Holiday Cheer

By Barbara D’Amato


Bring a quart of good apple juice to a low boil.

Drop in about six to eight whole cloves, a whole nutmeg, and a stick of cinnamon. Not cinnamon stick candy, but the real cinnamon that looks like a piece of bark. If you don’t have whole spices, the ground-up kind will work, but they don’t look as pretty.

Reduce to a simmer and simmer about an hour. Besides extracting flavor from the spices, the long simmer should reduce the quantity of juice about one-quarter, concentrating the flavor of the apples.

Serve it as is or add Grand Marnier. Some people add rum, but there’s no accounting for taste.

Besides being delicious and festive, the aroma with make your whole house smell happy.

A good new year to you all!