EggNog

Technically the next new food item on our list is Plum Cake. But I cannot for the life of me find plums for sale anywhere! So I'm afraid we'll have to skip plum cake until plums are back in season. But no worries, because the following food on our list is perfectly seasonal! What could be more fitting during the holidays than to make some tasty eggnog? Clearly Hagrid agrees:

"Dumbledore led them in a few of his favorite carols, Hagrid booming more and more loudly with every goblet of eggnog he consumed" (Chamber of Secrets 212).

The truth is, my friends, I made eggnog according to the recipe found in The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook, and it does not actually make eggnog at all. It makes custard. Yep-- thick, eat-with-a-spoon custard. It's tasty, but it's not eggnog. So today we shall use a recipe I found here. Hopefully it is more successful than my last attempt. The mere fact that it contains alcohol leads me to think that it will be!

You Will Need:

6 eggs

2 extra egg yolks

4 cups whole milk

3/4 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup plus 2 Tbs sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 Tbs vanilla extract

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 cup bourbon (I didn't quite have enough, so I combined bourbon and brandy, which gave me a little more than 1/2 cup), not pictured

1. Whisk the eggs, yolks, sugar, and salt in a pan until combined.

2. Keep whisking while you slowly pour in the milk until completely mixed in.

3. Place on the stove on very low heat, and whisk continuously until the mixture reaches 160 degrees. The recipe says this should take 25 minutes. It took me almost an hour.

4. Remove the mixture from the heat and strain through a sieve into a bowl.

5. Stir in the liquor, vanilla, and nutmeg.

6. Cover securely and place in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

7. When you're ready to serve, whip the heavy cream really well in a bowl and fold (gently!) in the chilled eggnog.

8. Serve and enjoy!

This eggnog is also pretty thick, especially if you fold in your whipped heavy cream a little too vigorously! However it definitely is eggnog, and has the added bonus of lifting your holiday cheer with every alcohol-infused sip! So whip some up this holiday season and ring in a tasty new year!