Eggnog of the Gods

Start laying out the cash for the booze because it's time to make some eggnog.  A little early you say?  Ah, but you didn't try the old but not lethal eggnog recipe from CHOW last year, did you?  You were too afraid to mix together a dozen eggs with a lot of bourbon and milk and then let it sit in your refrigerator for three weeks before you drank it, weren't you?

I was not afraid.  Instead, I was tired of slowly, laboriously whisking the milk and the eggs in the cooked eggnog recipe from Cook's Illustrated (which is very good by the way) I usually make.  I realized I just didn't have up to thirty extra minutes to contemplate the meaning of Christmas while watching eggs not curdle (hopefully) over a very low flame. I needed to take some risks, take some shortcuts, maybe put my fate in the hands of perhaps better informed food writers paid real money to do what they do. What did I have to lose?

Odd behavior, you might say, for one as averse to salmonella and all the other pesky bacteria that can poison your food as I am.  Or claim to be.  I mean, I eat barnacles and so does my daughter. 

However, this recipe (here's a link to it, finally), is the smoothest, creamiest, most noggiest of nogs ever thrown back by an exhausted woman drained of holiday cheer.   I don't know about you, but I like my seasonal treats in the season, not shortly thereafter.   So, you better get cracking, because you really do need to let it alone for the full, allotted time (although it's not too bad after a couple of weeks) in your consistently 40º F and below refrigerator so that the egg yolks and the cream and the liquor can all intermingle and become more than the sum of their parts. Sometimes, you just have to plan ahead, whether you like it or not.

Comments

[janelle]

Awesome. I adore 1. eggnog, 2. shortcuts and reinvented recipes and 3. the fact that I just bought that same glass jug (in your photo) 2 days ago (okay, still has the apple cider in it, but not for long...). Bring on the eggs!!

[Teresa]

I am off to get a gallon jug of cider!! I will be using Rum and Cognac only as I am not a fan of Bourbon. Will report back in 2 weeks as to how it tastes. Thanks Brandon for this recipe!!
(Cider will be used to marinate some baby backs, yum)

[Brandon]

You will not be disappointed! This is seriously good stuff--the hardest part is the waiting . . .

[Deborah Dowd]

I used to think eggnog was awful and it did... coming out of a carton! I would be tempted to try this except, I think I have the very best eggnog. It's legend is that it was the version served in the White House, and after you taste it, you will know why they act the way they do at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue!

[Deborah Dowd]

I make a recipe from the White House that uses lots of booze, uncooked eggs and heavy cream. I use pasteurized eggs to eliminate the fear of salmonella, but the fat, calories and alcohol (thankfully) remain!