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Seems appropriate for this post....
It's that time of year again.
And so here I write the tale of Steve's Nog.
Years ago we were experimenting with holiday drinks. The first was wassail. Inspired by the tradition, and the California Raisins Christmas special, one year we decided to go wassailing. Since no one we knew would have wassail we had to supply it.
And it was good.
After reading several different recipes we set out to concoct our own, that suited both tradition and what we could get to make it. After a couple of tries we settled on a mix of hard apple cider, oranges, juiced and sliced, and spices that simmered on the stove for hours and filled the house with a wonderful Christmassy smell.
But after a while the wassailing tradition lost it's shine. The idea was to pile in the car with gifts and deliver them to the various recipients along with a holiday toast. But, especially at that time, we were all much younger then, nobody was home. Often the driving was bad. It was just a big pain.
So one year we decided to stay home.
And the tradition of our house being the last stop for a few friends was born. Steve and I would get up early and do the shopping on Christmas eve. We'd do all the shopping in one day, often at
Soulard, mostly local, small shops. Christmas was a personal thing with us. We wanted something special in a gift. You don't really find that at Walmart. A favorite stop on our Christmas eve runs was a small oriental medicine shop on Chippewa. We bought a lot of gifts there.
I think it's gone now...
But our tradition became: Get up, get coffee, run to Soulard, hit the video store, this was back in the day man, and then finish where ever we needed to go. Sometimes it was a run to a book store. then we'd hit the grocery store and head home for clean and prep. We'd spend Christmas eve at home with good munchies, wassail on the stove, and good movies. Wrap what ever we where wrapping and relax. We told everybody that we were home after 5 or 6 pm and they were welcome to stop by if they wanted. After the first year we became the last call of the night and we had a lot of fun.
It was the second of those years when Steve came to me and said he wanted to try eggnog.
And I was like
What?
For me eggnog was the funny tasting stuff that came in a carton from the dairy aisles. Sometimes mixed with some sort of alcohol, usually rum.
I was not impressed with the idea. But Steve was on a quest...
The first couple of tries were not bad, but not much to write home about.
And I still had a thing about drinking raw eggs...
And then came Steve's Nog.
And everything changed.
He cobbled this together from 3 different recipes and what he read in my old bar tenders book.
And it was good.
And it still is good.
So tonight I made a batch of Steve's Nog and I'm going to share the secret with the world.
Hold onto yer hats and gear up form some alcoholic icream...
Just a caution. This is a stealth drink, cuz you really don't taste the booze...
Steve's Nog
Ingredients:
18 eggs
2 cups powdered sugar
1 pint (2 cups) peach schnapps
1/2 Pint (1 cup) Alize (the Alize gives it a smoother, fruitier taste.)*
2 quarts 1/2 & 1/2
1 quart heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon vanilla**
*The very first batch of this that he made, he used apricot brandy. It was good, but had a bit of a bite. The note he added for the Alize is quite true.
**Steve used a 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla, I use a whole teaspoon. Take your pick.
In a VERY LARGE BOWL,
We bought a bowl just for making the eggnog. It comes in handy for other things, but it is mandatory for the Nog. You're going to be pouring 3 full quarts of liquid into this bowl and then trying to mix things. The first year out for this recipe we didn't have a big enough bowl. Trying to mix it all in multiple bowls is not the strategy to follow. If yer thinking of trying this recipe I suggest buying a large enough bowl. You'll use it for other things.
In its normal life my Nog bowl holds all the snack chips. Till I need it for meatloaf or cookies of something.
In a very large bowl beat the eggs till frothy.
Yep just crack those suckers into the bowl and beat. 18 eggs is a kinda daunting idea...
Gradually beat in the powdered sugar.
Low speed mix in the schnapps and Alize.
Add 1/2 & 1/2
Beat on high and set aside.
Whip heavy cream till frothy.
Add heavy cream to big bowl, stir till mixed.
Pour into large container. Refrigerate.
What you have now is raw eggnog. It's good as is. But you really should mix this at least a day ahead and allow it to sit and mingle. This is one of those things that gets better with age.
And for those who are still turning up their noses. You really should try it. It's not yer daddy's eggnog.
I don't like eggnog, but I like this.
Over the years, since Steve's passing, I've most always been poor at Christmas, and this is kinda pricy to make. But I'd still want to make a batch at Christmas. So over time the tradition has shifted. Since I didn't have the money to make it for Christmas, I make it after Christmas. So this has become a New Years drink for me.
And from the Nog the Nosh and Puzzle was born.
Back in the day, we celebrated New Years at his parents house, building a puzzle.
And we ain't talking no easy, little puzzle. We're talking at the least 1000 pieces. We're talking puzzles from Hell itself...
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| This was 2009. It's never been finished... |
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| 2012 |
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| 2013 |
I keep that tradition. It's spread to a couple of friends and we added the Nosh.
Last year we had the Nog, Nosh, & Puzzle at their house. This year, we're having a Nog, Nosh, & Puzzle at Happydale.
Today I did most of the shopping.
Tomorrow I've gotta work but I'm gonna try to get done early. I'll finish the shopping on the way home, and then work on getting the munchies ready.
But the eggs are nogging as we speak.
Tomorrow night we'll pick the puzzle, and then the first annual Happydale Nog, Nosh, and Puzzle will kick off the new year.
Let's hope it's a good one.
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