You may not feel up to making a Bûche de Noël (Yule Log Cake), but you can certainly make a wreath cake.

While there is trend to pull-apart cupcake wreath cakes, we decided to try a traditional one.

This recipe was adapted by Audra, The Baker Chick from one on AllRecipes.com. It’s the third photo, requires no piping skills, and although it’s not as showy, it’s much easier to serve and eat.
 
 
RECIPE: CRANBERRY BUTTERMILK UPSIDE DOWN WREATH CAKE

Prep time is 15 minutes, bake time is 50 minutes.

Ingredients For 10 Servings

 
For The Decoration

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 350°F. Spray or grease a 10-inch ring pan thoroughly‡.

2. COMBINE the half stick of butter, 3/4 cup white sugar, cinnamon and 1 teaspoon of vanilla in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the butter has melted; then add the cranberries, tossing until they are coated in the butter mixture. Pour into the bottom of the cake pan and set aside.

3. CREAM together the 6 tablespoons of butter with the remaining ½ cup of white sugar and the brown sugar in a large mixing bowl fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the eggs, one at a time, the rest of the vanilla and the buttermilk.

[1] A professional wreath cake from Frederick’s Pastry. Feel like practicing your piping skills?

[2] A wreath of cupcakes from Beautiful Life.

[3] An easier-to-make cranberry wreath cake. Here’s the recipe from The Baker Chick.

5. BAKE for 35-50 minutes, depending on your oven, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

6. MAKE the frosted grapes. Garnish before serving.

____________________________
 
*If you don’t have buttermilk, add 1 or 2 tablespoons of lemon juice or vinegar to enough milk to make 1 cup.

†Fresh evergreen can impart strong sap or needles.

‡There is not enough batter to fully fill out a bundt pan.
  

[2] A classic cocktail sauce with its favorite partner, shrimp (photo © Sheri Silver | Unsplash).

[3] Oysters on the half shell with mignonette sauce. The recipe is below (photo © Whole Foods Market).

[4] A crab (crabmeat) cocktail. Here’s the recipe (photo © Cooking Mamas).

Oysters are one of our favorite foods, and a very easy course to prepare. We often serve them as an appetizer at Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Eve dinners.

Instead of cocktail sauce—ketchup with horseradish—make it seasonal by mixing cranberry sauce with the horseradish. In addition to oysters on the half shell, you can use it as a condiment with fried or roasted oysters.

Below you’ll find:

> A recipe for classic American cocktail sauce.

> A recipe for French mignonette sauce.

> The history of cocktail sauce.

> The history of mignonette sauce.
 
 
RECIPE #1: CRANBERRY COCKTAIL SAUCE

You can use any cranberry sauce that you can measure in a cup (i.e., not a can of jelled cranberry sauce).

For this particular recipe, we purchased store-bought cranberry sauce since the strong horseradish flavors covers over the flavor nuances of homemade sauce. We bought the fresh variety, although we could have saved money by purchasing their version in a jar.

You can use either plain prepared horseradish (an off-white color) or beet horseradish (red). We tend to buy the red version for both color and a bit more flavor.

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. PULSE the cranberry sauce and horseradish to combine. Taste and add more horseradish or a splash of vinegar as desired.

2. TOP the plated oysters with the cocktail sauce. Garnish with lemon zest.

3. GARNISH the entire platter with whole cranberries and greens (we like spinach leaves for a holiday look), and serve.
 
 
RECIPE #2: CLASSIC COCKTAIL SAUCE

The history of cocktail sauce follows.

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE all ingredients in a small bowl until smooth.

2. TASTE and adjust: more horseradish for heat, more lemon for brightness, more hot sauce for a kick.

3. CHILL for at least 15–30 minutes before serving to let flavors meld.

You can vary the vinegar (champagne, cider, herb, malt, sherry) or using a different allium (leeks, red onion, scallions). A squeeze of lemon or lime juice and snipped mint or tarragon will make an already wonderful sauce truly wonderful.

The sauce will keep in the refrigerator for a 1 month or so.

The history mignonette sauce follows.

Ingredients For 2/3 Cup

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE the ingredients in a small bowl and stir until well blended (you can also use a small jar and shake).

2. COVER and chill for at least 30 minutes or overnight. The longer you let the ingredients infuse, the better the infusion of flavor.
 
 
THE HISTORY OF COCKTAIL SAUCE

The history of cocktail sauce dates to the early 20th century, with the rise of shrimp cocktail in American restaurants.

“Cocktail,” of course, was the term used for alcoholic mixed drinks. But by the late 1800s, restaurants began to serve cold seafood appetizers like shrimp cocktail in a stemmed glass. Thus “cocktail sauce” was a play on the seafood “cocktail” served in the glass.

Early seafood cocktails were often dressed with spicy vinegar-based sauces like the classic mignonette sauce for oysters. Sometimes horseradish was added for spicy heat.

But by the 1920s, a tomato ketchup-based sauce spiked with horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, and hot sauce—what we now call cocktail sauce—spicy and tangy with a bit of sweetness from the ketchup, emerged as the favorite.

Commercial brands like Heinz helped to popularize recipes for the home in ads starting in the 1930s.

By the mid-20th century, shrimp cocktail became a staple of upscale American dining.

The 1950s and 1960s were the heyday of cocktail sauce, mostly via the shrimp or crab cocktail that was such a popular first course.

Cocktail sauce remains a classic condiment in the U.S. and U.K., especially for shrimp, oysters, crab, and clams, as well as fried seafood.

It has even found its way onto sandwiches, especially roast beef, and as a spicy meatloaf glaze.

Mix it with mayonnaise, sour cream, or yogurt and you have a dip for crudités!
 
 
THE HISTORY MIGNONETTE SAUCE

Mignonette sauce—the classic French condiment of vinegar, shallots, and cracked pepper—evolved in the 19th century as a condiment for raw oysters, along with lemon wedges (photo #3).

In the 17th and 18th centuries, the word mignonnette referred to a cloth sachet of crushed peppercorns and spices that was dropped in the pot to flavor stocks and broths. Over time, the word came to mean coarsely ground pepper.

By the 19th century, French chefs began using the term for a simple vinegar-shallot-pepper condiment for oysters. The earliest English-language references to modern mignonette sauce date to the late 1800s.

By the early 20th-century, the recipe was standard in French and other European cookbooks. It gained spread to the U.S., U.K., and elsewhere with French chefs.

__________________

*You can use any vinegar, but balsamic or flavored vinegar (balsamic, fruit or herb vinegar) will add another nuance to the cocktail sauce.
 
 

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.

Christmas season is a bonanza for peppermint lovers, from candy canes to peppermint bark to chocolate-peppermint everything.

Now, have a cup of peppermint white hot chocolate with a dark chocolate peppermint brownie. Both recipes are from McCormick.

While together they create a chocolate-peppermint symphony, they can be split up and paired with non-peppermint, non-chocolate beverages and cookies.
 
 
RECIPE: PEPPERMINT WHITE HOT CHOCOLATE

Ingredients For 6 One-Cup Servings

 
________________
*We chop up white chocolate bars from Green & Black’s or Lindt.
 
Preparation

[1] If you’re of peppermint lover, this dessert is for you: white peppermint hot chocolate with chocolate peppermint bars (photo © McCormick).

1. PLACE the heavy cream and chocolate in medium saucepan. Cook and stir on medium heat until chocolate is melted.

2. STIR in half-and-half and peppermint extract. Cook and stir until heated through. Pour into serving cups. Garnish with whipped cream if desired.
 
 
25+ HOT CHOCOLATE VARIATIONS

There’s a recipe for every day of the month. See all the hot chocolate ideas.

Here’s the difference between hot chocolate and cocoa.

This fudgy brownie is layered with peppermint frosting and a rich chocolate glaze.

Prep time is 15 minutes, bake time is 15 minutes.

Ingredients For 36 Bars

 
For The Frosting

1. PREHEAT the oven to 350°F. Prepare the brownie mix as directed on the package. Spread in greased foil-lined 15x10x1-inch baking pan. Bake 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out almost clean. Cool in the pan on wire rack. Meanwhile…

2. BEAT the confectioners’ sugar, 7 tablespoons of the butter (melted), cream and peppermint extract in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended and smooth. Spread evenly over the cooled pan of brownies. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

3. MICROWAVE the chocolate and the remaining 1/2 cup (1 stick) of butter in large microwavable bowl on HIGH, for 2 minutes or until the butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Spread over top of chilled brownie.

4. SPRINKLE with the crushed peppermint candies. Cut into bars.

Many people are so accustomed to the same old parsley or watercress garnish. It’s easy to create special touches can you use for the holidays. The majority can be used with either drinks or dishes of food, savory or sweet.

We like festive red and green garnishes and star shapes. Consider:

 
For Desserts

 
Other ideas? Please share!

TOP PHOTO: The National Pork Board recommends these sliders with your lager. BOTTOM PHOTO: Samuel Adams Winter Lager, in bottles, cans and on tap.

December 10th is National Lager Day; the entire second week in December is Lager Beer Week. Here’s a special slider recipe from the National Pork Boardto go with your lager.

The recipe combines the retro appeal of deviled eggs with the modern fondness for sliders, although the recipe makes an egg salad instead of a filling for hard-boiled egg white halves.

You can make the sliders for brunch, lunch or game day snacking.

Don’t like sausage patties? Substitute bacon, Canadian bacon or thick-sliced ham for the sausage. Don’t like cilantro? Use baby arugula or watercress.

Prep time is 20 minutes, cook time is 20 minutes.

RECIPE: SAUSAGE & DEVILED EGG SALAD SLIDERS

Ingredients For 8 Servings

 
*If you can’t find ready-made patties, shape 12 ounces of loose breakfast sausage into eight 3-inch patties. Or substitute bacon, Canadian bacon or thick-sliced ham.

1. PLACE the eggs in a medium saucepan and add enough cold water to cover by 1 inch. Set over high heat and bring to a boil. Cover, remove from the heat, and let stand 15 minutes. Meanwhile…

2. COOK the sausage patties in a large skillet over medium heat, until browned and cooked through (2 to 3 minutes per side). Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and cover loosely to keep warm.

3. DRAIN the eggs and transfer to a bowl of ice water. When cool enough to handle, peel and coarsely chop the eggs. In a large bowl, combine the chopped eggs, mayonnaise, chives, mustard and sriracha. Season with salt, taste and adjust seasonings as desired. Set aside.

4. ARRANGE the cilantro sprigs on the bottom halves of the rolls. Top with the sausage patties, egg salad and top halves of rolls. Add the optional olive or gherkin and serve.

NOW FOR THE LAGER

We’ll publish an article on winter beers on the first day of winter, but here’s an advance preview of winter lager. Numerous craft breweries make them.

The easiest one to find is Samuel Adams Winter Lager; but also look for Mustang, Wolverine, Stark and possibilities from y your local breweries.

You’ll also find “Christmas ale” or seasonal beers and ales from other brewers that are similar: brewed with winter spices (cinnamon, orange peel, maple syrup, nutmeg or whatever the brewer favors). A quick search turned up beers from Blue Moon, Brooklyn Brewery and Great Lakes Brewing Co.

Other beer types are also “wintrified,” including the fancifully named Abominable Ale from Hopworks, Old Man Winter White Ale from Southern Tier Brewing, Brrrr Red Ale from Widmer Brothers and Siberian Night Imperial Stout from Thirsty Dog.

But it’s National Lager Day. We raise a glass to the German and Bohemian immigrants who brought lagering to the U.S.A., which previously had only ale†. The first lager brewmaster appears to have been one John Wagner from Bavaria, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1840, carrying with him a supply of lager yeast. The rest is history.

†Yeast that enables lagering was not discovered until the 1700s, believed to have been unwittingly transported on a ship from South America. The written record on ale dates to ancient Mesopotamia.