Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Wicca in the Kitchen - Scott Cunningham 1990

Beverages
Scott’s favorite recipes

Madeira Quick Amatory Drink

Madeira

Sugar cubes

Orange curacao

To a glass of good quality madeira, add two lumps of sugar and four drops of orange curacao.

Magical uses: Love.

Apricot Brandy Quick Amatory Drink

Apricot brandy

Add apricot brandy to any drink.

Magical uses: Love.

The Drunken Pumpkin

1 pumpkin

apple cider

Cranberry juice cocktail

Ginger ale

Rum

Slice off the top of the pumpkin. Scoop out seeds and clean out pumpkin as thoroughly as possible. Pour roughly equal amounts of apple cider, cranberry juice cocktail, ginger ale, and rum into the pumpkin until full. Then pour liquids back out of the pumpkin and into a saucepan. Warm until just boiling. Refill the pumpkin with the liquids and serve immediately.

Scott’s note: Save the seeds, and use in the Roasted Jack-O-Lantern Seed recipe listed in the appetizer chapter on page 294.

Magical uses: Festival food—Halloween/Samhain.

Samhain Cider

3 oranges

3 teaspoons whole cloves

1 gallon apple cider

1 teaspoon cinnamon, ground

1 teaspoon nutmeg, ground

1 cinnamon stick

1 cup orange juice (optional)

Wash the oranges well, then stud them with the cloves. Pour the cider into a large pot and warm over low heat. Add the studded oranges, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cinnamon sticks. Let simmer uncovered for 13 minutes. Add the orange juice, if desired. Serve in mugs.

Yield: 10 servings.

Editor’s note: To stud oranges, first use an ice pick or nutmeg pick to puncture the orange peel. These holes will allow the whole cloves to easily slide into the orange peel.

Magical uses: Festival food—Halloween/Samhain.

Mulled Wine

This drink is a real “warmer-upper” for a cold Halloween night. Let your adult friends give it a try.

3 bottles red wine

3 oranges

3 teaspoons cloves, whole

1 teaspoon cinnamon, ground

1 teaspoon nutmeg, ground

1 cinnamon stick

1 cup orange juice (optional)

Wash the oranges well, then stud with the cloves. Pour the wine into a pot and warm over low heat. Add the studded oranges, doves, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cinnamon stick. Let simmer for 13 minutes. Add the orange juice, if desired. Serve in mugs while warm but not hot.

Yield: 10 servings.

Editor’s note: To stud oranges, first use an ice pick or nutmeg pick to puncture the orange peel. These holes will allow the whole cloves to easily slide into the orange peel.

Magical uses: Festival food—Halloween/Samhain.

Witches’ Brew

This recipe was inspired by a delicious drink, served only during the month of October at the famous Cafe del Rey Morro restaurant at Balboa Park in San Diego, California. This is, at best, an approximation of the original drink.

1 10-ounce tulip glass

Crushed ice

3⁄4 ounce light rum

3⁄4 ounce dark rum

1⁄4 ounce orange curacao

Sweet and sour

2 ounces orange juice

2 ounces pineapple juice

Grenadine

Pineapple wedges (fresh if available)

Maraschino cherries

Toothpicks

Fill the glass with ice. Add the light rum, dark rum, curacao, sweet and sour, orange juice, pineapple juice. Top with a dash of grenadine. To garnish, spear fresh pineapple and red cherries with a toothpick.

Yield: 1 serving.

Magical uses: Festival food—Halloween/Samhain.

Ginger Tea

Ginger is a wonderfully warm, fragrant spice. It is also a powerful money attractant. The cinnamon boosts the ginger’s power. You may wish to try the following recipe.

5 cups water

1⁄3 cup fresh ginger root, peeled and thinly sliced

3⁄4 cup sugar

1⁄2 teaspoon cinnamon, ground

Thinly slice the ginger and add to the water in a large saucepan. Boil for 20 minutes. Strain out the ginger. Add the sugar and cinnamon. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Serve hot in mugs.

Yield: 4 servings.

Magical uses: Love, money, and success.