Pass the Eggnog
Word to the wise: if you're going to attempt to make homemade eggnog for your Christmas get-together like we did this evening, be sure to follow the instructions - don't let it boil.
Everything had gone so smoothly up until we reached the stage where the sugar and egg yolk mixture is combined with the spiced, pre-boiled milk. We were able to find the duty-free liquor depot that only sells its goods to foreign nationals with valid passports; we made it to Arong, the largest western-oriented supermarket in the city, relatively easily as the traffic was surprisingly light; and, we succeeded in finding the cinnamon sticks, cloves, sugar, vanilla extract and nutmeg that's called for in my recipe from the Canadian Club (though we had to grind the nuts for the nutmeg ourselves and only came up with the vanilla after our director's son, who lives downstairs, acquired some for us at the last minute from a mysterious "perfumery suppliers" shop somewhere in Purana Paltan).
So as I said, all was going well until the two bowls had been combined into the same large, aluminum cauldron to heat up so that all the flavours and ingredients could mix together to the degree that they're supposed to. Unfortunately, either the two-dozen eggs we acquired from the shop next door were the 'solidifies quickly' variety, or our gas element heated up the pot as quickly as it usually does, something I should have recognized from the start. Quicker than Rudolph's nose lights up in the fog, the mixture was bubbling away...and this time it was my own face that was glowing red.
Fortunately for my future eggnog-making credibility, there were still eight more cups of milk and 5 cups of brandy to add to the chunky, sweet-smelling concoction once it had cooled down for an hour. The close to four liters of homemade eggnog has been transferred into a mineral water and two coke bottles (a double batch) to chill in the fridge over night. It's no longer the slushy beverage I feared it would remain, and thank goodness for that; I wasn't looking forward to having to reassure our friends tomorrow night with, "don't mind the chunks, that's what scrambled eggnog is supposed to look like..."
In any event, the five cups of strong brandy (rum wasn't available at the duty-free shop), will ensure that our guests won't be concerned about the texture of our pale yellow blend for too long, anyways.
Next on the list: homemade Gluehwein featuring two bottles of cheap French table wine ("qui se boit tempere"). What could possibly go wrong?
My sister Annemarie turns 24 today. Yes, she's terribly hard done-by having a birthday so close to Christmas; she'll also accept your sympathy with open arms. Happy Birthday, Mime.
Everything had gone so smoothly up until we reached the stage where the sugar and egg yolk mixture is combined with the spiced, pre-boiled milk. We were able to find the duty-free liquor depot that only sells its goods to foreign nationals with valid passports; we made it to Arong, the largest western-oriented supermarket in the city, relatively easily as the traffic was surprisingly light; and, we succeeded in finding the cinnamon sticks, cloves, sugar, vanilla extract and nutmeg that's called for in my recipe from the Canadian Club (though we had to grind the nuts for the nutmeg ourselves and only came up with the vanilla after our director's son, who lives downstairs, acquired some for us at the last minute from a mysterious "perfumery suppliers" shop somewhere in Purana Paltan).
So as I said, all was going well until the two bowls had been combined into the same large, aluminum cauldron to heat up so that all the flavours and ingredients could mix together to the degree that they're supposed to. Unfortunately, either the two-dozen eggs we acquired from the shop next door were the 'solidifies quickly' variety, or our gas element heated up the pot as quickly as it usually does, something I should have recognized from the start. Quicker than Rudolph's nose lights up in the fog, the mixture was bubbling away...and this time it was my own face that was glowing red.
Fortunately for my future eggnog-making credibility, there were still eight more cups of milk and 5 cups of brandy to add to the chunky, sweet-smelling concoction once it had cooled down for an hour. The close to four liters of homemade eggnog has been transferred into a mineral water and two coke bottles (a double batch) to chill in the fridge over night. It's no longer the slushy beverage I feared it would remain, and thank goodness for that; I wasn't looking forward to having to reassure our friends tomorrow night with, "don't mind the chunks, that's what scrambled eggnog is supposed to look like..."
In any event, the five cups of strong brandy (rum wasn't available at the duty-free shop), will ensure that our guests won't be concerned about the texture of our pale yellow blend for too long, anyways.
Next on the list: homemade Gluehwein featuring two bottles of cheap French table wine ("qui se boit tempere"). What could possibly go wrong?
***
My sister Annemarie turns 24 today. Yes, she's terribly hard done-by having a birthday so close to Christmas; she'll also accept your sympathy with open arms. Happy Birthday, Mime.
posted by Per at 11:10 a.m.
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