Miscellaneous Monday: Fall is Upon Us!

Last week Friday marked the beginning of Autumn.  I can't say that the weather has completely been in tune with the calendar, but it's nearly October and I'm ready to indulge in some of my favorite fall activities.




Tonight, for Miscellaneous Monday, I will share with you a recipe for Hot "Spirited" Cider.  The recipe, adapted from Epicurious.com is the perfect complement to a crisp fall evening, and easy enough for the novice cook/home entertainer to throw together.

Here's what you'll need:

• 4 cups Apple Cider
• 1 tablespoon Unsalted Butter
• 2 tablespoons Brown Sugar
• 1 orange
• 8 Whole Cloves*
• 1 tsp. Allspice* 
• 1/4 cup Applejack Brandy
• 1/4 cup Dark Rum
• 4 Cinnamon Sticks*

*I know buying spices can be expensive, but think that if you buy these sweet/savory spices, you won't have to purchase them during the Thanksgiving/Christmas/Holiday rush.

Here's what you will need to do:

Grab a sauce pan and place it on the stove on a low temperature.  Melt 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter.  When the butter starts to melt, add 2 tablespoons of brown sugar.  While the butter is melting, use a vegetable peeler and peel the rind of the orange into several large strips.  Add the orange peel, along with 8 whole cloves and 1 tsp of allspice into the butter/sugar mixture.  Add four cups of apple cider and bring to a simmer.  Don't forget to put in a few cinnamon sticks!  Once you get everything simmering, reduce the heat and let the cider simmer for about 7-9 minutes.

Now comes the discretionary part of the recipe.  You can stop and drink the cider as is---which is delicious---or you can throw in some alcohol and make this an adult beverage.

If you add alcohol, remember the golden rule of cooking.  You can always add more, but it is very difficult to take things away once they are in the pot.  Start with about 1/4 cup of the apple jack brandy and 1/4 of the dark rum.  Adjust the amount of alcohol to suit your taste and the occasion. 

One small note regarding the list of ingredients, apple jack is not the same as apple pucker.  Applejack is not straight apple brandy, but about 35% of the alcohol is made from fermenting fruit.  This method of using fruit for fermentation is different from most other alcohols which are made from fermenting grains. You can likely find apple jack at a decent sized liquor store (Cleveland folks, I got mine at Simones).  

Photo courtesy of the Laird and Company website

In the coming weeks, I'll be passing along a few more of my favorite fall recipes.  What do you get excited to cook and bake once the weather turns cool?

Looking forward to a lovely Tuesday!