What on Earth is a figgy pudding? How do you actually roast chestnuts over an open fire? Every December, one may find themselves wondering these exact things when they start up their yearly holiday playlists. Well, for a music-inspired menu, here are five foods referenced in Christmas songs that will finally answer those questions.

‘I’ve brought some corn for popping…’

Referenced in “Let It Snow,” popcorn is great any time of year but at Christmastime, we even use it to decorate trees. Beyond just sticking a bag of Orville Redenbacher in the microwave, it’s pretty easy to pop it yourself without a popcorn maker. In fact, like most things, you can even make it in an InstantPot. Or, you can always use a good old medium pot on the stovetop.

Ingredients

½ cup popcorn kernels

2 tbsp avocado oil (or another high smoke point oil)

Directions

Place the popcorn kernels in a water bath and let them soak for a few minutes. This will help prevent the popcorn from burning. Dry them completely with a paper towel.

Set the InstantPot to the “Saute” setting and increasing the temperature until the red light indicates “More.” When the display reads “Hot” add the oil, let it come up to temperature a little, then add the dry kernels. Stir the kernels around with a wooden spoon to coat them with the oil.

Put on a glass pot lid and soon they’ll begin popping. When the popping slows, lift the pot insert out with potholders (it’ll be very hot), and shake it slightly to loosen any stuck kernels.

When popping slows to about 15 seconds between pops, the popcorn is done. Remove the insert from the InstantPot and add any desired flavoring, mix and serve.

‘Chestnuts roasting on open fire’

The dulcet tones of Nat King Cole are the perfect addition to the holidays, and roasting chestnuts is actually pretty easy if you pay close attention and don’t take the lyrics of “The Christmas Song” too literally and risk seriously burning the chestnuts.

Ingredients

A bag of chestnuts

Salt to tasting

Directions

On the flat (or flatter) side of the chestnut score them with a sharp knife and place them, scored side up, in a heavy, cast-iron skillet or Dutch oven. Place in the embers of a fire (you can also use your barbecue on a medium flame) and let them sit for about 5 minutes then stir them.

Stir them occasionally for the next 5-7 minutes (make sure they don’t burn) and then remove from the fire and let them cool. When cool enough to handle, remove the hard outer shell and serve the soft inside with salt to taste.

‘Now bring us some figgy pudding’

In one of the more demanding of Christmas carols, “We Wish You A Merry Christmas,” we have the very traditional English dessert. In the traditional recipe, a figgy pudding is made with suet, but because this is America, the ingredient is hard to find for baking (but you can find the birdseed). So here is a way to make it, sans suet.

Ingredients

16 ounces dried figs

1 ¾ cups milk

1 ½ cups flour

1 cup sugar

2 ½ tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp salt

3 eggs

½ cup melted butter (cooled to room temperature)

1 ½ cups breadcrumbs

½ tbsp orange zest

½ tbsp lemon zest

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium saucepan, heat the milk and figs on medium-low heat, don’t let it boil, for 10-15 minutes. Then put the mix in a food processor or blender and blitz until figs are well chopped.

In a medium bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt.

Using a stand mixer with a large bowl, beat eggs for one minute on high. Reduce the speed to low and add the butter, bread crumbs, orange and lemon zest and warm fig mix.

Slowly add the flour mixture until just blended.

In a greased bundt or angel food pan (wrap it with foil to avoid getting water in the pudding), add the mix. Cover the pan with greased foil and place in a roasting pan in the oven. Then add hot water to the roasting pan until about 2 inches deep.

Bake for 2-2 ½ hours until the pudding pulls away from the sides of the pan. Let it cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes then invert it on a plate to remove it from the pan.

Serve with hard sauce or drizzle a powdered sugar glaze over the top when cool and serve.

‘Here we come a-wassailing’

Technically, in song form, wassailing is just a fancy word for caroling, but in food terms, it’s a delicious hot apple and citrus cider drink.

Note: You can easily half or quarter the sizes depending on the size of the batch you want to make, or how big your slow cooker is.

Ingredients

1 gallon of apple cider

2 cups of orange juice

1 cup lemon juice

½ cup sugar

1 tsp. ground cloves

1 tsp. ground nutmeg

1 tsp. ground ginger

1 orange, sliced

Directions

In a large saucepan, pot or slow cooker, mix juices, sugar and seasonings together and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and let it simmer for at least 30 minutes, then keep it warm and serve with orange slices.

Add ½ cup of brandy for a boozy kick.