Glensheen Mansion Christmas Wassail
“The Minnesota countryside was filled with Scandinavian tradition during my childhood…In the early 1900s, Duluth had more millionaires per capita than any other city in the country…The Congdon family were one of these families. Their home, nestled on the shores of Lake Superior, was named Glensheen. A Christmas tea was always scheduled there for the middle of December, setting the cooks and helpers in the house into a swirl of busyness and creativity…the whole house was filled with a fragrant, Christmas mood.
Later on in the evening, the extended family was invited for a holiday supper… Guests started with Glensheen wassail…”~Beatrice Ojakangas Christmas Memories With Recipes published in 1988
I have made this simple, yet wonderful wassail on several occasions since I received the book Christmas Memories With Recipes as a gift back in 1988 from a good friend of mine. It has a perfect balance of tart and sweet flavors with just a hint of spice. One of these years I’m going to talk Jeff and the girls into spending the holidays up north and attending one of the gorgeous brunches at the mansion.
“Sure to become a holiday tradition in your family, the brunches begin with a festive tour of Glensheen followed by a sumptuous holiday brunch, complete with a whimsical wassail toast.” ~From the Glensheen Mansion website… For more details click HERE
~Glensheen Mansion Christmas Wassail~
2 cups sugar
2 Tablespoons chopped, crystallized ginger
4 whole allspice
12 whole cloves
2 cups fresh orange juice
2 cups fresh lemon juice
2 quarts apple cider
Thin orange slices for garnish
In a large pot, combine the sugar with 4 cups of water, the ginger, allspice and cloves. Heat to simmering, stirring until the sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from the heat and allow to stand until ready to serve. Just before serving, add the orange juice, lemon juice and apple cider. Reheat to serving temperature. Garnish with a few thin slices of orange with the rind on. Ladle hot wassail into punch cups.
Enjoy!
~Melissa
I love this! Sounds delicious, and I think that would be a really wonderful day – going to brunch at the mansion….fun!
I think so too!
I agree and I believe Glensheen is beautiful. Sincerely, Heidi.
Thanks for commenting Heidi 😉
I’m totally stealing this as a new food tradition for the holidays!!! Sounds better than eggnog – which I also love. Where do you find crystalized ginger though??
Hi Kimber! Thanks again for commenting! You can get crystallized (also called candied) ginger at most health food stores, co-ops, and whole foods markets. If for some reason you can’t find it you can make it pretty easily. Here’s a recipe from my boy Alton 🙂 http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/candied-ginger-recipe/index.html
WOO HOO – found all the ingredients for this and plan to make it for Christmas!! I’ll let you know if it’s a hit or not. BTW – found the cystallized ginger at Walmart for $7 something.
YAY! Can’t wait to hear what you think! Thanks for the tip on the ginger.
I agree and I believe Glensheen is beautiful.
Sincerely, Heidi.
I am starting to make this, and just realized it says 4 Whole Allspice… isn’t Allspice ground? Is that suppose to be Tablespoons?
Hey there Kimber!
You can get whole allspice just as you can get whole cloves and whole nutmeg 😉
Here’s a little article on substituting ground allspice for the whole…hope this helps!
http://homecooking.about.com/od/spices/a/allspicetips.htm
COOL – I had no idea!! I always thought it was ground because it was several spices together. Shows you my inexperience!!! LOL Thanks!!
No problem! Glad to help 😉