Do you like eggnog? Love it? Or hate it?

I have always loved eggnog. Always. As long as I can remember. We only had it in the house during the Christmas holiday, and it was always in the tall, skinny, quart-size carton, from the store, never homemade. I knew it must have been expensive and unique because it was dribbled into tiny cups and seldom served. When we had holiday guests, my mom would pour it into a cup and serve it to them with a shot of rum or brandy. As a seven or eight-year-old, I remember getting so upset that my mom was wasting our eggnog by putting liquor in it. I pouted.

Our milk was delivered to our house at least once a week. We had a lidded, insulated, metal box on our porch and the milkman would bring us glass bottles of milk and take the empties. If memory serves me right, the milk was delivered by Seidhoff Dairy and it looks like they are still doing business in Union, Missouri; although they joined Prairie Farms in the early 1980s. I think our grocery store eggnog probably had a Pevely or Prairie Farms logo on the carton.

Fast forward to Christmas Eve, 2001. I had taken a late evening, formal Christmas Eve dinner catering job and had prepared to leave immediately after dinner service. I had packed, my luggage in the car and was ready to drive to the airport for a red-eye to visit my future husband in Annapolis, Maryland. Little did I know that my repertoire and experiences of holiday eggnog were going to broaden and soon there would be a new tradition for “us”. One of my husband’s Christmas holiday traditions was attending a good friend’s home on the Eastern Shore for an elaborate gathering that included Steve’s famously delicious and strongly spirited homemade eggnog. His neighborhood was also known for a top-notch Christmas parade and Steve’s house (and yard) was the perfect place to watch. Great food, fun people, spirited eggnog, and a Christmas parade on the Chesapeake Bay. I was hooked.

Over the years as I became more involved in the local food scene and farmers markets I became a fan of local milk and actually searched out farmers with dairy herds to procure, farm fresh, Jersey and/or Guernsey milk. By now we had moved to Missouri and had opened a farmers market in far West St Louis County. My husband George and I were now on a quest to perfect our own, homemade eggnog using the freshest ingredients and create our own flavor profile and style. We contacted Steve to see if he would share his formula. He was more than willing. Although by the time we had asked for it, his formula had been tweaked so many times over the years, he wasn’t exactly sure of the most current recipe or ratios. But that was okay because I generally use recipes for inspiration and go from there. We had fresh whole fat, Jersey milk, fresh eggs, whole nutmeg, organic, evaporated cane syrup from Florida (sugar), homemade vanilla, ground cinnamon, a whisk, and a notebook for notetaking. We started the process, made tiny, practice batches, added a little of this and that and tasted, adjusted, and came up with the ratios and a recipe that we both loved. I am still not a fan of adding spirits, but once in a while, I waste my parsed-out portion and add a little rum or brandy, or bourbon.

As I set down to write this, I did an online search titled “eggnog” and I found some interesting tidbits of information regarding its history as well as the difference between holiday nog and eggnog. The names are based on the milk fat content of the product inside the carton. Eggnog will be richer and higher in milkfat at 6% with 2% for holiday nog. Our eggnog recipe is one that can be made and enjoyed immediately and will keep in the fridge for a couple of days. There is a popular aged eggnog formula where the ingredients are mixed together and can be sealed and stored in the refrigerator for at least 2 weeks and Alton Brown says, probably up to a year. I haven’t made aged eggnog yet, but it’s in my plan; maybe this year.

Notes:

You don’t have to use farm-fresh, milk, but please use full-fat milk and add cream or at the very least, half and half

This recipe uses raw eggs. I don’t have a problem using farm-fresh, raw eggs, but I do practice some food safety guidelines nonetheless. Don’t use eggs that have a previously broken or cracked shell. Wash your eggs gently before cracking them. Break each egg into a small bowl or cup BEFORE pouring it into your large mixing bowls.

You may like your eggnog sweeter than we do or with more cinnamon or nutmeg, so please adjust it to your liking and make a note

Eggnog (perfected)

• 6 fresh eggs, separated, put the yolks in a clean mixing bowl and whites in another
• 3 cups full-fat fresh Jersey milk or the equivalent using whole milk, cream, half & half
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• pinch of ground cloves
• pinch of salt

Beat egg yolks with sugar until frothy. Beat in one cup of milk at a time for a total of three cups. Stir in vanilla, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Gently whisk whites into the cream and egg mixture and then thoroughly blend to incorporate all ingredients. Taste and adjust the spices and sweetness if needed. Adding more cream is also an option. Store in a covered container and refrigerate. Whisk or stir before serving. Top with grated nutmeg if desired.

Optional – add an ounce of rum or brandy or bourbon to each glass before serving.