mulled wine

2 bottles red wine

1/2 cup brandy

1 orange

1/4 cup brown sugar

3 cinnamon sticks

16 whole cloves

6 whole allspice berries

2 star anise (optional)

take a few nice slices of orange out from the middle of the orange. juice the 'ends' of the orange into a pot.
add the brandy, sugar, 1 cup of red wine, nice orange slices and the spices.  Simmer for at least 1 hr
when ready to serve, add the remaining wine and bring to a simmer.

you don't want the wine to cook for too long or all the alcohol will evaporate. simmering the spices etc with a small amount of the wine allows the flavours to absorb into the wine.

almond roca

1 cup skinned shaved almonds
2 cups brown sugar
2 cups butter
3.5 cups chocolate chips/coarse shavings

line a cookie sheet with parchment or wax paper.

sprinkle the almonds in an even layer over the paper.

in a medium sized pot, heat the butter on medium/high until it's melted. 

add the sugar and whisk until combined. 

keep cooking, whisking frequently, until the candy mix reaches a temperature of 285. 

don't let it get any hotter, because the candy will smell burned even though it may look normal. and also, don't pull it off the heat until it reaches 285 or the candy won't set properly.

remove from heat and immediately pour over the almonds.

heat the chocolate in a double boiler until melted

when the chocolate is melted, pour it carefully over the candy layer to make an even coating.

it's important that the candy layer is still somewhat warm (or at least not cold) when you pour the chocolate because it will help with spreading.

let the almond roca set at room temperature for a few hours, then break it into pieces!