Wassail!

Hello again! Opening night has come and gone --- and was fantastic! We've been doing two shows a day since Friday, and one school matinee today; so the festivities have begun! The energy is palpable; in the audience and among the cast and crew. It's an amazing story with heart, and a timeless classic for everyone. As I have said, I am incredibly honored to be a part of the show, and notice always a larger, more silly looking grin on my face backstage before I go on each performance. There's only two more public performances (this Friday) so get on it!

So what does an actor in Hanover Theatre's A Christmas Carol do on an evening off? Why, make a big batch of Wassail of course! What?! You don't know what Wassail is? Well, in the life of a Hanover Theatre Christmas Carol actor it is two things (well, maybe two and a half ). One: an AMAZING arrangement of a traditional Christmas carol by Ralph Vaughn Williams that we sing together during the Fezziwig Party scene (The scene with the Doodlebobs!!! - Look it up in our blog!) when Ebenezer Scrooge visits himself as a young man. The merriment of the Fezziwig party completely embodies the joyous tradition. Two (and a half): Wassailing is a tradition of caroling around the holidays to bless the upcoming crop of apples. It means literally "good health," and became associated with a warmed, mulled cider offered to wassailers for their song. I decided that tonight would be the perfect night to make this traditional drink for the holidays. So I scoured the interwebs and found the following lovely recipe and made it for a holiday party I am attending tomorrow night. Enjoy! (Please note: the beverage does contain alcohol, I did find a non-alcoholic version here).

Ingredients:

8 to 10 small apples

1 large peeled orange stuck with whole cloves

8 to 10 teaspoons brown sugar

2 bottles dry red wine

1 teaspoon ground ginger

3 cloves

Small handful of blueberries

2 or 3 cinnamon sticks

1/2 teaspoon of allspice

2 cups sugar

1/2 gallon of apple cider

1 splash whiskey

Directions:

First, core each apple and  fill with a teaspoon of brown sugar. Place into a baking pan and fill the pan 1/8 of an inch full of water.

Cored apples.

Filled with sugar and ready to bake!

 Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Then, peel the orange. Next stick the orange with cloves, about a half an inch apart. It should look similar to this:

Clove-stuck orange.

 Then place alongside the apples and bake in the oven for about 30 minutes.

Remove the orange and the apples and puncture the orange in several places with a fork. Next, in a large saucepan or pot, combine the red wine, cider, ginger, cloves, allspice, blueberries, cinnamon, sugar, and the water from the baked orange and apples. Slowly, bring the mixture to a simmer, cover and let sit on low heat for fifteen minutes (Do not allow to boil). 

Wassail, wassail all up in the pot!

 Add a splash of whiskey, to taste. Pour into a large punch bowl, steaming hot and float the apples and oranges. Serve with a stick of cinnamon. Preferably in a "green maple" bowl. Makes enough for about 15 jolly wassailers!

Oops! Got to head to bed! I've got to jump up for another matinee tomorrow morning at 10! Can't wait!