Eggnog Recipes
Slice Of Life By Eileen Goltz.
Chanukah is here, by golly, crack out the eggnog and let get jolly!?! Ok, by a show of hands, how many of us have actually prepared their own, from scratch, eggnog (no, opening a carton of the commercially made stuff and then drinking it does not count as preparing it) and then consumed a drink that contains raw eggs, cream, sugar and rum or brandy? Surprisingly many more people than you might think. While delicious despite the juxtaposition of slightly weird ingredients, eggnog is a drink that has been served for hundreds of years and only in the past 100 years of so has it been tied to various holidays.
Loosely translated eggnog means to "egg inside a cup". Food historians believe it evolved from an English drink called a posset. The posset contained eggs, cream and wine or other spirits. Once transplanted to America a new and improved version contained rum instead of wine. In Colonial America, rum was commonly called "grog", so the name eggnog is probably some form of the phrase, "egg-and-grog", which morphed into egg'n'grog and then to the present day eggnog. When you drink eggnog, it is custom to propose a toast before each glass to the health of the people you're sharing the drink with. I've found however, after a few glasses of spiked variety, the people I party with will toast to almost anything.
While not such a big fan of the drink all by itself, I LOVE incorporating its full bodied sweet taste in all kinds of fun and unusual recipes. The following recipes all use the commercially made eggnog and I suggest you do the same unless you make your eggnog especially for the recipe your about to use it in. I've included one recipe for homemade eggnog but quite frankly, I find the commercial variety so much more convenient to use.