That's your fair warning, so now I'll get down to business. I love me some eggnog, and I love anything homemade, so a few years ago I set out for a fantastic eggnog recipe. After a bit of googling around, I settled on this recipe from chow.com. Readers gave the recipe a very high rating (mostly 5 stars), which is always a great sign.
Now the recipe calls for a bunch of egg yolks, and there's no cooking process. This gave me pause at first, but after doing some research (googling), I found that the risk is minimal, if that. The recipe also calls for a bunch of liquor. Three different kinds, and lots of it.
And, the recipe calls for you to age the eggnog in your refrigerator for at least a few weeks, but up to a year! This all sounded quite wonky, but I figured, "eh, let's give it a shot," At the time I had a few weeks before Christmas, so I made up a batch. I'm sure I couldn't quite wait until the 25th, but whenever I did taste it, it was divine! Having only aged a couple of weeks, the consistency was thin, but still delicious.
The following year I was preggo, so I didn't make a batch.
This September I stocked up at the liquor store, bought a dozen eggs, and whipped up a batch. It makes quite a lot, and I filled two large liquor bottles (but only took pics of one).
Next year I may go for several large Mason Jars. Anyway, once you've bottled the eggnog, the recipe calls for you to wrap the bottle(s) in tin foil. This may have some chemical significance, or may be to keep you from seeing the ingredients separate. A few days ago I pulled the bottle out of the back of the fridge, unwrapped the tinfoil:
I poured myself a glass, and it was again, divine! A bit thicker this time, since it had a few months to meld and delicioufy itself. Yum-o! Now, if you think it's too strong at this point, you could add a splash of milk or you could whip up some eggwhites and fold them in. I like it strong, though, so I left it as is.
So, if you're not totally disgusted by the process, do try this out! Hurry up, you don't have much time! What do y'all think? Am I crazy? Would you never take a sip for the raw eggs? Have you made homemade eggnog with a different recipe, where you temper the eggs on the stove first?
I, personally, have tasted Cate's eggnog. It is out of this world. I could drink it like chocolate milk... or a more equivalent comparison would be Bailey's Irish Cream. Yes, I can drink that like chocolate milk, too. I first tasted this recipe in Old Salem in the mid 1970's at an open house. They served it in a very large punch bowl, having folded in the egg whites. It was SO good, and such a perfect drink on the cold, snowy day on our visit. Do try this recipe. It is a treasure!
ReplyDelete