Eggnog

How did eggnog come to be associated with the winter holidays?  I have no idea, but there is nothing like a good eggnog to get me in the holiday spirits.  I made this cooked eggnog for the first time last year and it was a huge hit among my friends, so I decided to make this my Christmas dinner contribution this year.

Eggnog

My eggnog is lighter in color than in the picture from the recipe mostly because I skipped the yellow food coloring, and could in part be because I used Egg Beaters (made with all egg whites) instead of actual eggs - which, by the way, shaved 55 mg of cholesterol from each serving of eggnog, even though that was not the reason for the substitution in my case.

One thing I've learned the hard way, having made this several times, is that one must use one of the smaller/weaker burners on the stove when cooking the egg mixture, as a "PowerBurner" burns the egg quickly, even with constant stirring.

Today I am bringing one batch of spiked eggnog and one batch of "virgin" eggnog to Christmas dinner.  I hope the family will enjoy this holiday favorite of mine as much as I do!

Happy holidays to all!

Recipe courtesy of:
Allrecipes (get the recipe here)

Apple Coconut Sour

When you're hosting a party, an overflow of alcohol is a must.  Back in DC I used to make Apple Coconut Sour whenever I had friends over, so I thought I'd get the necessary liquor (just three items: coconut rum, green apple vodka, and sweet & sour mix) and offer it at a little gathering I was hosting a couple weekends ago.

Turns out almost everybody brought wine, and with several opened bottles, most of my guests opted for the fermented grape beverage.  But the few who tried my Apple Coconut Sour were impressed.  I had a glass myself.  I love that it's a tasty and easy drink to mix and always makes me look like a pro. :)

Apple Coconut Sour

Recipe courtesy of:
Drinks Mixer (get the recipe here)