Glögg

Do you have any vivid memories from your childhood? I definitely do. And one of them involves catching my Aunt Jeanie, Aunt Barbie and Aunt Nancy all giggling as they poured themselves a glass of glögg (spiced wine) on Christmas day at my Grandma and Grandpa Pete's home. I remember being so curious about this mysterious drink they hated, but liked at the same time. I asked my Dad if I could try a sip of his and he obliged, eagerly awaiting a face of disgust - and that's exactly what he got. Ewww! I thought they were all crazy. (However, when I was finally of-age, I gave it another try and actually really liked it!)

Fast forward 20+ years. On our third date, Joe made me Swedish pancakes, some sort of Scandinavian soup and glögg. Not your typical way into a girl's heart, but it worked for yours truly. I remember watching him do his thing in the kitchen and thinking, "yep, the Aunties and Grandma Pete would approve."

This year when we made a batch, it brought back both memories and made me smile. Now that's a reason to cheers. Or as the Swedes say, skål!

(P.S. Joe's recipe involves port, cloves, cardamom pods, cinnamon sticks, almond slices, raisins, orange peel and maybe something else I'm missing. But here's a basic recipe.)