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Newsletter Dec 15, 2009

With less then two weeks until Christmas and the holiday break, we here at HeathFerguson.com would like to wish you and your family a safe and wonderful holiday season and we hope you have a great New Year.

At this time of year we celebrate the season with great food and drink. We visit our friends and family and try frantically to get everything ready for the holidays. We send out our Christmas cards and parcels of presents and holiday baking, then curl up by a warm fireplace to take a few minutes to relax before heading back into the seasonal fray.

Most people are usually quite surprised to hear I try to get as much done before November as possible, but this year like most it’s been difficult.

We hope if you’re traveling somewhere, that you arrive on time and safe and if you’re visiting family or their visiting you, they don’t stay too long and that everything is harmonious. If you’re not celebrating the season, enjoy the days off (if you get some). Happy Hanukkah, Kwanza, and any others I may have missed.

Because it is that time of year of visiting and entertaining, I’m sending out drink recipes this time, We being the responsible hosts that we are; we’re sending you one alcoholic drink recipe and its alternative version and one non-alcoholic. We also strongly suggest no drinking and driving (we want to see you back here next year).

Classic Hot Rum Toddy

2 ounces/ 60ml                 Dark Rum (Gosling’s Black Seal) or Spiced Rum (Sailor Jerry’s)

Dash of                               Nutmeg

Dash or 1                            Cinnamon or 1 Cinnamon Stick

3 Tbsp / 45ml                     Brown Sugar or to taste

1 Tbsp / 15ml                     Butter

Water                                  Boiling Hot water

This recipe has been done countless ways and is open to adjustment for personal taste. If you don’t have the dark rum, amber or white rum will work and so will Brandy or Cognac. I prefer the dark rum because of its slight molasses taste and darker color, if you’re using spiced rum you will/may want to eliminate the spices from the recipe; as the flavours might overpower the drink. It also depends on how big your cup is; as mine is a 2 cup/ 500ml size. The smaller the cup the less alcohol (unless your planning on staying in and going to bed early. LOL!

So you put the rum, spices and brown sugar in a cup, bring the water to a boil and pour over the rum/sugar mixture and fill to just about full. Take the dollop of butter and put it in the cup and stir. Some people are bothered by the oil slick of butter on top of the drink and can be omitted, but it is what gives the drink its classic appeal and buttery creamy finish. Taste the drink at this point and add some more sugar to taste, or next time cut back on the sugar, if it is too sweet. Each alcoholic beverage has its own taste and sweetness so the adjustments will need to be made every time you try this recipe with a different alcoholic beverage of choice (Brandy, Cognac, Rum).

An Alternate drink to the Hot Rum Toddy is the Hot Brick Toddy which uses a blended Whiskey, Scotch, or bourbon.

Hot Brick Toddy

2 oz / 60 ml         Blended Whiskey or Scotch (Bourbon will also work)

1 oz / 30 ml         Hot Water

1 tsp                     Bar Sugar or Icing Sugar or Confectioner’s Sugar (all basically the same thing)

1 tsp                     Butter

Dash                     Of Ground Cinnamon to taste

Boiling Water

Mix all the ingredients other than the Whiskey in a warm coffee cup or punch glass and then add the Whiskey and Boiling water and stir well.

And finally the non-alcoholic drink recipe which is a great alternative to Egg Nog and is also fabulous in the summer as a nice summer cooler with a twist.

Sweet Lassi

1 ¾ Cup                Plain Yogurt

4                            Ice Cubes

1 ¼ Cup                Ice Cold Water

2 tsp.                    Lemon Juice

½ tsp.                   Crushed Cumin Seeds

4 Tbsps                 Sugar (more or less to taste)

Ice Cubes

1                            Mint Spring (if Desired)

Lemon Slices

In a blender or food processor, blend the yogurt, 4 ice cubes and ice water for 30 seconds. Add the lemon juice, cumin and sugar and blend again for 30 seconds. At this point taste it for sweetness. Some people may want it sweeter, depending on the tartness/sourness of the yogurt used. Add more sugar if you are and blend again. Once the taste is to  your liking pour into a old fashioned glass or punch glass filled with ice and top with a slice of lemon of the edge of the glass and a sprig of mint leaves.

So enjoy these recipes and thank you again for signing up for our newsletter. We look forward to more great things coming up in the new year, like our new photo gallery which will launch in January 2010. If you have any suggestions of what you’d like to see in the future let us know. Until Next time….

Ciao,

Heath

www.heathferguson.com

#207, 1330 Foothills Blvd.

Prince George B.C.

V2M 6V8

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