By October almost done. The sweetgums in the yard are going gold and yellow and the air has that particular early-chill that makes you want to bake something dark — gingerbread or a molasses cake, something that heats the house and the stomach simultaneously. I made a molasses spice cake this week with a cream cheese frosting that I have been refining for three years. It is right now. Right means you can taste all three spices separately and then they come together into one thing. You can't rush that. You can't make it happen by adding more of any one thing. It takes exactly the right amounts in exactly the right sequence and then time does the rest.
Bernice's Table is steady. November is its month to grow — the cold brings people, the holidays concentrate the isolation of those who have nowhere to go for the holidays, and we serve our heaviest attendance in November and December. Deontay has begun coordinating the December extended services — an extra day each week in December, which he proposed at the committee meeting and which was approved. He is running it. I told him I would be there and I will be, but it is his operation now. He knows it. He is stepping into it the way you step into something when you have been watching it long enough to know its shape in the dark.
The same instinct that sent me to the kitchen for that molasses cake — heat the house, warm the stomach, make something that does real work — is the instinct behind every pot of cider we set out at Bernice’s Table in November. You can’t offer someone a slice of a three-year recipe on their first night in the door, but you can hand them something warm in a cup and let that be the beginning. This Hot Holiday Cider has become our threshold drink, the thing that says you are here and the cold is behind you now, and for a few hours at least, this is your table too.
Hot Holiday Cider
Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 25 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes | Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 1/2 gallon apple cider (64 oz)
- 2 cups cranberry juice
- 3 cinnamon sticks
- 1 teaspoon whole cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon whole allspice berries
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 orange, sliced into rounds
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar, or to taste
- Optional garnish: cinnamon sticks, orange slices, star anise
Instructions
- Combine the liquids. Pour the apple cider and cranberry juice into a large saucepan or slow cooker. Stir to combine.
- Add the spices. Place the cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, and allspice berries directly into the pot. Add the ground nutmeg and brown sugar and stir once to distribute.
- Add the orange. Lay the orange rounds across the surface of the cider. They will steep as the cider heats.
- Heat slowly. Warm over medium-low heat for 20—25 minutes, until the cider is steaming and fragrant. Do not boil. If using a slow cooker, heat on high for 1 hour or low for 2—3 hours.
- Taste and adjust. Taste the cider before serving and add a bit more brown sugar if you want more sweetness, or a pinch more nutmeg for depth.
- Strain and serve. Ladle into mugs through a fine mesh strainer to catch the whole spices. Garnish each mug with a fresh cinnamon stick or orange slice if desired. Serve hot.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 120 | Protein: 0g | Fat: 0g | Carbs: 30g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 25mg