THE STEAMING MUG
Nothing’s more welcome than a mug of warm, flavorful beverage when you come inside on a winter’s day. A steaming drink chases the chill away, so I’ve been giving the matter a lot of thought lately.
A little variety always makes things interesting yet it seemed there were few options for what serves this purpose, especially for a family. Coffee won’t do for everyone, tea, unless laced with milk and sugar is bland and, like cocoa, is loaded with carbs and calories as a steady go-to.
There are definite requirements too. The brew has to be quick and easy to make, either for individual servings or for a group. It should satisfy without being filling if to be consumed before a meal and it would be nice if it could be prepared ahead and reheated.
I’ve been doing some research, and a bit of experimenting and think I’ve come up with 9 recipes that fit the bill. A few can also be served chilled because a cold drink on a hot day has the same appeal. My first thought was my personal mulled cider concoction, and it’s included, but most of the drinks are broth-based. I love the condensed, canned broths including consommé and madrilène but they have become hard to find in most markets. The regular canned broths and those in cartons lack the body for this use. I use the packets of bouillon granules because the ratio to other ingredients, including water, can always be adjusted to taste. Plus the granule packets are easy to store and priced for a crowd. 1 envelope=2 Tbs., 4 Tbs. =1/4 cup (use 1 ½ envelopes for 1/3 cup). It’s simple then to put the desired amount of granules in a mug, add the water and microwave. My oven takes 2 min.30 sec. for 1 mug.
One other note about the following recipes, they are mainly for single servings but can be easily multiplied or divided.
RECIPES
Easy Mulled Cider: Serves 6-8
(1) 64 oz. bottle apple cider*
1 large apple
12 whole cloves
2 long cinnamon sticks or 4 short ones
Stud the apples with the cloves and bring all the ingredients to a boil, lower to a simmer for 2-3 min . and turn off the heat. Ladle into mugs and serve. Can stand at room temperature for several hours; chill for longer periods with all ingredients. Good cold too.
For single serving, fill a mug with cider, pierce a slice of apple with a clove, add a cinnamon stick, microwave until hot OR simply add a pinch each of ground cinnamon and cloves and microwave.
* For this I recommend the commercial product available all year in glass bottles. There are also ‘cider’ packets, much like bouillon granules, to flavor water. That isn’t too successful, but they do transform regular apple juice.
Butter Beer: Serves 2-from basilmomma.com
12 oz. cream soda
1/2 C + 1 TB of butterscotch dessert topping
1 TB unsalted butter
In a large glass measuring cup add the butterscotch and butter. Heat in microwave for 1 1/2 minutes.
Remove and whisk with a fork. Slowly pour in the cream soda allowing time for the foam to go down.
Gently whisk. Pour into mugs or glasses.
NOTES: Beware: this is rich and sweet.
Not Hot Toddy: Serves 1- from thespruceeats.com
7 ounces hot tea
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, or a cinnamon stick
1/2 teaspoon cloves
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Lemon wedge for garnish
Gather the ingredients in an Irish coffee glass. Top with hot, freshly brewed tea and stir well. Garnish with a lemon wedge. Serve and enjoy.
Tips: 1.While waiting for your tea to brew, pour the extra water from your teapot into the glass or mug you will be using. This warms up the mug and keeps your toddy hot longer. Dump the water and make drink.
2. Be sure to adjust the honey and lemon to your taste. You might even find that your preferences change based on the type of tea you’re brewing.
3. If you have whole spices—particularly the cloves, which are most often whole—you can contain them in your mug by placing them in a tea ball or similar strainer. You can also skip the ground cinnamon and use a whole stick instead. It doubles as a stir stick!
4. Add other spices as you see fit. Ginger is a great addition when you have a cold and can be added in ground, paste, or sliced form. Allspice, anise, and vanilla (part of a bean or a dash of extract) are good options as well. Essentially, anything you would put into mulled wine or hot apple cider works great in a toddy.
Variations: Any type of tea will make a great hot not toddy. Mint teas and herbal tea blends (or tisanes) designed to calm and relax are perfect candidates, especially if you’re making a toddy before bed or looking for cold relief. Floral teas such as those with chamomile, rosehips, or hibiscus can be a great pick-me-up for afternoon toddy. With any of these, you might want to back off the spices a bit, particularly the cloves. For a citrus tea, you might want to stick with an orange blend. The lemon and peach tea blends are okay, but a spicy orange is best with this recipe.
Barbajada (Milanese Hot Chocolate-Coffee Drink) Recipe: Serves 2-from seriouseats.com
1/4 cup cocoa powder (3/4 ounce; 25g)
1/4 cup sugar (2 ounces; 55g)
1 1/2 cups (355ml) milk
2/3 cup (160ml) strong coffee or espresso
Whipped cream, for serving
In a medium bowl, stir together cocoa powder and sugar until thoroughly combined. In a medium saucepan, heat milk over moderate heat until steaming. Whisk in cocoa/sugar mixture along with coffee, whisking rapidly until hot and frothy. Divide into warmed mugs and top with whipped
Notes: Different types of cocoa powder will yield slightly different results, with natural cocoa powder creating a more acidic, fruity flavor, while Dutch processed cocoa will be earthier and nuttier. In this application, Dutch would be my recommendation, since the coffee generally brings its own acidity. Also, take note of the cocoa’s fat content—supermarket brands like Hershey’s are inexpensive because they’re partially defatted, while powders like Valrhona or Cacao Barry Extra Brute have nearly twice the fat, helping to improve the mouthfeel in a light-bodied drink like this one.
Rosy Bull: Serves 1
4oz. tomato sauce= ½ cup– or to taste
1 envelope beef bouillon granules
water to fill the cup
Put all the ingredients in a mug, stir well and microwave until hot . Stir again before serving.
Variation: Add 1/8 tsp. caraway seeds-crushed in a mortar or between pieces of plastic on a flat surface with the back of a spoon OR if seeds are ground in a mill, reduce amount to a pinch.
The Popeye: Serves 1
1/4-1/2 cup spinach puree—amount depends on preference(use baby food for single servings. 1envelope beef bouillon granules
Pinch nutmeg
Water to fill cup
Place ingredients in listed order in mug and microwave until hot. Stir well before serving.
The Tropical: Serves 1—Also good chilled
1/3-1/2 cup orange juice
1 envelope chicken bouillon granules
Dash lime juice
Put all the ingredients in a mug and microwave until hot or chill. Stir well and serve hot or pored over ice
The Serendipity; Serves 2-Also good chilled
(1) 10 ½ oz. can consommé
2-4 oz. Sherry, Port, Sweet Vermouth or other sweet wine
Water or ice cubes as needed
Pour desired amount of wine in the mugs, add consommé and water to fill. Microwave if serving hot or chill and pour over ice cubes. Stir well before serving.
Clamato; Serves 4-6-Good warm or chilled, this mix was a popular drink several years ago and sold in bottles. It seems to have disappeared, but it’s still flavorful and simple to make.
3 cups tomato juice
(1) 8 oz. bottle clam juice
1 Tbs. lemon juice
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce-or more to taste
1/2 cup sour cream—Optional to top as garnish
Mix the first 4 ingredients, stir well and microwave if serving hot or chill and pour over ice cubes. Garnish with dollops of sour cream, if using, and serve with a spoon to fold in.
