Live your best nog life this holiday
“Store-bought, homemade, with booze, without, hot, cold, love it all.”
“A detestable abomination.” Love it or hate it, everyone seems to have an opinion about eggnog.
Ask anyone from Yarmouth County, and they will tell you nothing can beat the version from Cooks Dairy, and eggnog enthusiasts like Yarmouth resident Breanna Muise are still trying to find an adequate substitute.
Cooks, she explains, was a Yarmouth County-based dairy that was bought out by Farmers in 2014. The Farmers' recipe, she says, does not compare.
According to Ayngelina Brogan, who created the website Bacon is Magic as a means of helping people explore local culture through food, eggnog first appeared in England in the late 1800s when it was common to drink warm milk and eggs during cold weather, although it was often laced with brandy or sherry.
It's since spread around the world, and has become a popular holiday drink for many.
In her blog, the Kentville woman describes a Cuban variety of eggnog called creme de vie. This version may have emerged from the Spanish invaders and adds Cuban rum to their local nog drink, she says. It is typically served as an aperitif after dinner, in either shot glasses or small stemmed glasses.
SPICING UP YOUR NOG
Peter Wilkins, the co-founder of The Newfoundland Distillery Company in Clarke's Beach, N.L., says the most common practice is to add rum to eggnog. His favourite option is adding the company's own Gunpowder and Rose Rum, available throughout Atlantic Canada. Occasionally, though, he's added Aquavit, a distilled spirit similar to vodka.
Wilkins says their classic eggnog recipe — perfected by the company's bartender Brian Pisani — is made from scratch and is surprisingly easy, completely delicious, and enough for two people.
“It is the time to share, and with those ingredients, there is no holding back,” he says.
As an alternative to add
ing alcohol to your eggnog, Sue Hutchins from Rockville, Yarmouth Co., says to mix it 50-50 with ginger ale.
“It sounds awful, but don't knock it 'til you try it. It cuts the thickness and adds some bubbles," she says, adding that champagne has the same trick if you're looking for another alcoholic version.
Other options to spice up your eggnog include trying the flavoured varieties available through President's Choice — the company has introduced both chocolate and candy cane types over the past few years — and creating an at-home, coffee-shop type chai eggnog and dark chocolate latte with just a blender, without the need for fancy equipment.
HOMEMADE EGGNOG
An alternative to using raw eggs in your nog is to coddle them, as Wilkins does in his recipe. To coddle an egg, pour hot water over the eggs for exactly one minute. Spoon out the eggs and gently plunge them into an ice water bath, being careful not to break the shell. Let cool
for about two minutes before using it in your eggnog.
But be cautious: Coddling an egg doesn't remove the risk of salmonella. Coddled eggs may carry the same risk as a soft-boiled egg as it's undercooked, but it could lessen the risk a bit.
Remember, cautions Brogan, homemade eggnog does contain raw eggs. It is not recommended that young children or pregnant women consume raw eggs, and you should always use the freshest eggs you can find if opting to make your own, she says.
Other health experts say that if you are making eggnog to only do so with fresh eggs, preferably from a registered establishment as they are tested regularly for salmonella. Store-bought eggnog is the best bet if concerned about salmonella.
ALTERNATIVE USES
If drinking eggnog is not your cup of tea, (or an additive in your coffee), Barbara Mayhew, who writes a food blog called My Island Bistro Kitchen, based in Charlottetown, offers some advice for baking with it.
Mayhew suggests looking for an eggnog-specific recipe, as eggnog is quite rich and has a very strong distinctive taste.
“I would not necessarily do a straight one-to-one substitution of eggnog for regular milk in most recipes,” she cautions.
Follow the recipe, and only use the amount of eggnog called for in the ingredient list. With its strong taste, a moderate amount is often best, she says, so don't overdo it. The flavour should be there, but the taste should not be overpowering.
Steve Lesway, from Argyle Sounds, Yarmouth Co., is a retired chef who offers cooking classes for the Chef Group and teaches in a variety of Sobeys stores. He suggests using eggnog as a delicious base for French toast. Just add two eggs to one cup of eggnog and a splash of spiced rum. Make sure, he says, you're using eggnog and not holiday nog, which has no eggs in it.
CUBAN CREME DE VIE Simple syrup:
1 cup granulated white sugar 1 cup water
Over medium-low heat put equal parts of water and white sugar into a saucepan and stir.
Once the sugar has dissolved into the water, remove from heat and let cool.
Nog mixture:
1 can sweetened condensed milk 1 can evaporated milk
6 egg yolks from pasteurized eggs 1 cup dark rum or less if you would like a lighter drink
1 tsp pure vanilla extract (not artificial) cinnamon, ground and/or sticks for garnish
In a blender, gently mix eggs. Add evaporated milk and condensed milk and gently blend until smooth. Add simple syrup, vanilla, and rum and gently blend until mixed through. Garnish with ground cinnamon and/or a cinnamon stick.
THE NEWFOUNDLAND DISTILLERY EGGNOG
In the top half of a cocktail shaker, muddle together half a teaspoon each of cinnamon and cloves. In the bottom half of a cocktail shaker:
2 egg yolks (coddled if you are concerned about consuming raw eggs, or raw if you’re not worried)
4oz Gunpowder and Rose rum 5oz whole milk
2oz whipping cream
3/4 oz simple syrup
Shake vigorously to froth up. Add ice. Quick shake to cool, strain into a coupe or any glass to hand. Garnish with star of anise and grated ground nutmeg.
CHAI EGGNOG AND DARK CHOCOLATE LATTES
Enjoy the complex spiced-sweet flavours of this coffee shop favourite at home — no fancy equipment necessary. An immersion blender or regular upright blender does the trick to make these drinks light and frothy. Add an extra caffeine jolt by using PC Dirty Chai Tea instead of the regular chai tea.
1 cup (250 ml) homogenized milk 3 bags chai tea
1/4 cup (60 ml) 35 per cent whipping cream
1 tsp (5 ml) icing sugar or granulated sugar
1 cup (250 ml) eggnog
2 tbsp (30 ml) shaved dark chocolate
2 cinnamon sticks (optional)
Combine milk, tea bags and half a cup cup (125 ml) water in small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Remove from heat; cover and let stand five minutes.
Meanwhile, beat (using electric hand mixer) or whisk whipping cream with icing sugar in small bowl until soft peaks form. Set aside.
Remove tea bags from milk mixture, squeezing milk from bags back into saucepan and discard tea bags. Add eggnog to saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until steaming, three to four minutes. Remove from heat and blend using an immersion blender until light and foamy.
Tip: No immersion blender? Pour into an upright blender, remove steam vent from lid, and hold folded tea towel over vent. Blend, covered with lid and tea towel until light and foamy.
Divide among two tall glasses or large mugs. Dollop with whipped cream and sprinkle with chocolate, dividing evenly. Garnish with cinnamon sticks (if using).
Try this: Swap out the dark chocolate for milk or white chocolate, or sprinkle the lattes with ground cinnamon or nutmeg, instead.
Recipe: pcinsiders.ca