Eggnog still best way to toast the holidays

Each holiday season, our town library has a recipe swap. Anyone can bring something to sample (though I haven’t seen a roast beef or candied sweet potatoes yet) and the recipe for it. This year was the 11th annual recipe exchange, so this past Sunday I stopped by and some of us ended up chatting about previous exchanges. I asked if anyone had a particular favorite from a previous year. A couple of people said, “Oh, that eggnog we had a while ago!”

As it turns out, it was our librarian Linda Graf’s own recipe, which she copied off for me, and I took it home to try it out. Jamie is the eggnog maker in our family, and he puts it together a week before we plan to drink it so it can age nicely. We get our eggs from our neighbors right across the road, and I have utter confidence in the healthfulness of them, so beating up raw egg to drink troubles me not a bit. I truly believe that if you know the hens personally you are at much less risk of becoming sick from raw egg. Hens raised with the opportunity to run around outdoors and pick at this and that, fed on grain or mash, are very safe.

Otherwise, I know a great many people who must buy their eggs from the grocery store, and may not know where the eggs come from or under what circumstances the hens are raised. So those folks will end up buying commercial eggnog which always tastes a little funny to me. Or they will buy pasteurized eggs (if they are even available nearby) or use a recipe for preparing eggnog so that the egg is heated enough to make it safe. This recipe specifies a procedure for exactly that. Essentially, you make a thin custard to which you add whipped cream and your choice of bourbon or rum. In case you don’t already know this, one test for sufficient cooking of a custard is to run your finger through the custard coating on the back of a spoon; it is ready if the edges of the custard stay distinct and are not runny.

Surely you know you can leave the spirits out, and merely enjoy the rich custardy drink. If you do leave out the spirits, be sure to flavor the eggnog generously with spices or extracts of vanilla or rum, otherwise it risks being a little on the bland side.

This beverage needs to be served cold, so allow time for it to chill. Then raise a glass to each other during the holidays!

Eggnog

Yields 2 1/2 pints, or 9 quarter-cup servings.

2 cups of half-and-half or light cream

2 cups of milk

1/4 cup of sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

5 egg yolks

1/2 cup of milk or 1/2 cup (or more) bourbon or rum

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup whipping cream

In a large, heavy saucepan, combine half-and-half, milk, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Scald over a medium heat until you see small bubbles form around the edge of the pan. Stir as needed to prevent scorching. Put the egg yolks into a heat-proof bowl, and beat slightly. Add a cup of the hot milk mixture to them, whisking to combine, then pour this mixture back into the saucepan to continue cooking. Stir constantly to prevent lumps, and cook for another eight to 10 minutes, or until the mixture will coat a metal spoon.

Cool the mixture by putting the saucepan into a larger pan of iced water, and stirring the custard. Chill for three to four hours. Before serving, whip the cream until it makes soft peaks, then fold into the chilled mixture. Grate a bit of nutmeg over the top.