Hey ya'll, I'm new here, though I've been cooking for many years.
As for the question before the floor, my vote goes for either bourbon (preferably Woodford Reserve) or irish whisky (preferably Tullamore Dew). The important thing, IMHO, whatever the libation, is that it be
chilled. From now till Christmas, there's always a chilled bottle of something in the fridge.
BTW, I noticed a few homemade eggnog recipes, but all of them used raw eggs. If anyone's interested, here's one that's cooked. Basically, it's a very thin
creme anglaise. Even people who don't like eggnog (read that, commercial eggnog) usually like this.
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Eggnog - Homemade
4 lg eggs
3/4 c sugar (divided)
1-1/2 tsp nutmeg (divided)
1/4 tsp salt
5 c milk (divided)
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp bourbon, dark rum, southern comfort, amaretto, etc.
1 c heavy cream
1. Beat eggs; blend in sugar (reserving 2 tbsp for Step 4), salt, 1 tsp nutmeg and 1 c milk. Measure out another 1 c milk.
2. Cook egg mixture over a heat diffuser or double boiler, stirring constantly, until heated to 160 degrees. Remove from heat and stir 60 seconds; stir in second cup of milk.
3. Strain egg mixture through a coarse sieve into a two-quart bottle. Add vanilla, liquor, 1/2 c heavy cream and remaining 3 c milk. Chill well, preferably overnight, stirring occasionally for first few hours.
4. When ready to serve, whip remaining 1/2 c heavy cream with remaining 2 tbsp sugar until thick and frothy but not stiff; stir into eggnog. Sprinkle servings with a dash nutmeg. Makes about 1‑3/4 qt.
Extra Rich: For an even richer eggnog, increase eggs to six and cook with 1‑1/2 c milk. Replace 1 c milk with more heavy cream. (I reserve this version for Christmas eve.)
Modern Dairy Style: For the thickness of commercial eggnog without the funky artificial flavors, try one of the following tricks: (i) beat 4 tbsp cornstarch (or, better, tapioca flour) with the eggs; (ii) sprinkle 1 tsp plain gelatin (1/2 envl) over 1/4 c cold water; let stand 2 minutes; bring just to a boil (about 40 seconds by microwave) and stir until dissolved; add with vanilla in Step 3; or (iii) blend 1/2 tsp xanthum gum (available in health food stores) with the 3 c milk in Step 3.
Warm Eggnog: Not well known, but it makes sense if you think about it. Beat 1/2 c cornstarch with the eggs and increase milk for Step 1 to 2 c. (More needed than for option one of the preceding paragraph because this isn’t chilled, so the eggs never become significant thickeners.) Stir in ingredients per second sentence of Step 3 and heat through. Hold in a slow cooker or over a heat diffuser; don’t boil or the eggnog will thin again and/or the eggs curdle.
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