Spiced Apple Cider

For some reason it doesn't feel like the holidays until I've had some type of "holiday" beverage. Whether it be a peppermint mocha, pumpkin spice latte, or hot apple cider, I need some type of hot comfort to kick off the season right. A few weeks ago I tweaked my usual spiced cider recipe and came up with this:

Ingredients
1/4 gallon or 4 cups of apple cider (I used gala apple cider)
2 cinnamon sticks
1/2 teaspoon whole allspice
1/2 teaspoon whole cloves
1 inch of sliced ginger
1/2 teaspoon fresh grated orange peel
orange slices (put the naked orange from the previous ingredient to use)          

You're probably wondering why my orange looks so tiny. At the time that I made this apple cider I was in the middle of a bag of mandarin oranges, so I used a mandarin orange instead of a conventional orange.

***On a side note, I have a problem buying too much produce when it's packaged conveniently, is a two for something deal, or just looks delicious. I once came home with a very large bag of grapefruits, and I'm the only the one around that eats them! It took me weeks to get to the very last, almost borderline too ripe to eat, slightly shriveled almost tasteless grapefruit. I also have a problem letting food go to waste and sometimes torture myself with not so good produce just to save myself from throwing it away.

I started the cider by putting the cider, orange slices, cinnamon sticks and other spices in a dutch oven. To prevent debris in the final product, I placed the allspice, ginger slices, cloves, and grated orange peel in a tea infuser and dropped the infuser into the luscious liquid.

I let the mixture come to a boil, and then let it simmer for 15 minutes (all uncovered). To be extra sure that my drink was as perfect as possible, I ladled the cider through a small mesh strainer into a mug with fresh apple slices. It was a nice treat at the end of the cider to eat warm cider soaked apples from the bottom of my mug.

 This particular recipe makes enough cider for 2-3 people. Double, triple, or quadruple the portions for larger crowds or if you have a sharing problem. Plan on about a cup to a cup and a half per person depending on the size of the mugs you plan to use to serve.