Tasslehoff’s Celebration Punch

Join me as I make Tasslehoff’s Celebration Punch – From Tika’s Cookbook for the first time! This is a recipe from Leaves from the Inn of the Last Home sourcebook, originally released in 1987. The recipes are compiled by Tika Waylan Majere. You can buy Leaves from the Inn of the Last Home here: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/309152/Leaves-from-the-Inn-of-the-Last-Home?term=leaves+from+the+inn+of+the+last?affiliate_id=50797

From Tika’s Cookbook

Tasslehoff’s Celebration Punch

If you want to be dull about this, you can fix the punch ahead of time yourself. It is in the kender tradition, however, for each kender to bring one ingredient to contribute to the punch and then everyone gathers together to help fix it.

2 16-ounce cans frozen orange juice
2 16-ounce cans frozen cranberry or cran-apple juice
1 6-ounce can frozen limeade
1 6-ounce can frozen lemonade
1 6-ounce can frozen pineapple juice
2 whole cinnamon sticks
Handful of red hots candy (optional)

Spice Bag:

10 to 15 whole cloves
3 mint leaves (optional)
1 large pinch coarsely grated nutmeg
2 pinches coarsely shaved ginger

Place pot large enough to hold 2 ½ gallons of liquid on stove. Mix all juices but pineapple with their proper amounts of water; use only half of the water required for pineapple. Heat

Assemble spices in a square of unbleached muslin (or fine mesh lace for a festive look). The pisces must be coarse to prevent them from escaping the bag. Tie the cloth up securely with thread, and drop it in the pot with cinnamon sticks. Bring close to a boil; remove from heat.

Leave spices in to steep. If you desire a redder color, add the red hots candy. This punch can be served hot or cold. It serves many, many kender.

Transcript

Cold Open

This is a fast and loose recipe.

Intro

Today I am making Tasslehoff’s Celebration Punch from Tika’s Cookbook in Leaves from the Inn of the Last Home. If you have made this recipe, share your thoughts in the comments below!

Discussion

There are a few issues I had with this recipe, the first of which being that the size of cans of juice are not current, and the amount of water required to dilute the concentrate is nowhere near as little as the two gallon noted pot required. I start by assembling the ingredients of two, twelve ounce cans of frozen orange juice, two twelve ounce cans of frozen cranberry blended juice, one twelve ounce can of frozen limeade, one twelve ounce can of frozen lemonade, one eight point four ounce can of pineapple juice, two whole cinnamon sticks, I couldn’t locate any of the optional red hots candy, ten cloves, three peppermint leaves, one large pinch coarsely grated nutmeg, and two pinches coarsely grated ginger.

Again, my ounce reference is way off from the recipe notes because they don’t sell them in those sizes in my grocery store. I began the recipe by grating the nutmeg and then the ginger. You can skin the ginger using a spoon and scrape the outside edge. Next combine the spices except for the cinnamon sticks into a mesh bag. I am using a hops mesh bag like I do when brewing beer. Then I grab my cooking pot which is supposed to hold two and a half gallons of water, but I soon discover it is not nearly enough, so I make do. Some of the juice required 3 cans of water per can, and some required four and a third cans of water per can, so you can see how I ran out of room quickly.

I dumped in the two cans of orange juice, then the two cans of cranberry juice, then the can of limeade and the can of lemonade, adding as much water as possible. Then I placed the cinnamon sticks in the pot with the liquid and the spice mesh bag. I turned the heat up to high and let it warm, mixing as needed. You don’t want the liquid to reach boiling, just heat it up. Once it is hot, take it off the heat and allow the spices to steep in the now cooling juice.

Once it is cool enough for you, it is still warm for me, but manageable, you can pull out a sample and hoo-boy is it tart. I would suggest adding half a glass of water to each half glass of juice if you follow my recipe, and if it is in the evening, perhaps a shot of rum, vodka or gin would go well with it. Hey, a fella’s gotta do somethin’ to keep warm, am I right?