Fresh, Hot Wastes of Time

I’ve been trying for some time to find the origins of our family eggnog recipe. My grandmother, who started the tradition within our family, and my mother, who took it over for her, are both gone, and I never thought to ask either of them while I had them.

If I had a dime for all the questions I have to ask the people who are gone, I’d be pretty rich.

Anyway, after my grandmother died 15 years ago, I came into possession of her recipe box. It occurred to me to look in there to see if I could find any clues as to the recipe’s provenance. Well, I found the recipe all right, and it was written in the same hand that my aunts told me was a cousin of ours who was known for their cooking. It was labeled “Mother’s Eggnog.”

So I looked up his mother. She was my great-great-great aunt, born in 1868, and she was the granddaughter of the last messenger from the Alamo.

This is some serious Old Family Eggnog, y’all.

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Dear friends,

For Christmas this year, I’m sharing with you a recipe that has never, to my knowledge, been shared publicly outside my family. I checked with my aunts several months ago and got their blessing to share it.

This is our eggnog recipe. Our family has been making it for at least 50 years. I have never been able to find anything like it anywhere at all. It’s decadent, it’s boozy, and it’s amazing. Enjoy!

14 Eggs
2 cups sugar
3 ½ cups bourbon (good quality)
1 pint whipping cream
1 pinch nutmeg

Beat yolks in sugar until smooth and lemon colored. Add whiskey. Beat whites to soft peaks. Whip cream. Fold all together and sprinkle with nutmeg.

Note: It’s important to fold the ingredients together rather than blend vigorously so that the character of the egg whites and the cream remains in the final product. You want to be able to taste little bits of all of the parts when you take a sip.

The nog may be made the day before.

Merry Christmas!

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