Christmas Egg Nog

I'm Dreaming of a Bourbon Christmas



Our memories are the flesh of our past, but they hang on a skeleton of tradition.

It was Christmas Day 1964 -- give or take a year and I was 11 -- give or take that same year. Around 2:00 PM my parents, three siblings, and I began setting up the buffet.

I've no idea what we kids did, but letting their children play while they were getting ready for a party was not part of my parents' constitution. So I'm sure we all had chores of some sort. And, in all honesty, the issue wasn't about us playing while they worked, but about meeting the mutual familial obligation of hospitality.

My parents have always had an open house on Christmas Day. In fact, they probably still do when they have Christmas at home it's just that -- now in their 80s -- they don't offer explicit invitations anymore. Most of the friends who came to those long-ago events are now dead, and there's no longer any family in the area with the exception of me. But I'm confident if a cousin, or even the child of one of those old friends, called and asked, their house would again be "open" on Christmas.

Everyone (meaning all their friends) knew about the open house tradition and over the course of the afternoon and early evening anywhere from half a dozen to a couple

of dozen people, including kids, might show up. People came if they could and felt like it and didn't if they didn't.

The specific open house I'm remembering wasn't a good one for me. I recall it started well, there was a dusting of snow when we got up Christmas morning and there were more flurries throughout the day. But no real accumulation, just cold with a landscape in shades of gray.

For some reason, lots of folks showed up along with their kids. My parents were a tad younger than most of their friends, and so I was a tad younger than the other "oldest" kids. I remember one of my presents being broken, though I don't recall what it was. Then the afternoon went downhill.

But, that was one bad day in the context of years and years of open house Christmases. And there was a period in my 30s when most of the guests were of my generation (cousins and friends of my siblings and mine) and I was the slightly elder and respected one.

The open houses I remember, although not dead, are mostly gone. It's a tradition I can’t own and be responsible for. But there is another family Christmas tradition, equally old and a key part of the open houses that I have taken to myself.

The tradition began Thanksgiving weekend. My mother would make her mother's (Mummo's) recipe for Bourbon Cake and Dad would make his Eggnog base.

Mom no longer makes Mummo's Bourbon Cake. It requires either a lot of physical strength (which she no longer has) or a stand mixer (which she's never had). So I've taken over that duty

Dad still makes 'nog when they're at home for Christmas. But I've made it when they came to visit me for the holiday.

Both of these food traditions require planning. They're not cookies made in an afternoon on the spur of the moment. These are foods that must age to achieve perfection. The bourbon cake requires regular care during the aging process. The 'nog simply needs time and a dark, cool corner in the pantry. Both need to be made at least a month in advance to be at their best on Christmas, and so I'm posting this now to give anyone who's interested time to make them.

I posted the recipe for Bourbon Cake last year and this year I'm adding the recipe for eggnog.

Making a dish with raw eggs and allowing it to sit, unrefrigerated, for a month may seem foolish, but there is so much booze in the base mixture that there is no way it can spoil. And the long aging process is essential to creating a smooth (as opposed to a raw, whiskey) flavor.

Eggnog, Base Mixture

6 eggs
1/2 c sugar
3/4 c bourbon
1/3 c rum (dark is best)

Beat eggs until well-mixed. Combine bourbon and rum and add very gradually to the egg mixture -- this should take about fifteen minutes. (Note: If the booze is added too quickly it will curdle the eggs, so take it slowly.) Beat in the sugar and store, loosely covered, in a glass or ceramic container in a cool, dark place -- but not a refrigerator.

Eggnog, Serving

1 c whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 c sugar

Whip the cream until almost stiff. Whip in vanilla and sugar. Stir up the booze mixture and thoroughly mix into cream. This nog will be very thick and you may wish to thin it somewhat with milk. Serve in punch cups with a sprinkling of finely grated nutmeg.

My father says he often increases the bourbon to 1 cup and the rum to 1/2 cup in the base mixture producing a more potent (and less thick) end result. He warns that if you do this the time spent adding the booze to the eggs will be proportionally longer.

Make both of these treats and I guarantee a Merry (and delicious) Christmas.

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