Vin Chaud

We covered confiture and yogurt jars with decorated tissue paper

to give a stained glass effect for the Fete des Lumieres

After you've been out walking, when the chilly night air is in everyone's bones, nothing's better than coming in out of the cold for a mug of vin chaud. Wouldn't you agree? Put on the carols, shuffle off their coats, have some candles or a fire to add points of warmth and light, and hand everyone a mug to warm their hands and hearts.

For each bottle of red wine:
1/2 cup of sugar
The zest of one lemon and one orange
2 cinnamon sticks
2 star anise
3 cloves
1 piece of ginger the size of the tip of your thumb, minced
½ teasp. Fresh grated nutmeg
Rum to taste (optional)

The zest is only the colored part from the skin, and it contains the essential citrus oils. Wash the orange and lemon thoroughly, and then use a sharp klnife to remove the zest, recuperating as little of the white rind as possible. Mix all of the ingeredients into a pot and bring slowly to a simmer. Do not boil, but simmer slowly for 10 to 15 minutes. Serve hot, filtering it through a mesh sieve. If it's really cold outside, you can add a thimble or two of rum to each mug just before serving.