Posts Tagged ‘Bourbon’

Eggnog is one of my favorite things about the holiday season, next to unwrapping presents, sitting by a fireplace and busting through snowdrifts in my Jeep. If you like the storebought stuff, you will really love it when made from scratch. I will put one caveat to that however: if you don’t or can’t drink alcohol, just buy the carton from the store. Not that the home made nog won’t be good without the booze, but the difference in taste really won’t be enough to justify getting into this somewhat involved preparation. This recipe is an amalgam of Alton Brown’s and the one from Joy of Cooking, and makes about 6-7 cups. Scale up if you are serving a large party.

• 4 egg yolks
• 1/3 cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
• 1 pint whole milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3 oz bourbon ( can also use brandy or dark rum, or all 3)
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (and a little more to garnish each cup)
• 4 egg whites

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the egg yolks until they lighten in color. Gradually add the 1/3 cup sugar and continue to beat until it is completely dissolved. Add the bourbon and cover, then let sit in the fridge for 1 hour.  This step should mellow some of the raw eggy flavor. Add the milk, cream, bourbon and nutmeg and stir to combine. In a different bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Hopefully you have a hand or stand mixer, or you’re going to work up quite a sweat with all of this egg beating. Add the remaining  tablespoon of sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Fold  the egg whites into the other liquid, and serve. It’s important to make sure your ingredients  are as chilled as possible when putting everything together, because if you have to put the final product back into the fridge to chill further, the liquid and the egg white foam will  separate. You may want to try putting the ingredients and mixing bowls in the freezer for 10 or 15 minutes before starting the recipe.

In regards to the booze: There is a decent amount of variation in the amount of alcohol called for. Alton Brown’s recipe calls for 3 tablespoons, to make 6-7 cups. The Joy of Cooking recipe calls for 4-6 cups for a recipe about 3x as large. In this area, I follow the wise words of Mark Twain, when he wrote “too much of anything is bad, but too much Whiskey is just enough.” I would suggest making the recipe as outlined above, then giving it a try and adding more to taste. Myself, I would almost certainly double the amount of bourbon, but give it a try and see what you think.

It is officially autumn here in the Tundra, and I’m loving it. You pretty much have to appreciate fall if you live in Minnesota because the winters are a test of will for even the hardiest of Scandanavian descendents. The spring is always wet and muddy as the piles of snow melt away, so if you’re no fan of fall then you’re pretty much stuck with just June, July and August. I was able to get out to a local Park last week and do some hiking and the crisp air and beautiful foliage really got me into the mood to enjoy fall and all it offers.

One of my favorite things about fall is the apple crop in Minnesota. Apples are one thing we do pretty damn well. The University of Minnesota has a long history of introducing new varieties of apples and they’re all pretty good. My favorites are definitely the Zestar and the Fireside apples for eating raw. And with all the apples coming ripe in early-mid fall, there is apple cider everywhere you look around here. I’m somewhat surprised that I’ve never before tried to make a drink with apple cider considering how much I fiddle around with making random cocktails, but no time like the present, right? I don’t have a whole lot of experience in making new cocktail recipes which can be recreated by others. so here goes the first try:

• 2 shots of bourbon (I used Maker’s Mark)
• 2 shots of Apple Cider
• 1/3-1/2 shot of fresh lemon juice
• 2 tsp of REAL maple syrup
• Dash of ground cinnamon