Egg Nog

As far as I know, one can't easily find Egg Nog in Zurich, or anywhere else in Switzerland, for that matter.  To be fair, I didn't really look around in the shops that much for Egg Nog in the days preceding Xmas.  What I did do was to peruse my old, family cookbook from the 60s, 'The New Good Housekeeping Cookbook' for a recipe.  'Grandmother Randolph's Egg Nog', on page 689, calls for brandy, whisky, and peach brandy.  The recipe makes 16 punch cup servings.  Holy-Moley!  Given that we're just two and I both didn't want to source peach brandy and bother with reducing the recipe, I asked the hubs to look up a 'Nog recipe on the internet.

1963 Edition

Hubs went to his American TV cook fave, Alton Brown.  The 'Nog recipe Alton offers is a simpler version of 'Grandma's' from above.  It calls for bourbon instead of a booze medley and cream instead of milk.  We made Alton's 'Nog and it was better than I could have imagined.  No one really needs to buy cartons of Egg Nog ever again.

Egg Nog Recipe a la Alton Brown:

Ingredients

• 4 egg yolks
• 1/3 cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
• 1 pint whole milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3 ounces bourbon
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 4 egg whites*

Directions

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the egg yolks until they lighten in color. Gradually add the 1/3 cup sugar and continue to beat until it is completely dissolved. Add the milk, cream, bourbon and nutmeg and stir to combine.
Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat to soft peaks. With the mixer still running gradually add the 1 tablespoon of sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.
Whisk the egg whites into the mixture. Chill and serve.
Cook's Note: For cooked eggnog, follow procedure below.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the egg yolks until they lighten in color. Gradually add the 1/3 cup sugar and continue to beat until it is completely dissolved. Set aside.
In a medium saucepan, over high heat, combine the milk, heavy cream and nutmeg and bring just to a boil, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and gradually temper the hot mixture into the egg and sugar mixture. Then return everything to the pot and cook until the mixture reaches 160 degrees F. Remove from the heat, stir in the bourbon, pour into a medium mixing bowl, and set in the refrigerator to chill.
In a medium mixing bowl, beat the egg whites to soft peaks. With the mixer running gradually add the 1 tablespoon of sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Whisk the egg whites into the chilled mixture.

* Raw Egg Warning

Food Network Kitchens suggest caution in consuming raw and lightly cooked eggs due to the slight risk of salmonella or other food-borne illness. To reduce this risk, we recommend you use only fresh, properly refrigerated, clean grade A or AA eggs with intact shells, and avoid contact between the yolks or whites and the shell. For recipes that call for eggs that are raw or undercooked when the dish is served, use shell eggs that have been treated to destroy salmonella, by pasteurization or another approved method.