Don't forget to share your holiday food photos with us! Here, CasaSugar's Elka Karl tells us about her annual Feuerzangenbowle.
Every year, we throw a cozy Feuerzangebowle at our home. My husband's family is from Germany, and this German holiday party is centered around a bowl of mulled wine. A Feuerzangenbowle (pronounced "Foy-err-song-en-bowl-eh," German for "tongs of fire punch") is a traditional fruity and mulled wine finished with flaming rum.
A Zuckerhut (sugar cone) is doused in Barcardi 151, and then set ablaze. The caramelized goodness then drips into the heady and seasonal brew. The lighting of the punch serves as a particularly festive kickoff to a cozy little holiday gathering. It's liquid Gemuetlichkeit (cozy kitsch).
In addition to the mulled wine, we also put out a pretty massive spread of food. There's a lot of German and Scandinavian foods: fresh baked rye bread, cold cuts, pungent cheeses, stollen, quark, and gravlax, among other selections. Every year my husband makes the gravlax at least a week in advance, letting it cure in the fridge in its mixture of dill, brown sugar, and salt.
To check out a photo of the punch and see what else she served at the party, read more.
