Christmas Gems

Feuerzangenbowle

This is a German recipe and it means, roughly translated, Fire Tongs Punch

• 4 Bottles Dry Red Wine
• 1 Bottle Rum (above 40%, such as Woods Navy)
• 2 each unwaxed Lemons and Oranges
• 3 Cinamon Sticks
• 3-4 Cloves
• 1 Sugar Loaf (to be had a good grocers)

Cut thin strips of orange and lemon peel and warm the Rum.  Empty the bottles of Red Wine, together with the peel and spices into a fireproof pot or basin and heat it up, but don't let it boil.  There are special copper bowls available for this, but if you do not have one just use a saucepan.  Place the sugar loaf on the tongs (this is a stainless stell cradle with a slit in the bottom) and place over the saucepan.

Drizzle warm Rum onto the sugar loaf and light it - the melted, rum-soaked sugar will drip into the hot wine.  Keep adding more Rum until the sugar loaf is completely melted into the wine.  Serve in Punch or Wine Glasses.