Christmas Menus from around the World

This year, celebrate Christmas with holiday food from around the world. Plan a festive, multi-course menu featuring the delicacies of Puerto Rico, Sweden, Germany, and more.

Brining turkeys has become de rigueur in many American households.

Puréed tomatoes, pepper-flavored vodka, and a pimento-stuffed green olive make the perfect hybrid of two bar staples, the Bloody Mary and classic martini.

This drink is one of our favorites to make with Rittenhouse rye whiskey.

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According to the Trader Vic's drinks menu, the recipe for this cocktail, with its name evocative of morning-after woes, comes from Sheppard's Hotel in Cairo. See the recipe for Suffering Bastard »

Speckled purple sweet potatoes are named for their flecked magenta flesh. They remain firm when boiled or fried and have a mild, nutty flavor.

See the Recipe

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The recipe for this traditional Irish dish calls for brining beef brisket for 5 days to "corn" it. If you want to omit this step, buy 5 lbs. of corned beef from your butcher and proceed to step two.

Commonly served during merienda (afternoon tea) in Cuba, this sandwich of turkey, jam, and cream cheese on a roll is sweet and savory all in one. Try substituting leftover cranberry sauce for the strawberry jam.

This rolled turkey breast cooks in about an hour, making it perfect for last minute Thanksgiving get-togethers. The delicately-flavored chestnut stuffing keeps the white meat moist, while reduced chicken stock adds rich flavor to the quick gravy.

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Steeped in cinnamon and cloves, this nonalcoholic potion lends a warm, fragrant note to chilly nights.

COOKING: Heat the wok and place the heart of the cabbage, the densest part, in the center, the hottest spot, so that it will cook at the same rate as the delicate tops, which rest on the cooler upper sides of the wok.

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Horchata, a cool, creamy drink popular across Latin America, is frequently made from ground almonds and rice. This decadent adaptation, spiked with cinnamon and dark chocolate, tastes rich and nutty and makes a delightful liquid dessert.

This traditional Swedish Christmas punch--spiked with red wine, port, and vodka--is not for the faint of heart. Our version, from noted chef Marcus Samuelsson, was inspired by his memories of the glogg his grandmother made in her kitchen in Goteberg, Sweden. See the recipe for Glogg »

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Most Kentuckians insist on serving this drink in sterling silver julep cups, and always with well-crushed ice. See the recipe for Mint Julep »

Throughout the South, sweet tea is nothing to be taken lightly—most families have a preferred recipe, this is ours.

In the 1880s, Old Tom gin, a style with quite a bit more sweetness than London dry, was just beginning to gain popularity in America. This is the drink that put it over the top.

A London dry gin can stand up to a lot more vermouth than you might suspect. The original 1910s-era formula for this iconic drink demonstrates that fact elegantly.

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This lighter (but still deceptively powerful) version of traditional Swedish mulled wine is made with brandy and whiskey, then steeped with spices, almonds and raisins. See the recipe for Magnus Dahl's Glogg »

North African-style sweet tea braced with fresh mint is both soothing and stimulating.

Since Whitley Neill gin gets its signature tanginess in part from the fruit of the African baobab tree, this sweet, sour, and spicy apéritif takes its name from a song by Senegal’s legendary Orchestra Baobab.

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