Floating Away On an Eggnog Stream

   

For years now I've been saying I was going to make home made eggnog. First, there was the fact that I was the only one in the house who would drink it. Next, was the serious aversion I'd developed to the stuff. Working at Starbucks during 9 holidays or so and steaming buckets of eggnog does something to you. Then someone will burn a pitcher at least once a season and you never want to be in the same room as the stuff again.

Fortunately time has proven to heal this wound and I spawned a being that liked eggnog. The timing is perfect.





                    

I knew the basic principles of eggnog; eggs, milk, spices, sugar. After much research I was also aware that many distinct opinions have been made about the raw vs cooked practices. I know everyone has their own thoughts and concerns and mine lie in the middle of the road with raw eggs. So does my recipe. It's sort of a choose your own ending type of drink.

I ended up with 3 different ways to drink one delicious eggnog.

   

I was looking for a few things for certain in my drink:

• Rich flavor, but not too thick. I wanted it to be like a "milk punch".
• Probably cooked so people wouldn't be too worried to try it.
• Simple on the spice and easy on the sweet -just a thing I had in my head.

After that, I was ready for some exploring.

I made one drink with a little whip cream folded in to make it completely raw egg free. Then I whipped some of the egg whites left with some sugar for more of a traditional eggnog. And last I decided to try the traditional version with a bit of a kick with some booze.

First let's get the basic nog underway.

Eggnog

serves 6-7

3 cups whole milk

one cup heavy cream

3 egg yolks

2/3 cup sugar

3 whole cloves

fresh grated nutmeg

In a sauce pan add the milk, cream, 3 cloves and a good amount of grated nutmeg. Let slowly heat but do not let it simmer.

In a large bowl, or in a stand mixer, beat together the yolks and sugar until light in color. Slowly temper in the warm cream mixture into the eggs. Pour the hot milk slowly with the mixer on until it's all mixed in. Add this back to the sauce pan and heat over medium. Constantly stir the eggnog so the eggs don't curdle. I used a thermometer and heated it until it reached 170º. It's not going to get as thick as custard or ice cream base, but I didn't want it too. Cool mix completely and chill in the refrigerator. You can strain out the cloves before you chill, but I left them in and it was perfect. Just make sure you remove all 3 before serving.

Serve chilled as is OR you can fold in whipped cream, or beaten sweet egg whites and a little kick of rum or bourbon. Garnish with a little more grated nutmeg to be fancy.

Here's my thoughts on my trials: The whip cream while it gave it a nice body was a little to . . . fatty. I didn't like how it sort of made my mouth feel waxy. That sounds terrible, but because the drink is chilled the fat is chilled and I sort of found it gross. 

The whipped egg whites were dreamy. I know it's raw, but I've read a lot about it and I really don't feel like raw eggs are the end of the world. I simply beat the remaining egg whites (so that's 3) with 1/3 cup sugar. I beat this until they were glossy and stiff peaks. Then I folded some in gently. It gave the nog the same thick body and nice creamy topping, but with a much lighter taste. It was divine.

I was really surprised by my next findings as I typically like rum in everything. I felt like both the rum and the bourbon took away everything I loved about the eggnog.

                   

So I'm filled to the brim with holiday cheer, eggnog, and have reached maximum dairy capacity.

Good thing tomorrow is Friday and I have the perfect sparkly drinky drink to start the weekend!

Happy eggnog swimming to you!