L ifestyles /C ulture
F O OD
KERI WHITE | JE FOOD COLUMNIST
WINTER IS UPON US and,
normally, that means holiday
parties, indoor gatherings and
lots of time with extended
family and friends. But not
this year.

The vaccine is on the
horizon, and there is hope that
there is light at the end of the
proverbial tunnel, but guidance
tells us to stay the course for
now. That means keeping to
your “pod,” practicing social
distancing and wearing masks.

But we are social animals,
and simply locking down is
too isolating for many. During
the warm weather, we shared
various strategies for safe
gathering — backyard setups
that adhered to distancing
protocols, menus that avoided
any type of sharing, BYO
picnics and happy hours. As
Old Man Winter descends,
however, those backyard get-to-
gethers are less appealing and
more difficult to orchestrate.

But they are not impossible.

The key is to keep it simple,
choose a warm-ish day and meet
on the early side before it is pitch
dark. If you have a fire pit or
outdoor fireplace, great — light it
up and gather ‘round. But if you
don’t, a few candles add to the
atmosphere. Consider putting
cozy blankets out on your chairs
and serving hot beverages to a
small number of guests.

These “parties” are not
attempting to replicate their
summer counterparts, when
we stayed outdoors with friends
and neighbors for hours on
our designated benches, taking
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MASALA CHAI
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12 DECEMBER 31, 2020
turns approaching the bar or
the buffet. The winter gather-
ings are shorter and, because
guests may want to keep their
gloves on, you are only serving
mugs of something warm.

I attended one such gathering
last weekend — my sister’s 50th
birthday. It was nothing like the
celebration I envisioned for her,
which involved a trip. But we are
resilient and recognize that these
days there are far worse things
than a pandemic milestone
birthday. So I drove to her house
on Sunday afternoon to deliver
her gift, along with a dinner and
cake for her family to enjoy that
night. It was just her immediate
family, myself and my parents,
all bundled up and carefully
distanced on her patio.

We sat around the fire pit,
coats on, wrapped in blankets,
and toasted to Sis with hot
tea. I stayed for about an hour
and, as the sun began to wane,
I drove home. The moral of
the story is that you can still
socialize but, like everything
this year, it’s not exactly the
way it was — and hopefully will
be again soon. Meanwhile, skip
the dinner and snacks and offer
your outdoor guests a blanket
and a mug of something warm.

This is an authentic version of
the seemingly ubiquitous drink
— which, in my experience,
is perpetually over-sugared
at most cafes. The recipe was
taught to me by an Indian
friend. If you wish to spike
it, making an adult version,
bourbon, whiskey or dark rum
will pair well with these flavors.

A word on the spices: If
you don’t have them all, fear
not, you can make a perfectly
respectable masala chai if you
omit a couple of the seasonings
listed below.

4 plain black tea bags
2½ cups water
2½ cups milk (any type)
JEWISH EXPONENT
MurzikNata / iStock / Getty Images Plus
Hot Beverages for Winter Socials
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1 sprinkle ground cloves
(or 2 whole cloves)
1 sprinkle nutmeg
1 sprinkle black pepper or
2 whole peppercorns
1 sprinkle cardamom
1 sprinkle ground ginger
1 sprinkle allspice
2 whole star anises or a
pinch of ground
4 teaspoons sugar
2-3 shots liquor, if desired
Place all the ingredients
(except liquor, if using) in a
medium saucepan and bring
it to a boil. Remove it from the
heat, cover and allow it to steep
for 5 minutes. Remove the tea
bags and any whole spices you
may have used. Add liquor,
if desired. Pour the chai into
mugs and serve immediately.

SWISS HOT CHOCOLATE
Serves 4
On a trip to Europe just before
the pandemic, I learned that
there is a vast difference
between the types of hot
chocolate served in different
European countries.

Switzerland, a country that
prides itself on the quality of its
dairy products, makes very milky
hot chocolate. Both Spanish
and Italian hot chocolates are
prized for their thickness, and
many recipes call for cornstarch.

France, on the other hand, is
known for rich, velvety dark,
molten hot chocolate.

Normally, I would lean
toward the French version —
served in small demitasse cups
as a decadent dessert. But for
the purposes of these backyard
winter gatherings, where a big
steaming mug is needed to keep
us warm, the Swiss have the edge.

If you wish to make this an
adult beverage, you can add rum,
bourbon or any flavored liqueur
such as Kahlua, Frangelico,
sambuca, peppermint schnapps,
Grand Marnier, etc.

4 cups milk (any type)
⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa
powder ¼ cup sugar
½ cup semisweet chocolate
chips 2-3 shots liquor, if desired
Place the milk, cocoa powder
and sugar into a medium-sized
saucepan. Heat over medium,
whisking frequently. When
warm, add the chocolate chips
and continue whisking until
the chips are melted and the
mixture is steaming hot. If
desired, add liquor and serve. l
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