Eggnog, posted from Aunt Ruth

Neal's Eggnog

Neal Freedman was the wife of Dr. David Noel Freedman, one of Ron's major professors at The University of Michigan.  After she shared this recipe with me, we found the same recipe in the Detroit News; they called it the White House Eggnog recipe.  They reported in that article that because of the significant amount of alcohol in this recipe, it will keep in the back of your refrigerator for a long time; the alcohol acts as a preservative.  We have indeed kept this for months, and sip it periodically throughout the year.  Hmmm,  I think I still have about a quart in the refrigerator.  Time for an autumn sip, perhaps in honor of Phil Hertzler and his love of grading student essays.

Ingredients:*

12 eggs, separated

2 lb. sugar (4 c.)

3 c. bourbon

1 c. brandy

1 1/2 c. rum

2 qt. heavy cream

1 qt. light cream OR 1 pt. heavy cream and 1 pt. milk, OR use 2 qt. half and half

Put egg yolks in a large bowl.  Put the separated egg whites in a separate bowl and refrigerate until ready to whip them to perfection.  With electric mixer beat egg yolks till light colored; blend in sugar.  With mixer running, very slowly dribble the whiskey (bourbon) into the egg yolk mixture.¹  Cover and set this aside for at least 2 hours, or overnight.  I do this in a very large stainless still mixing bowl, and if it is very cold outside, I just set it out on my deck, because I usually don't have room in the refrigerator for this.

When close to serving time, mix in the rum and brandy.  Stir in the cream/milk, whatever blends you choose to use.² Then beat the egg whites until stiff and fold in to the mixture.  sprinkle with freshly grated nutmeg.  Serve and enjoy.

¹You can cut back on the alcohol.  In fact, I usually use about 2 c. of bourbon for a whole recipe, and 1 c. of rum.  A little of this eggnog goes a LONG way.  It goes down smoothly,  and tastes like some more!  And I am always conscious of the drivers leaving my home after having consumed this wonderful beverage.

²You may be inclined to go cheap and use less heavy cream and more milk, but DON'T.  This is a very rich, smooth, creamy beverage, and by cutting corners on the cream you cut corners on the wonder of this eggnog. I do usually use Half and Half for the light cream.

*This recipe is easily divided into 1/2 or 1/3 or even 1/4 if you are having just a small party and don't want any left over.  However, these leftovers are great.