Classic Christmas Recipes from Saint Nicholas Himself Special delivery from the North Pole: Santa's favorite Christmas recipes from around the world! In this one-of-a-kind Christmas cookbook, Saint Nicholas himself invites readers to pull up their chairs to his dining table at the North Pole and enjoy more than seventy of his most-cherished holiday recipes. Featuring classic American holiday dishes as well as mouthwatering Christmas fare from all over the world—Santa's favorite finds from his gift-giving travels— Santa's North Pole Cookbook guides readers in creating holiday meals that are as delicious as they are rich in Christmas tradition. With classic Christmas recipes from Weihnachtsgans mit Rotund Grunkohl und Kartoffelklossen (German Christmas Goose with Green and Red Cabbage and Potato Dumplings) and Santa's Favorite Rosemary Turkey to Christopsomo, the ancient Greek holiday bread that families traditionally decorate with sketches of their everyday lives, and traditional Christmas Plum Pudding, Santa's North Pole Cookbook is a must-have for anyone who delights in preparing delectable holiday food for the family. Throughout history, winter solstice and later Christmas have been occasions for special celebration. In this book, Santa also illuminates the fascinating history and lore that surround these popular Christmas dishes and shares with readers the wonderful stories of how and where he personally encountered them in his Christmas travels. JEFF GUINN is the author of the bestselling Christmas Chronicles series, which includes The Autobiography of Santa Claus, How Mrs. Claus Saved Christmas , and The Great Santa Search . He is also the author of Go Down Together: The True, Untold Story of Bonnie and Clyde and The Last Gunfight: The Real Story of the Shoot-Out at the O.K. Corral—And How It Changed the American West . Guinn has served as books editor as well as senior writer for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and has appeared on NPR's Talk of the Nation , CNN's Headline News , CBS Sunday Morning , and Fox & Friends . He currently resides in Fort Worth, Texas. Santa's Favorite Hot Chocolate From Spain PREPARE: 10 minutes BREW: 10 minutes SERVES: 4 Who doesn't love chocolate in all its edible forms? A better question might be, who knows the real history of this wonderful confection? Chocolate is extracted from the beans of the tropical cacao tree, and archaeologists searching old ruins have determined that the Mayans enjoyed drinks over twenty-five hundred years ago. They loved the beverage so much that many grew cacao trees in the gardens of their homes. The Aztecs called this substance chocolatl and enjoyed it in both solid and liquid forms. Chocolatl was so much in demand that Aztec merchants often used it for currency. Christopher Columbus brought cacao beans back to Spain during his first new World explorations, but it may have been explorer Hernán Cortés who discovered how to produce a drink sweet enough to enrapture members of the Spanish aristocracy by mixing sugarcane juice with liquefied cacao beans. For most of the 1500s, "hot chocolate" was a drink enjoyed almost exclusively in Spain. Explorers for other European nations had no idea what cacao/chocolate was. One legend has it that a British pirate who captured a Spanish barge laden with cacao beans burned the ship and its cargo because he mistook the beans for dried animal droppings. But Spain couldn't keep its tasty secret forever, and in the 1600s virtually every country in Europe went chocolate-intensive, drinking it with glee. Eating chocolate as a snack came much later. The first modern chocolate bar wasn't produced until the 1840s, when an English manufacturer invented the treat that would satisfy everyone's sweet tooth for generations to come. Still, at the North Pole we like to honor Spain's pioneering efforts in what would become modern chocolate consumption. So if you and your family traditionally enjoy cups of hot chocolate as part of your holiday merriment, I gladly recommend this recipe based on the traditional Spanish beverage. Lars Says: “Once again, you'll notice I've substituted a modern ingredient: They didn't have vanilla instant pudding back in medieval Spain. Even so, this is one of the richest chocolate drinks you'll ever enjoy. One delicious cup should be plenty for anyone, even the most devout lover of chocolate!” 1 1/2 cups whole milk - 4 ozs. Dark cooking chocolate, chopped into small pieces - 1 tbsp. vanilla instant pudding - whipped cream - pinch of freshly grated nutmeg (tinned ground nutmeg will do) 1. Warm 3/4 cup of the milk in a nonstick saucepan over low heat. Add the chocolate and stir until all the chocolate has melted. 2. Mix the vanilla pudding and the remaining 3/4 cup milk until blended. Add the pudding mixture to the warm chocolate mixture, stirring constantly, until the chocolate drink is thick. Do not allow to come to a boil. Remove from the heat and whisk until frothy. Serve in