blue artichoke

Move over Irma, there's a new eggnog in town.

My last effort at eggnog turned out to be my best:

Eggnog #8 "Holiday Eggnog #2"
Recipe from Raising the Bar cookbook. The recipe calls for you to make a creme anglais first, then add additional milk, cream, spices and, oh sweet glory, dark rum, bourbon and brandy. I'm sure you could use just one if you didn't want to buy 3 bottles of booze. I, however, enjoy buying booze, so I took a shine to this recipe immediately. It would probably be good without alcohol too.
ease of preparation: +, can be made in stages for the ADD cook
flavor: +, eggnoggy without being too overpoweringly alcoholic
texture: +, smooth, creamy and easy going down

Holiday Eggnog

For the crème anglaise:
16 ounces milk
4 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons flour
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
16 ounces milk
16 ounces heavy cream
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¹/8 teaspoon ground cloves
6 ounces dark rum
3 ounces bourbon
3 ounces brandy
½ cup confectioners’ sugar, optional
Freshly grated nutmeg, for garnish
Grated orange zest, for garnish, optional

To prepare the crème anglaise, have ready a large bowl full of ice. You’ll also need a double boiler.

Place the milk in a saucepan over high heat. As soon as it begins to boil, stir briskly and remove from the heat. Meanwhile, in the bottom of the double boiler, add just enough water so that the top part of the double boiler or the bowl remains above the water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a low simmer.

In the top of the double boiler, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, flour and salt. Whisking constantly, slowly pour in the hot milk.

Cook the mixture over, not in, the simmering water, stirring constantly until the mixture is thickened and coats the back of a spoon.

Remove the double boiler top from the heat and set it in the bowl of ice for five minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the vanilla extract and stir.

To prepare the eggnog, mix the crème anglaise and all remaining ingredients except the nutmeg and confectioners’ sugar in a bowl. Taste, adding as much confectioners’ sugar as you wish for a sweeter nog.

Transfer the eggnog to the punch bowl and grate the nutmeg and orange zest over it, if desired. Chill for an hour or serve at room temperature.

Makes 16 4-ounce servings.

Notes from Blue Artichoke: If, like me, you don't have a double boiler, boil, then simmer water in a saucepan and put a metal mixing bowl over the saucepan. Make sure the boiling water doesn't touch the bottom of the mixing bowl. Ice bath is very important. Don't forget it.

Dinner last night: Kickass Chicken Casserole (my title). This chicken casserole had chicken, hard-boiled eggs, rice and potato chip topping. Super excellent.

Dinner tonight: special new year's eve dinner party at a friend's. I made a Hazelnut Chocolate Cheesecake for the occasion. I'm still getting the hang of cheesecakes. I usually like to whip the tarnation out of the cream cheese, but I read that that makes the cheesecake crack because it incorporates air bubbles that expand and pop during cooking. So, I beat the cream cheese on low speed for a short time. Well, there are cream cheese lumps in the cheesecake and the top cracked! I'll never read again. Writers only lie to me. I covered the top with a dark chocolate ganache and toasted hazelnuts. I can't do anything about the lumps, except accept the ensuing shame and humiliation. I deserve it.

Happy New Year's Eve!

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 05:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

All I've been talking about for the past few days has been eggnog. One might think that my days are consumed with feverish stirring, heating and and cooling of custards and taking nips from the bottle of bourbon that is never far from my reach. That's only partially correct, though I did dream about eggnog last night. I might have found a winning recipe (fingers crossed).

But first, a follow up on Eggnog #6 (Aunt Kat's):
I didn't even finish making it. Or taste it. After the custard curdled when I added the bourbon, I refrigerated it for a few days, as instructed. I checked in on it today and it looks like oatmeal and smells sour. Maybe the recipe was originally titled "Crazy Aunt Kat Who Can't Cook a Lick's "Creamy" (i.e. Oatmeal-Chunky) Eggnog", but was edited down because of space constraints. Definitely not a winner. Sorry Aunt Kat.

Eggnog #4 "Holiday Eggnog"
Recipe from the Fannie Farmer Cookbook. I made this several days ago; this also is a make-ahead drink. It is uncooked and alcoholic. Uses lots of bowls, as egg whites are beaten separately and folded into the yolk-and-sugar mixture, then folded into beaten heavy cream with milk, bourbon and rum. After several days in the fridge, it separated into a foamy top egg white layer. After some stirring, it smoothed out. This doesn't taste like eggnog. It tastes like homemade Baileys Irish Cream. I'm keeping this one for mudslides or Irish coffee.
ease of preparation: -, uses lots of bowls and requires lots of cleanup
flavor: + good, but not eggnoggy
texture: +/-, creamy and silky, but kind of thin for eggnog

Eggnog #7 "Cooked Eggnog"
Recipe from The Joy of Cooking. I knew I could count on ol' Irma to lead me through the joy of eggnog. This recipe is what I thought an eggnog recipe should be, especially after the curdling incidents. The custard is cooked slowly over very low heat, strained into a bowl or jar and refrigerated uncovered. When cooled, the alcohol is added (and thoughtful Irma gives a choice of brandy, Cognac, dark rum or bourbon; I chose bourbon since it was in my hand anyway). That ruminates a while in the fridge, then is topped with nutmeg just before serving. The only problem with this recipe was that I added a bit too much bourbon, so it was quite strong. A lighter touch would be perfect.
ease of preparation: +/- Used few bowls/tools, but required constant stirring over low heat, which took an eternity
flavor: +
texture: +, so smooth and creamy, thick enough to be eggnog but thin enough to drink.

I still have another recipe to try. Best get on that, if I'm to finish this snackdown by tomorrow.

P.S. I don't have spell check on my computer anymore. Live with it. I do.

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 12:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I made another batch of eggnog last night and started one today that has to hang out in the fridge for a few days midway through the recipe. I'm still very disappointed with my eggnog recipes.

Eggnog #5* "Baltimore Eggnog"
Recipe from House & Garden's Drink Guide, November 1973. It is an uncooked, alcoholic nog. The egg yolks, whites and heavy cream are beaten separately, which uses a lot of bowls and requires frequent washing of the beaters. There is quite a bit of alcohol involved: brandy, light rum and peach brandy. After combining all of the separately beaten ingredients and the alcohols, the eggnog split into two layers (similar to how water and vinegar split into layers). The egg whites formed a foamy and light top layer that didn't mix into the more liquid nog part, leaving me with a glass full of foam after I drank the nog. The foam had to be scooped out with a spoon. And, because I'm a firm believer that eggnog shouldn't require cutlery, this recipe gets two thumbs down.
ease of preparation: - (too many bowls, too much to clean up)
flavor: - (tasted OK, but the peach brandy gave it a non-eggnogish flavor
texture: - (required cutlery, boo!)

Eggnog #6 "Aunt Kat's Creamy Eggnog"
Recipe from someone's Aunt Kat, in Southern Living, December 2001. This one is cooked and alcoholic. I haven't tasted it yet because it requires several days in the fridge before finishing the recipe. This one, like Eggnog #2, required me to add bourbon to the hot custard and, like the other recipe, curdled when I added the alcohol. Why do recipes instruct cooks to self-sabotage? I did a bit of research and found that the custard will curdle if it gets too hot/cooks too long. But that wasn't the reason this time, because I used a thermometer. The custard was at its ideal temperature (160F) when I added the alcohol. What gives? I'll have to do a bit more research. I'm beginning to think that there may not be a winner to the Snackdown Eggnog Battle.
ease of preparation: +
flavor: ? (haven't finished the recipe yet)
texture: -, curdled and chunky

*You'll notice that I skipped Eggnog #4. It is another one that has to hang out in the fridge for several days. Report forthcoming.

Dinner last night: Chicken Divan and baby carrots
Dinner tonight: Sephardic Beef Stew

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 02:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I have returned home after a nice relaxing week at Mama Artichoke's and a whirlwind Christmas tour of Tennessee. Last night I made another batch of eggnog:

Eggnog #3 "Simple Eggnog"
I got the recipe from the local newspaper, which got the recipe from 500 Treasured Country Recipes. This eggnog was cooked and nonalcoholic. The recipe was very easy to follow; I just had to combine all ingredients in a pot and stir over low heat until thickened. That took several minutes of stirring, but I could take breaks as long as I didn't wander too far away. The result was a thick and chunky eggnog that tasted delicious. I follow the recipes exactly and have yet to make a smooth and creamy eggnog. What's up with that?
ease of preparation: +
flavor: +
texture: -

I'm trying out two more recipes today. One has to sit for several days before serving. I might actually make the Jan. 1 deadline for this snackdown battle!

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 01:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Snackdown continues, even on the road. I'm in east TN and after busy days of spotting mullets in Pigeon Forge, shopping in Knoxville and going through Christmas decorations, I made some eggnog for Grilled Blue Cheese's Christmas party (which I'm considering my surrogate Christmas party because I didn't get to host one of my own). This recipe left out one very important detail: the custard needs to cool before adding the bourbon. I didn't wait, and the nog separated. Not-nog. So, I put it out on the porch to cool and it froze. That was yesterday. Today I tried to save it by adding some more milk and blending the dickens out of it (too much dickens spoils the nog). That smoothed it out a bit, but it still had a grainy texture. I added more bourbon, figuring that if it was strong enough, people wouldn't mind chewing the nog. We'll see how it goes over at the party...

Eggnog #2 "Eggnog"
Recipe from Cooking Light. Encountered some problems. See above.
Ease of preparation: - (but with the new knowledge that alcohol makes hot custard separate, this would be much easier to prepare)
Flavor: +
Texture: - , grainy, but again, that is easily remedied by waiting to add the bourbon

I'm now over at Blue Grilled Cheese's compound. We're sitting on couches across from each other, emailing each other. I heart technology. It keeps me from having to talk out loud.

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 08:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

As per Red Momo's suggestion, the newest snackdown battle is eggnog. I'm going to start scheduling a deadline when I begin each battle. Deadlines are suggestions, of course, and there are no money-back guarantees if I don't deliver (sort of like the post office). Deadline for Eggnog Snackdown: New Year's Day.

I'm not a huge eggnog drinker, but I have nine recipes (some with alcohol, some without), so let the battle begin! Actually, it began last night. I made:

Nonalcoholic Eggnog #1 "Eggnog"
This was really easy to make and I had all the ingredients on hand. It used milk, so the eggnog was rather thin. Methinks eggnog should be thick and creamy, so I'm guessing this won't be the best recipe. It also contained a raw egg, which might bother some people. The flavor was really good, slightly sweet with a hint of nutmeg.
Ease of preparation: +
Flavor: +
Texture: -

Dinner last night: crock pot chicken and rice; mashed turnips

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 12:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)