Our annual holiday party is over and this year the theme was loosely based on Christmas in Scandinavia. Everything turned out well and I think we came pretty close to the meal that might grace a Norse holiday table. We had ham, pate, meatballs, West Coast salad, gravlax, and Jansen's temptation. Unfortunately, I couldn't get herring in the quantity I needed, so we had no herring on the table. We did have desserts aplenty and I even made Limpa bread for the occasion. There was also gl?gg and aquavit for those who spirits needed lifting and Swedish egg coffee for the rest of us. Now that order has been restored, I'm going to treat myself to a cup of  gl?gg. It has been raining for most of the day and some mulled wine would really hit the spot tonight. Gl?gg is very easy to make and I wanted to share this recipe with those of you who might want to try it. If you do imbibe, don't forget the traditional toast. Sk?l! Here's how this version of mulled wine is made. God Jul!

Gl?gg/Mulled Wine

Ingredients:

3-1/2 cups water

1 tablespoon whole cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

2 (3-inch) cinnamon sticks

2 (750-milliliter) bottles dry red wine

1 cup raisins

1 cup whole almonds

1 cup honey or maple syrup

Directions:

1) In a large sauce pan, bring the first 4 ingredients to a boil. Lower heat and let simmer for 20 minutes.

2) Strain boiled mixture into a large bowl. Discard leftover spices and return liquid to mixture to sauce pan.

3) Add in wine, raisins and sweetener and and slowly reheat mixture. Do not let it boil unless you want wine to evaporate.

4) Serve hot with a spoon of chopped almonds and raisins. Garnish with a cinnamon stick! Yield: 18 (1/2-cup) servings.

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