Mincemeat seems like a food from a long-gone kitchen of the literary past, much like the Turkish Delight of the Narnia books and Anne Shirley's raspberry cordial (an adult drink found on the shelf in the "Green Gables" series).
Of course, all of those bites and beverages still do exist today, in modern times; they are not, in short, merely cozy favorites found in a classic children's story or a Dickens-style tome.
Mincemeat, for example, can be located on Larchmont Boulevard these days, not in the form of a pie or loaf or other savory dish but in ice cream. We'll just type those words again, in case you glossed over them: in ice cream.
Yes, it is unusual to find a flavor that's typically associated with beef or suet in a scoopable, lickable dessert. But Salt & Straw, that handcrafty maker of sweet meal-endings, is rather up on the unusual holiday flavors, so finding Mincemeat Pie ice cream in the cold case shouldn't cause the cocking of too many eyebrows.
There's no suet or beef or meaty goods in the meat-monikered stuff, but there are "(l)ots of brandy-soaked candied fruit, chunks of shortbread-like cookie crust, and a clove-heavy base..."
Mmm and mmm.
Other yuletide-y yum things on the December roster include Spiked Butterscotch Eggnog (does absolutely contain scotch), Butter Roasted Chestnut, Bourbon Pecan Pie, and Peppermint Cocoa.
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Has any holiday table ever looked as wondrous and storybooky, flavors-wise? If only all Christmas dinners could contain A) cocoa and B) peppermint and C) eggnog and D) chestnut and E) butter anything and F) scotch or bourbon, for the adults at the party.
And, of course, mincemeat. It isn't just the stuff of ye olde tales, clearly. Strolling down Larchmont after consuming a cone of it, though, and warbling carols from the 19th century, may be the only proper thing to do as a follow-up.
