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Every Tuesday at 7:42 a.m. and 5:18 p.m., Tom Harte shares a few thoughts on food and shares recipes. A founder of “My Daddy’s Cheesecake,” a bakery/café in Cape Girardeau, a food columnist for The Southeast Missourian, and a cookbook author, he also blends his passion for food with his passion for classical music in his daily program, The Caffe Concerto.

Eggnog!

cnn.com

“You can never be too rich or too thin,” admonished Gloria Vanderbilt.

While her advice may be valid when applied to people, it is only half right when it comes to eggnog.  I’ve never tasted one that was too rich, but I’ve had plenty that were too thin.

Thin or thick, eggnog is the ultimate holiday beverage, that is, if you like it.  Like that other holiday staple, fruitcake, there is no middle ground.  You either love it or you can’t stand it. Evidently, there are still plenty of us who like the stuff because even in this health conscious time eggnog, a cup of which can contain the average adult’s yearly allowance of cholesterol, has maintained its popularity.

We don’t know who invented eggnog.  My well worn copy of the “Old Mr. Boston Deluxe Official Bartender’s Guide” says the drink is definitely American.  Seeming to support that contention, “The Dictionary of American Food and Drink” tells us that references to the beverage appeared in print in this country as early as 1775.  We know, too, that George Washington was a fan of eggnog and even devised his own recipe for it.  Those Mount Vernon Christmas parties must have been lively affairs because his version contained not just whiskey, but rum and sherry as well.

The origin of the word eggnog is not entirely clear. Howard Riedel of the Buffalo News jokingly suggests that nog might be the ancient Saxon word for salmonella. But if you buy eggnog off the grocer’s shelf there is no danger of salmonella because the FDA requires that commercially produced eggnog be pasteurized.  But usually grocery store eggnog is not very good.  So you really need to make your own.

And you can do that safely by using eggs that aren’t past their expiration date, keeping them refrigerated and following a recipe that cooks the ingredients.  That’s a recipe for an egg-ceptional holiday.

RECIPE

Leita Hensley’s Boiled Custard

This eggnog is so rich and thick that before you make a batch it’s probably advisable to check your health insurance to see if it covers angioplasty.  The recipe, from Dr. Leita Hensley, a retired professor at the university, has southern roots.  Leita remembers her mother making large batches using an old iron skillet in lieu of a double boiler and her father, not one to worry about gilding the lily, eating it over eggnog ice cream.  If you feel you should restrict yourself to just one cup of eggnog this season, this ought to be it.

Ingredients:  
8 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
1 quart milk
1 pint half and half
1/2 pint whipping cream
1 tablespoon vanilla

Directions:

Scald milk.  Meanwhile, beat yolks and 1/4 c. sugar until thick.  Blend a little scalded milk into yolk mixture, then return to remaining milk and combine.  Add half-and-half and cook in double boiler stirring constantly with wooden spoon until very thick (about 30 minutes).  Add whipping cream and vanilla.  Cool, stirring occasionally, then cover with plastic wrap and chill overnight until extremely thick.  Add liquor at point of serving if desired.  Top with nutmeg.  Makes 1/2 gallon.

Tom Harte is a retired faculty member from Southeast Missouri State University where he was an award-winning teacher, a nationally recognized debate coach, and chair of the department of Speech Communication and Theatre.
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