It's Finally Here

Now that Halloween has come and gone, the "Holiday Season," as it will, is now more or less upon us. Nothing else can save me from the agony of "family time," a long day at work, a bitter cold day AND provide nourishment at the same time like the sweet release of this sacred beverage of the season.

Egg Nog.

Some of you may be cringing at the sight of these words. Please, do not be afraid. I speak not of store-bought nog.











But real homemade goodness:









Making egg nog at home is really easy. Follow my simple recipe, and I PROMISE YOU, you will either a) love egg nog or b) love egg nog and never buy it from the store again.

You will need:

some sort of large cups to mix it all in
a mixer
a smaller cup to serve it in
microplane

and:
1 egg; separated
1 Tbsp sugar
pinch of salt (optional)
1 cup milk (of course, organic whole would be the optimal choice here)
2-3 Tbsp of Whisky (Bourbon works well, but you can use Scotch, rum or brandy if you so desire)
1 nutmeg for grating

Directions:

Add yolk of egg (don't toss the white!) and 1 Tbsp sugar to mixing bowl and mix like hell. You'll notice that the yolk will turn a lighter color yellow. That's when you know to slow down. slowly add milk and keep mixing slowly. In a separate bowl, spin the egg white with a mixer really fast until "soft peaks" form. That means that when you remove the mixers from the whipped egg whites they will look like "Peeps."
Slowly add your splash of tipple to the milk/egg yolk mix and then fold in the whipped egg white. Garnish with grated nutmeg to taste. (The nutmeg flavor is essential for egg nog.)

NOTE: If you are like me, when you tried this recipe you botched the egg-separating process. You can still make the egg nog by mixing the yolk and white together with the Tbsp. of sugar like above. Then follow the rest of the steps the same (except for the whipping of the egg whites).

So when all you hipsters are throwing your "Christmas Sweater Parties," you can impress your pals with this easy, homemade beverage.

HIPSTER NOTE: You can substitute Soy Milk for regular milk, but there is just no replacement for the egg. Sorry, vegans.

STRAIGHT-EDGE NOTE: You can make egg nog with no alcohol, but consume uncooked eggs at your own risk. The alcohol kills off any threat of salmonella. To "cook" your nog, simply follow steps as above and heat over med-low while constantly stirring and allow it to simmer just to a boil. Be careful not to let it scald. If you remove your stirring device from the hot nog and it forms a thin coat, you know it's done. Then leave to chill in your refrigerator.

This makes one serving of egg nog. To make more, simply multiply the recipe as appropriate. For more egg nog ideas or variations, I recommend Alton Brown's egg nog recipes.

Alton Brown Egg Nog Ice Cream