Teejus Toodlepip - Fuck! It’s been 25 yrs!

For centuries, going back to Anglo-Saxon times, holiday revelers have wished each other “Wes hal!” (“Be whole!”) while sharing this spiced apple drink. Twelfth Night, the eve of January 5, is an English folk custom that marks the end of Christmas merrymaking and, in the ancient Celtic tradition, the end of the 12-day winter solstice celebration. On Twelfth Night, it was customary for the assembled company to toast one another from the wassail bowl. In Old English, "wassail" means "Be in good health," but the term also was applied to the drink itself (usually spiced ale). Ingredients 5 to 6 large baking apples, peeled and cored 1 cup sugar 2 quarts beer or ale 2 cinnamon sticks, broken in half, or 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground ginger zest of 1 lemon 1-1/2 cups sherry or sweet red wine Instructions Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut the apples into thick slices, and arrange them in layers in a covered casserole dish, sprinkling a few teaspoons of sugar over each layer. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. (The apples will get puffy and soft.) Combine the beer, spices, lemon zest, and remaining sugar while the apples bake in a large saucepan. Heat slowly, bringing it just to a simmer (Don’t let the mixture boil). When it is hot, add the sherry and keep heating until the mixture reaches a simmer again, still not boiling. Place the hot baked apples in a punch bowl, and pour the hot wassail over them. Serve hot. via farmer's almanac #twelfthnight #RecipeOfTheDay