October 23rd, 2009 at 12:49 pm
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go easy, scouser. I think my arse is still a little sunburnt from napping on the raft in the pool
:runsandhides:
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October 23rd, 2009 at 12:52 pm
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Your final question….. Please rearrange the following well known phrase or saying……. Off ..Piss…
You have 10 seconds before the buzzer goes.
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October 23rd, 2009 at 12:57 pm
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Pfof Sis
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October 23rd, 2009 at 1:11 pm
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Close, but no coconut.
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October 23rd, 2009 at 12:01 pm
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Here also, too.
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October 23rd, 2009 at 12:19 pm
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You can go off people you know………
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October 23rd, 2009 at 12:34 pm
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Now, now, I’ll trade ya Florida for England any day. I keep having to remind myself of my light bill last month. It is really muggy today. Makes me so mad. the art show & the McIntosh festival are both tomorrow and Sunday (I goofed,thinking it was last weekend) and they are calling for rain.
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October 23rd, 2009 at 12:41 pm
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You’d fit in well over here…… main topic of conversation in England is the Weather…….. we love to moan about it!!!!(2nd is football… soccer to you…… and 3rd is beating up on pols and jobsworths!!)
Went to Florida only the one time… Jan/Feb… it was nice and warm….. never been in the summer when it is humid.
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October 23rd, 2009 at 12:52 pm
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Jan/Feb is the best, except when it’s not. If it’s cold, it’s a lot like Brit weather, damn damp.
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(Report comment)
My grandfathers Irish cold beater before you went out and after you came back in……….
Take one pewter tankard…….. fill 2/3rds up with Guinness …….. Carefully take a red hot poker that had been left in the fire and plunge it into the Guinness…. drink when the foaming subsides.
My fave cold beater… not a hot drink, but quickly warms you up…..A Whiskey Mac…..
50/50 Good whiskey and Stones Ginger Wine…… bootiful.
Second fav……. hot port with brandy sloshed in…..
For all the mulled wine…. must have warm mince pies.
Where I work, for Christmas, next to the 60ft Christmas tree, they are having a wooden Bavarian hot mulled wine and mince pie hut…….. can’t wait!!!!!! Every year it’s a struggle to stay sober and concentrate on earning a living (I usually lose
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October 23rd, 2009 at 11:50 am
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And a lovely time was had by sh’all, I mean by all.
I take it things quieted down overnight?
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October 23rd, 2009 at 12:02 pm
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Still a “Media Fire”, as there has been since it was announce the BNP was appearing… aftermath is as bad.
Over 1000 people there… letting off flares… arrests… 3 coppers injured… at Auntie Beebs … I ask you !!!!
Front page ine EVERY newspaper….. every talk show… TV and pol show … phone-in’s are off the hook.
All the roads around it were sealed off…. and it is 50yards from the most expensive shopping mall in Europe which has only been opened within this year… they were going spare…. all that trade lost.
Blown open the whole immigration/race debate…….
Worth getting on You Tube…. Question Time with Nick Griffin.
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October 23rd, 2009 at 12:10 pm
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OMG, well if it gets people talking about the whole thing, some good will come of it. I feel sorry for he shopkeepers, tho’.
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October 23rd, 2009 at 12:28 pm
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Opened last Christmas. £1.6 BILLION ( $2.5 BILLION) to build.Not huge, but wonderful… has every high end name you could think of there… Tiffany’s/Dior/Channel/YSL/Versace?Prada.. etc. etc. Apple shop/ Mac shop….. and 50 eaterie joints including a champagne bar…… these people, paying THOSE kinds of overheads, just before Christmas trade are not like your local corner shop… will be mighty pissed…. even the loos are a work of art…. all marble with huge baskets of orchids in there….. it’s a shopping experience, I can tell ya….. and it’s a 10 min stroll from me !!!!Whoopee !!!!
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October 23rd, 2009 at 12:48 pm
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Oh, you are so lucky. I would love to be able to just walk to the grocer’s. That would be shopping heaven for me. The window shopping alone would be fun.
The owners are gong to be pissed, that’s for sure.
I hope the rumour of riots is just that.
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October 23rd, 2009 at 1:08 pm
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Live in a vibrant shopping area…… every nationality food/reastaurant variety you can name…….. wonderful scruffy market… sells everything from Sari’s/West Indian veggies,food…. to irish bakers/pet shop/cockney fish sellers… get anything there…. it’s across the road from the Posh centre…… everything happily collides.
Shops are open till 10 at night… outside, baskets of fruit/veg… fresh dates… baby melons .. HUGE bunches of corriandor and other herbs.In last month, at top of my road, new shops have opened…. an italian ice cream parlour, a homemade Polish bread and cake shop… A Lebanese restaurant, and a Nepalese rest… along with Polish and an Iranian beauty parlours, where you can get “Sugaring” done instead of ordy waxing….and an Iraqui shop called the Nut House… HUGE baskets of loose nuts…. every variey of coffee bean you could think of… trays of homemade honey/almond date and nut cakes and rows of Hookas on the top shelf… the smell is to die for. God knows what Indy’s gonna make of it… he likes quiet now he’s pushing it!!!!!
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October 23rd, 2009 at 1:29 pm
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Sounds like a shopper’s heaven. I love to shop. My Mom & I used to have so much fun.
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October 23rd, 2009 at 12:30 pm
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Talk has become “Heated”….. there’s dire mumblings of riots.Hope it’s just rhetoric.
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I’ve always been partial to hot Dr. Pepper with lemon slices.
It’s much better than it sounds.
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Hot Spiced Cider
Pour apple cider into a pan.
Add lemon slices, cinnamon sticks and cloves.
Bring to boil; lower heat and simmer for at least 30 mins.
Strain into cups.
(Add splash of dark rum if desired)
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Claret Punch
2 cups water
1 cup sugar
4 sticks cinnamon, broken
4 whole cloves
2 lemons, sliced thinly.
1 bottle of good claret
Boil water and sugar with cinnamon and cloves ( tied in a piece of cheesecloth) for about 5 minutes, or until sugar is dissolved.
Add lemon slices.
Cover and let stand for 10 minutes.
Add wine, and heat thoroughly, but do not boil.
Serve hot.
A
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Inspired recipes, folks!!
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White Hot Chocolate
3 cups whole milk
2 cups half and half
8 ounces good white chocolate (7 ounces chopped)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. almond extract
dash salt
1 cup whipping cream for garnish
1 T sugar for whipped cream
cinnamon/nutmeg sugar to rim the cups
white chocolate curls for garnish
Heat your milk and half and half gently in a double boiler, add chopped white chocolate (after shaving off a few curls) and incorporate as it melts. Without allowing it to boil, whisk until smooth and hot. Whisk in salt and flavorings.
Rim your mugs or heat-safe glasses with cinnamon/nutmeg sugar. Carefully ladle in the cocoa, then garnish with previously whipped cream and white chocolate curls.
Leftovers can be fridged and reheated.
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October 23rd, 2009 at 8:52 am
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That sounds wonderful!
I’m fixing it this weekend.
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(Report comment)
Russian Tea
3 TBPS loose tea
2 cups sugar
3 lg oranges, juiced
3 lemons, juiced
1 cup fresh pineapple juice
2 qts ginger ale
2 qts water
2 tsp ground cloves
2 tsp ground allspice
1 stick cinnamon
Bring water to a boil and add sugar and spices.
Continue to boil for five minutes.
Remove from heat and add tea—steep for 5 to 7 minutes.
Strain, and add fruit juices and ginger ale.
Serve hot or cold. The orange/lemon flavors are stronger if hot.
Another great holiday drink, especially if you’re having a party.
A splash of rum in the bottom of the cup before filling it with the tea is nice, too.
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October 23rd, 2009 at 8:46 am
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This is so similar to a famous cold punch my Mom makes, I’ve never even thought about it hot … what a great idea! Thanks, Newman.
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THANKS to bear for posting FFF today!
My favorite hot toddy (so far – kitkat’s recipe sounds awfully tempting):
whiskey (Makers Mark) – (I never measure, I just pour).
big lemon wedge
honey
cinn. stick or a little sprinkle.
hot water
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Mmmm … it is So time for hot drinks. This is great for entertaining or just a night at home.
Gram’s Mulled Cider
fresh cider
whole cloves
cinnamon sticks
whole allspice
grated fresh nutmeg
cheesecloth
large stock pot or crockpot
brown sugar
maple syrup
3 oranges, halved (or four clementines)
1 lemon/ lemon rind strips
fresh ginger
2 tart apples/thin tart apple slices and cinnamon sticks for garnish
Pour one and 1/2 gallons of fresh cider into a large pot on the stove or into a crockpot or slow cooker.
Add 1/2 cup of brown sugar
Place 1 teaspoon of whole cloves, a few slices of fresh ginger, lemon rind strips, 1 teaspoon of whole allspice, and 3 cinnamon sticks on a square of cheesecloth and tie up. Add to the pot.
If you don’t have cheesecloth on hand, use a tea ball or a coffee filter to hold the spices.
Gently squeeze one of the halved oranges into liquid. Add 2 T maple syrup and juice of one half lemon, grate in some nutmeg.
Heat the cider to a boil, stirring regularly. Leave the pot uncovered so that you and your family or guests can enjoy the warm, delicious aroma.
Add three or four orange halves, studded with cloves.
For a decorative touch, you can stud an apple with cloves and allow that to float in your cider pot.
Once the cider boils, lower the setting to simmer for at least another hour to allow for thorough infusion of the spices. Stir occasionally.
Remove the spices from the pot and ladle hot mulled cider into mugs or other glasses designed for hot beverages. Garnish with apple slices and cinnamon sticks.
I think it’s delicious to offer a very sharp cheddar with mulled cider.
Add a dram of dark rum, calvados or brandy to really warm up a chilly day or start a party.
I personally like to add a cup of pineapple juice sometimes, but it’s not for everyone.
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October 23rd, 2009 at 8:36 am
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Oh my, Hardybear, that would smell so good. I know I’m going to use this one. Thanks.
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October 23rd, 2009 at 8:41 am
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I love keeping a crock pot of mulled cider going all day before a holiday party… the whole house smells wonderful and people smile when they walk through the door.
Next to the crock pot I always have a plate of fresh made gingerbread cookies to go with the hot cider, and a bottle of rum for those who wish to spike their cider.
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October 23rd, 2009 at 8:44 am
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Mmm! And gingerbread cookies?
When we do a FFF for holiday cooking (sometime in early-mid November, I think), you’ll have to share that recipe!
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October 23rd, 2009 at 8:48 am
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I will… it is from my great, great grandmother. I have tweaked it a bit, but the cookies have been a family tradition for many years. I have been the one responsible for making them for the past seven or so years. So very yummy!
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October 23rd, 2009 at 9:51 am
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I’d love to get that one as well, gingerbread cookies are so delish. They’re the most fun to decorate, too. I have the funniest cookie cutters, like a roller-skating hippo and a guy in a kilt … the kids love doing those.
That’s such a coincidence, I added a little ground ginger to dave’s oatmeal this morning, and he really liked it. I usually just use nutmeg and allspice. He thought it tasted like a gingerbread cookie.
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October 23rd, 2009 at 11:05 am
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I will definitely share it then…
Ginger is one of my favorite flavors ever!
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(Report comment)
Fall Punch
1 small can frozen lemonade
1 quart cranberry juice
1 cup water
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground allspice
Mix all ingredients and simmer for about 15 minutes or so.
Serve hot.
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October 23rd, 2009 at 8:32 am
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Oh, that sounds quite nice – and it would fill the kitchen with lovely smells!
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October 23rd, 2009 at 8:40 am
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It’s delish!
My grandmother got that recipe somewhere.
I remember it a Christmas when I was a child.
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October 23rd, 2009 at 9:01 am
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Holiday smells are the best.
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October 23rd, 2009 at 9:09 am
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(Report comment)
Glad this is the topic…
Something I made last night.
Fill a mug with fresh apple cider, toss in one Mandarin Orange Spice tea bag from Celestial Seasonings.
Microwave on high for two minutes. Yummy!
I used to use the Apple Spice teabags, but was out, so I tried the MO which turned out to taste even better.
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October 23rd, 2009 at 7:31 am
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MMMM … yummo. I have both ingredients. I can just taste it now.
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October 23rd, 2009 at 7:44 am
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If I had some Captain Morgan’s Spiced Rum I would have added it too…
I was pleasantly surprised by how yummy it was.
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October 23rd, 2009 at 7:32 am
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That would be good. Always nice when necessity is the mother of invention and it turns out good.
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This is my favorite hot toddy.
Juice of half a lemon
1-2 jiggers of dark rum
1 teaspoon of unsalted butter
boiling water
sprinkle of grated nutmeg or cinnamon stick
Mix first three ingredients in large mug. Add butter. Pour boiling water over all. Sprinkle nutmeg or put cinnamon stick in cup. Enjoy in front of the fireplace. arrange for cab service.
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October 23rd, 2009 at 7:23 am
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“arrange for cab service” !!
Sounds delish.
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October 23rd, 2009 at 7:44 am
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Nothing better than a Hot Toddy to warm some frozen bones…
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October 23rd, 2009 at 9:08 am
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Forgot to add a dollop of honey. Good thing it wasn’t a brownie recipe.
I have a habit of forgetting one ingredient if I don’t have the recipe in front of me. Years ago I was making brownies and my fav recipe calls for 3 eggs. That’s the only liquid in the recipe except for the butter so if you forget one they are good but a little tough. I have never lived it down.
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