Nibbles & Sips

Fun with food and beverages: recipes and opinions about what, how, and why we eat.

Eggnog

Sips

Don’t think of this as unseasonal, just think of this as a very timely suggestion for any Christmas-in-July celebrations you may be planning!

(Seriously, my other e-option was Everclear and, well, we don’t want to go there…)

Eggnog is one of those dividing drinks: you either love it or hate it and I reside firmly in the former camp. I could drink gallons of the stuff when it’s in season and I must say that I all but did a dance right there in the grocery-store aisle when I found Lactaid-brand Eggnog last season. (Alas, among other things, I’m one of the thousands–millions?–of adults who don’t get along all that well with dairy.)

My usual recipe for holiday eggnog involves cutting it about 50-50 with milk, to cut both the calories and the richness. Real adventurous, right? It wasn’t until just a few years ago that I had the opportunity to taste homemade, fully loaded eggnog that was so thick you could eat it like dessert. And as much as my arteries may clog just thinking about it, I would love some right about now.

This will probably be the year that I make my own, should the occasion arise (and there are worse reasons to throw a party than to try out a recipe, no?) and this is the recipe I would most likely use:

Cooked Eggnog
about 18 servings

Lightly cooking this eggnog kills any possibly dangerous bacteria in the eggs. Two tablespoons of vanilla can replace the spirits. Do not double this recipe.

Combine and set aside:
1 c milk
1 c heavy cream

Whisk until just blended:
12 large egg yolks
1 1/3 c sugar
1 tsp freshly grated or ground nutmeg

Whisk in:
2 c milk
2 c heavy cream

Transfer the mixture to a large, heavy saucepan and place over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture becomes a little thicker than heavy cream (about 175 degrees F). Do not overheat, or mixture will curdle. Remove from the heat and immediately stir in the reserved milk and cream. Pour through a strainer into a storage container. Chill thoroughly, uncovered, then stir in:

1 1/2 c brandy, Cognac, dark rum, or bourbon
Freshly grated or ground nutmeg

from Joy of Cookingcarrier to noise ratio

I like this version because it is a touch safer for anyone who might want to drink it. Even though the chances, these days, of salmonella poisoning from consuming raw eggs is much lower than it used to be, it’s still not a good idea for kids, the elderly or anyone with a compromised immune system to consume them. If you’re really concerned about the mixture curdling you can cook the ‘nog in a double boiler. It’s a lot like making a cream anglaise sauce that you would use for dessert and that’s how we did it at the Plantation.

Which makes me wonder: how awesome would the eggnog be with a scraped vanilla bean added?

The Guest List

Nibbles

I love to entertain and I take my job as hostess very seriously, trying to put together the best possible experience for my guests with each occasion. But after a theme and date are chosen and before much of anything else can be done, I have to create the guest list that will be a perfect fit for my party.

Now, you might be thinking, what’s the big deal: invite your friends and be done with it. Sure, for some events that’s totally acceptable and will result in a wonderful party. Sometimes, though, you might need to be a bit more selective.

An Open House gives you carte blanche to invite anyone and everyone in your address book because the party is very fluid, it’s mix-and-mingle for the duration and people are free to come for the whole thing or stop by for only a moment or two. Hors d’oeuvres and cocktails are the menu, in most cases, and those are easy to replenish throughout the evening.

Your available space is a deciding factor that can drastically limit your guest list. Of course you think about how many can comfortably sit around the table for a dinner party or on your couches for a movie party but something you also need to consider is how much parking your home or venue can offer. The last people you want crashing your party are the cops or angry neighbors because you’re blocking streets or driveways.

Plus you should consider the kind of party you’re throwing from the guest’s perspective. Say you’re throwing a wine tasting party (which is totally on my party-to-do list for Fall) as a for instance. The entire party is about tasting wine and what foods go with the wines and wine, wine, wine. If you invite someone who is allergic to or just doesn’t drink wine, they’re gonna be completely left out of the festivities. Knowing who likes what will help create  a guest list that ensures fun for both them and you.

Finally, there’s always the horror story about weddings where you can’t seat Mrs. Hatblossom at the same table as Mr. Feltenberger because they used to be together but he ran off with her sister and now no one speaks to each other. Don’t invite rival factions or sworn enemies to a party unless it’s a) a very big party or b) you’re looking forward to a bit of extra drama. Save yourself (and the rest of your guests) the hassle and even though it hurts, choose a side. If you just can’t invite one without the other, make the tough call and don’t invite either of them.

Crafting a guest list is more than just printing out your address book onto labels and calling it a day. Choose your guests with an eye towards how they’ll mix with each other and the event you have in mind and you’re that much closer to a perfect party.

The Daiquiri

Sips

Why is the rum always gone?!?!

I did have that thought tonight as I realized I was almost out of white rum. But I’m getting a bit ahead of myself…

The little town I grew up in (Ponchatoula) may now be an antiques mecca but when I was small it was mostly known for it’s strawberries. And every April they would have (and still do) a Strawberry Festival that beats the pants off any of the community festivals they do around here. (No offense intended to my adopted home, but what do you expect from a place that’s an hour from New Orleans and in a state where it’s said they have a parade every time a pig’s born–they just know what they’re doing!)

Of course, the house drink at such a time (or anytime, for that matter) was a strawberry daiquiri, a smoothie-like concoction spiked with a good dose of rum. Granted, mine was the virgin variety, but this is what I think of when I hear daiquiri. Did you know that in Louisiana they have drive-through daiquiri parlours? It’s true! The leave the lid unpunctured so they can legally sell them to drivers, then you’re on the honor system til you get home (or to work, my cousin would routinely go on daiquiri runs for the doctor’s office she worked for).

So I was surprised to learn that the daiquiri did not start out as a spiked smoothie, but a shaken lime-rum concoction. Even though I learned this tidbit a couple years agon, I had never tried the original–until tonight.

Daiquiri

3 oz white rum
1 oz lime juice
1/2 oz simple syrup
crushed ice
lime wedge for garnish

Combine rum, lime juice and simple syrup in a shaker with ice, shake til a wee bit frothy and then strain into a glass 3/4 full of more crushed ice. Garnish with a lime wedge.

from Good Spirits, AJ Rathbun

Now, be prepared, folks, this is one TART drink. But after the bracing nature of the first sip, the rest goes down nice and easy.

Returning to the beginning of this post, I found out that I’d somehoe managed to nearly run out of white rum. How that happened I’ll never guess (especially since I’ve been drinking the spiced or coconut varieties of late), but I had just enough for the one drink. Wanting to make Todd one, as well, I figured I’d use the Appleton Special Jaimaican Rum from the cabinet (it’s a golden rum, for the record) for the second drink and he could have his pick.

Oh. Oh no. I’ve never had a truly BAD cocktail but this one was in contention. The golden rum just wasn’t the right spirit and it totally overpowered the lime juice. Just wrong, wrong, wrong. Stick to the white rum, folks, TRUST ME! Not wanting to waste the booze, though, I topped it off with 3 oz of pineapple juice and it actually was drinkable at that point. I don’t know what it was, but at least it didn’t make me shudder.

Have a good weekend, gang, and see you in 2 weeks when our blog features return to their normally sceduled content. Until then, safe sipping!

Grill Mastery

Nibbles

Ah, yes, weather permitting (and even sometimes not), thousands (millions?) of grills across the country will be fired up to char something with family and friends.

My first tip for the grilling-minded is for barbecue chicken and it comes from Mom. She takes leg quarters and marinates them in Italian dressing (straight from the bottle into a large baggie and if you can let it sit overnight in the fridge, even better), to start, and then pre-cooks them a bit in the microwave. Now, don’t shriek, it’s actually an excellent idea since it’s SO tough to get the chicken to cook evenly on the grill without one part getting over cooked or it taking forty forevers. So you par-cook the legs in the microwave and THEN put them on the grill to finish cooking and get that lovely caramelized finish and a good brush with the barbecue sauce of choice.

Did you know that chicken should be cooked to an internal temperature of at least 165 degrees? Now you do. Get out those meat thermometers and make sure the fleshiest bit is up to temperature before serving yourself or your guests. Pork should also always be cooked fully (no pink!) to reduce the risk of trichinosis. Beef and lamb can be cooked anywhere from 140 (rare) to 170 (well done) without too much worry (though why you’d want well-done lamb is beyond me!).

Most recipes suggest throwing out the marinade once it’s been used but you can actually use it for a sauce IF you bring it to a boil and keep it boiling for several minutes (5 is a good number) to “cook” any of the raw meat juices that are in there.

Finally, a true tale of grilling no matter what. It was my high school graduation party and the house was pretty full of guests. The plan had been to grill but the weather was atrocious: rainy and grey. But, the show must go on so Mom changed into her swimsuit and shorts and went outside with an umbrella to tend the grill as needed. Of course, if you’ve got the grill lid in one hand and tongs in the other, how are you going to hold the umbrella? In your cleavage, of course.

So don’t let a little water dampen your party this Memorial Day weekend.

Coffee Liqueur

Sips

Mmmmm, coffee goodness condensed into a rich liqueur, what could be better?

I’m a devotee of the coffee drinks (lattes and the like) but not so much an actual coffee drinker, so Kahlua and others of it’s ilk are right up my alley. One little hiccup: I’m not supposed to have any caffeine. Granted, it’s tough to avoid ALL caffeine and it’s not like I’m allergic, but I try to keep as much as possible out of my system. Which leads one (me) to ask, how much caffeine is in coffee liqueur?

Apparently I’m not the only one to wonder but the information is just not out there for public consumption. Thankfully, Ted Carnahan not only asked the question, but asked it of the source and got an answer:

Kahlua actually has very low levels of caffeine, (approximately 4.85 mg in each 1.5 oz drink).

Which, compared to a cup of coffee that has 100mg or more caffeine, means that there’s virtually none in a shot and therefore safe for us decaf drinkers and anyone who wants a nightcap in their nightcap without the potential insomnia.

Now, what to DO with the liqueur… that’s the real question. I was going to post the recipe for Mudslide (probably my favorite coffee liqueur drink) as compiled by AJ Rathbun in his book,Good Spirits, but then I read the note. The note suggested that maybe using a chocolate vodka would be a nice touch. Me? Add chocolate to a cocktail? How could I resist?

I didn’t have chocolate vodka but I did have Godiva liqueur on the shelf so I figured a 3:1 vodka to Godiva would probably yield the same results (if not better). Plus, I happened to pick up some vanilla vodka during my last supply run so I thought I’d give that a whirl while I was at it. The result? Mmmmmmm. It was like drinking a rich, mocha milkshake (I actually got out the blender for this one).

CHF Mocha Mudslide

1 cup ice
1 oz coffee liqueur
1 oz Irish cream liqueur
3/4 oz Vanilla vodka
1/4 oz chocolate liqueur

Blend all ingredients together until smooth.

Enjoy the holiday weekend, folks! Have fun and be safe!