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As I write these words I'm sitting poolside at a hotel in Gaborone, the capital of Botswana. I've been in Africa for 10 days with my production team filming for my new Food Network series Chef Abroad. It's warm, sunny, I've got a tan - and I can't wait to get home, see the snow and be a Chef at Home again.

This is the best time of year to be a cook. At its heart, all great cooking is about sharing with friends and family. The holidays bring out the best in all of us and the kitchen is often the best place to share the spirit. Literally.

One of the many reasons I love a good Canadian winter, and four feet of snow in my front yard, is for a steaming mug of mulled apple cider. It's a great way to greet anyone just in from shovelling the driveway - or fresh off a plane from afar. It's also my signature house-party gift this time of year. Maybe that's why we get so many festive invitations

Mulling simply means to warm a liquid with spices. You don't really need a recipe to fill up your favourite pot with cider and wine and dump in handfuls of spices.

No matter how you fill that pot, the result will be warm and inviting. Especially if it features floating garnishes such as cinnamon sticks, clove-spiked oranges and fresh rosemary sprigs.

Another key to a great batch of mulled cider is a savoury flavour edge. You can easily make it taste like apple pie in a mug, but it will have long-lasting sipping appeal with a more grown-up flavour profile. Just a few simple bay leaves have a mysterious ability to confer pleasing aromatic heartiness.

If you're really feeling ambitious, try transforming plain white sugar into complex caramel. By adding water to the pot first, you'll find it easy to form sugar syrup that will evenly brown into a beautiful base for your cider.

However you choose to interpret the loose outline of this recipe, trust that everyone who walks in your door will feel warm, welcome and comfortable the moment they're enveloped with its cheerful aromas.

Mulled apple cider is a wonderful gift from the kitchen, and just the sort of thing I look forward to when I can't wait to get home for the holidays.MULLED HOLIDAY APPLE CIDER

What you need

1 cup water

1 cup sugar or brown sugar

2 litres fresh cider or apple juice

1 orange

24 whole cloves

4 or 5 cinnamon sticks or 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

3 or 4 bay leaves

2 or 3 branches rosemary or 1 tablespoon dried

6 or 8 star anise pods

2 or 3 vanilla beans or a big splash of vanilla extract

1 bottle of any wine, white, red or sparkling

An optional bottle of your favourite spirit, liqueur or rum

What you do

Pour the water into a medium-sized saucepot large enough to hold the cider and wine. Sprinkle the sugar over the water and begin heating over medium-high heat. The sugar mixture will form an even syrup and come to a boil. Continue simmering as the water boils away, and don't stir or shake the pot - it encourages crystallization and uneven browning.

When the syrup begins to colour around the edges, gently swirl the pot until the resulting caramel is a beautiful golden-brown. Working quickly, add the cider to "shock" the caramel, to prevent it from further browning. It will spatter, so be careful.

Alternatively you may skip the caramelization process and simply add brown sugar to the cider. It doesn't have the same flavour, but it's still very good.

Either way, bring the entire mixture to a simmer.

Spike the orange with the cloves and add to the cider. Add the remaining spices and vanilla then continue simmering for 20 minutes or so.

Add the wine, bring the mixture back to a simmer and serve immediately.

If you like, garnish each serving with a rosemary sprig. And if a shot of your favourite libation is waiting in the mug, even better.

Serves 8 to 10.