Stuff it!

Stuff It!

Take some of this

and stuff it in some of that

Then eat it.

Technorati: Food | photos | sausage ragu | pita

Cranberry Mousse

Success!

When I was a growing up, one of the jobs assigned to the kids at Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners was making the cranberry relish. We had a hand-cranked grinder and the recipe called for ground cranberries and oranges mixed with sugar and perhaps a few other things (apparently I don’t have the recipe). At any rate, it was a good kid’s job — safe and easy.

I think everyone liked the relish well enough, although no one seemed to be a huge fan of it. I certainly haven’t made it since I grew up, but I’ve tried a few other recipes and rather like Mama Stamberg’s Cranberry Relish. This is a recipe, named for Susan Stamberg’s mother-in-law and featured on NPR every year. Its three claims to fame are that it’s semi-fredo

What we’re really talking about is a wonderful day set aside on the fourth Thursday of November when no one diets. I mean, why else would they call it Thanksgiving? ~ Erma Bombeck

(partially frozen), contains horseradish, and is the color of Pepto-Bismol.

This Thanksgiving I prepared a distinctly non-traditional feast, but I wanted to make some sort of nod to tradition. An acknowledgement of the many Thanksgiving meals I’ve eaten over the years. I considered pumpkin soup, but I had my heart set on Shrimp Bisque. I also considered pumpkin cheesecake (this one looked particularly good). but I didn’t think I’d have time to make it. And then I thought, “Why not cranberry mousse?”

I came up with a recipe for Rhubarb Mousse one spring and its tart sweetness has been a huge hit every time I’ve made it. I thought cranberries would also have that same affect — and I was right. The recipe, an adaptation of the rhubarb mousse recipe, would be a grand, elegant, and light ending to a heavy holiday meal.

Cranberry Mousse

1 lb fresh cranberries — washed and picked over
1/2 c fresh orange juice (about 1 1/2 oranges)
zest of 1 orange (about 2 tablespoons)
1/4 c Triple Sec (or other orange liqueur)
1 c granulated sugar — separated
1 tbsp unflavored gelatin (1 envelope)
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 ea egg yolks
2 c whipping cream, chilled
1/2 c whipping cream, chilled

Reserve a few cranberries for garnish.

Place cranberries in a large sauce pan with orange juice, Triple Sec, ginger, orange zest, and 1/4 cup sugar over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and continue cooking, stirring frequently, until cranberries break down — about 15 minutes. Remove from heat, sprinkle with gelatin, and allow gelatin to bloom. Transfer to a food processor or blender, and process until smooth. Cool.

Force cranberry mixture through a sieve, discarding solids.

In a double boiler, beat the egg yolks with sugar until they are a pale yellow. Cook over just bubbling water, stirring constantly, until yolks have thickened. Cool to room temperature.

Combine cranberry mixture with egg mixture. In a large bowl, whip cream until stiff and stir 1/4 into cranberry mixture to lighten it. Then pour cranberry mixture into bowl with whipped cream and gently fold together.

Soon into individual dessert cups or wine goblets and chill for at least 3 hours. When ready to serve, whip remaining cream. Garnish with whipped cream and a few cranberries. Serves 6.

Sugar High Friday #26
Festive Food Fair

Technorati: Food | recipe | dessert | cranberry | mousse | thanksgiving | christmas | cranberries | festive food fair| sugar high friday #26

Apricot/Sausage Stuffed Pork Roast

Thanksgiving Traumas

“Help! I burned the Turkey Gumbo!”

This call came in around 2:00 PM yesterday (Thanksgiving). When she discovered the problem she poured the unburned gumbo into another pot, but it still had a burned taste. I had to tell the poor caller I didn’t know of any way to eliminate the burned taste, but suggested she might be able to distract from it by upping the spice level in the gumbo. Later it occurred to me that adding some smoked sausage might also have helped.

I’ve spent the past week manning a Thanksgiving help-line for people with cooking questions. The help line was offered as a free promotional service by ChefsLine.com, a startup company offering advice from food-service professionals on an array of kitchen topics including baking, menu planning, wine choices, and adapting recipes. It turned out to be a lot of fun and besides the “gumbo incident” the only other person I couldn’t really help was the caller who didn’t start defrosting her 20 pound turkey until yesterday morning. (Fortunately, that caller had a ham she could serve instead.) Most of the questions were about roasting times and temperatures and defrosting.

Consequently, it’s rather ironic — although, perhaps, fitting — that I screwed up my Thanksgiving dinner. Not seriously, but enough to disappoint.

I’d done all the prep between phone calls on Wednesday and Thursday so that after I took my last call I could finish it off. I made the Shrimp Bisque on Wednesday — all I had to

do yesterday was heat it back up and add the cream. I also made the dessert, Cranberry Mousse, Wednesday.

Thursday I prepped the baby artichokes yesterday morning, and they were read to slide into the oven. In a last minute change, I tossed the root vegetables (potatoes, carrots, and beets) in the last of the smoked duck fat and they were in a pan ready to bake. The pork loin had been brining for 24 hours and yesterday afternoon I made the stuffing and then tied and stuffed the roast. Last, I made the apricot coulis to go on the pork and it just needed a quick zap in the microwave. So far, so good.

Once I was through with the help-line, I heated up the oven and browned the roast in a skillet. Then I inserted the probe of my digital thermometer into the center, put the roast (and veggies) in the oven, and set the thermometer to beep at 130F. I called my sister and my parents to wish them a happy t’day. When I got off the phone the thermometer was reading 120F. Fifteen minutes later it still read 120F. So I doubled-checked using another instant read thermometer — it read 150F. Damn! I’d overcooked the roast.

A couple of weeks ago I’d spilled some stock on the thermometer and it went haywire. But once it dried out it seemed to be working correctly again. Guess not.

All in all, it was a good meal, but not great. The bisque was smooth and creamy and managed to be simultaneously rich and light. The root veggies had a nice hint of smoke from the duck fat. The baby artichokes were tender and delicious. I was pleased with the stuffing for the pork — it was perfectly seasoned and a nice complement to the meat.

On the down-side, the apricot coulis wasn’t a success. It was too acid for the pork. And the pork itself, though wonderfully flavored, was dry and tough. However, the pork is definitely worth doing again and, although it involves quite a few steps, isn’t difficult and can be made in advance.

Stuffed Pork Loin Roast

3 lb boneless pork loin — about 12 inches long

Apple Brine
1/2 gal apple cider
1/4 c pickling salt
1/4 c maple syrup
1 tbsp dried sage
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 ea bay leaf

Bring cider to a boil, add remaining ingredients and stir to dissolve salt. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until cold.

Put the pork loin in a gallon zip-lock bag, and put that bag in a second one (to prevent leaks). Pour brine into bag containing pork, seal, then seal second bag. Refrigerate for 24 hours.

Stuffing
1/4 c cooked, chopped breakfast sausage
1/4 c coarsely minced onion
8 ea dried apricots, chopped
1 tbsp minced fresh sage
1/4 c bread crumbs
1/2 c chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste

Place chopped apricots and chicken broth in a small sauce pan, bring to a boil, and remove from heat. Allow to cool.

Mix all ingredients, including broth apricots are in, together in a small bowl. The mixture should be moist but not wet. You may need to add a bit more broth.

Cut pork loin in half, crosswise, so that you have to 6 inch pieces. Stack portions together, fat-side out, and tie with twine. Using a carving knife, cut a slit in the center of the paired loins at right angles to the seam — be careful to not cut too deeply. You should now have a plus symbol in the roast when viewed from the end.

Assemble
Heat oven to 375F.

Use your fingers to force stuffing into the slot, then push it in further with a wooden spoon or some similar implement. You’ll want to stuff the roast from both ends, so only use half before flipping the roast over. Season roast on all sides with salt and pepper.

Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in an oven-proof skillet, then brown roast on all sides and both ends. Place on the middle rack of the oven and cook until center reads 135 on an instant-read thermometer.

Allow roast to rest for about 20 minutes before carving.

Update: I added some heavy cream to the apricot coulis the day after Thanksgiving and that moderated the acidity.

Technorati: Food | recipe | pork roast | main dish | thanksgiving

Bourbon Cake

Marvelous Stuff!

Thanksgiving is America’s best holiday. It’s unencumbered with gifts and cards and similar commercial holiday paraphernalia. There is no long, drawn-out prelude to the holiday beginning after Labor Day with turkey carols on retail sound systems and turkey lights in windows. And although the point is giving thanks to whichever deity one believes in, it doesn’t harp on the issue — a shared prayer or merely holding hands in a moment of mutual connection at the dinner table is generally regarded as sufficient. Following that prayer is the high point and main point of the holiday — an over-the-top feast shared with family and friends. What more could one ask for?

Growing up, everyone in my house contributed something to the feast whether it was making cranberry relish or baking a pie. Lots of focused, shared activity and good smells. Around four in the afternoon, if it wasn’t raining, my father would organize a walk. We’d tramp through the sere fields and bare woods of our farm. Often it was cold, but if it wasn’t cloudy as well Dad would take pictures of us. (Something I particularly hated.) Then we’d return to a waiting fire and the last minute organization of the meal, which, in the words of Arlo Guthrie, was always a “thanksgiving dinner that couldn’t be beat.”

Like many families, the day after

Thanksgiving marked the beginning of the Christmas season. Unlike most families this didn’t mean shopping. Instead Mom and Dad would begin preparing the Christmas feast. Dad made his eggnog base (which then aged for a month) and a fruit cake. Mom made her mother’s (Mummo’s) Bourbon Cake — which also needed a moon’s cycle to mature.

With an electric mixer, she’d beat the butter and sugar together in a large stainless steel bowl and then mix in the eggs, flour, and bourbon producing an unremarkable cake batter (unremarkable except for the bourbon, that is). Then Dad would haul down “the big bowl” for the final step.

The big bowl, cut from a single block of mahogany, was about 20″ in diameter and about 7″ deep. It needed to be big to accommodate the exertions required to incorporate a pound of nuts and a pound-and-a-half or raisins in a single bowl of batter. Once mixed, the cake went into a tube pan and then baked for 3 1/2 hours, filling the house with the most wonderful odors.

When the cake had cooled it was doused with more bourbon, wrapped in aluminum foil, and sealed in a cake tin. Then, once a week until Christmas, the cake would be uncovered and doused with more bourbon. Although potent, even as kids we were permitted a very thin slice of it when it was finally served. We loved it. In fact, everyone who tried it loved it. The cake was rich, moist, spicy, chewey, and pungent with bourbon. Marvelous stuff!

I’ve posted the recipe before, but I wanted to post it again — and do so in time, for those of you interested in a holiday cake recipe dating back to the early 1900s (or earlier), to make it. Note: a good stand mixer obviates the need for “the big bowl.”

Mummo’s Bourbon Cake
(This recipe was handed down by my grandmother, Bernice Sutherland. The stained, typewritten copy pictured here was given to me by my mother.)

1 c butter — softened
2 c sugar
4 c flour — sifted
4 ea eggs
1 lb pecan pieces
1 1/2 lb white or golden raisins
1 c bourbon
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp ground nutmeg
1 tbsp soda
1/2 tsp salt

Heat oven to 275F. Sift 1 cup flour and mix with nuts and raisins. Sift remaining flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and soda together. Grease a tube pan and line bottom with parchment paper.

Cream sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, making sure each is incorporated before adding the next one. Alternately add bourbon and flour. Add nuts and raisins.

Pour into tube pan and bake 3 1/2 hours. Remove from oven and cool thoroughly.

Sprinkle generously with additional bourbon and wrap in aluminum foil with a couple of apple wedges to keep it moist. Each weekend leading up to Christmas, unwrap cake and sprinkle again with additional bourbon.

My mother no longer makes the cake, but I have her tube pan and her recipe and I’m trying to make it every year and share it with my parents and siblings. Fortunately, it’s pretty much immune to spoiling so mailing it to Vermont or Virginia isn’t a problem. And though we can no longer spend all be together each Thanksgiving and Christmas, we can still taste the memories.

Technorati: Food | dessert | cake | bourbon cake | holiday | christmas | thanksgiving | rrc5

Not the Turkey

Not the Turkey

Here are links to a few recipes I’ve posted over the years that would be seriously good accompaniments to your Thanksgiving Dinner.

Appetizers:
Southern Pâte — This pâte is made with bacon, veal, and ham. It’s best if made a day or two in advance.
Assorted Canapés — This post includes recipe for Prosiutto Spread, Artichoke Tapenade, and a Feta, Basil, and Tomato Spread, all of which can be made up to two days in advance and are delicious on English Water Biscuits.

Soups:
Buttercup Squash Soup with Maple Syrup and Horseradish — You can also use butternut squash, and the horseradish gives it an unexpected twist. Best if made a day ahead.
Shrimp Bisque — This is the queen of soups and an elegant way to begin a Thanksgiving dinner.
Mushroom Bisque — another elegant beginning, rich and savory. You can do 80 percent of this a day in advance, and then finish it off just before serving.

Sides:
Baked Baby Artichokes — This is both easy and fancy. If you can’t get baby artichokes, frozen quarters will work.
Braised Brussels Sprouts — These tasty little morsels are seasoned with Dijon mustard and Sherry Vinegar.
Honey-Dijon Roasted Beets — A delightful juxtaposition of sweetness and earthiness highlighted with the tang of mustard.
Potatoes Savoyarde — This gratin is made with gruyere and fresh rosemary.
Sweet Potatoes with Truffles and Bourbon — It’s truffle season and if you really want to splurge, this is a great dish to splurge on.

Desserts:
Dutch Apple Pie — This pie has an unusual secret ingredient, and is absolutely delicious.
French Pear Tart — It turns out pears are a perfect match with frangipani. This can be made a day ahead.
Pear/Raisen Pie — The flavor of pear permeates this pie like a blanket of snow on Christmas morning.
Pumpkin Pie — An old-fashioned pumpkin pie made with fresh pumpkin.

Technorati: Food | recipe | thanksgiving | side dish | appetizer | soup | dessert

Smoked Duck Breasts

Thanks

Time was up. In four days I was flying to Houston for the Bash and I needed to take a pair of gifts. I hadn’t been procrastinating, quite the reverse, I’d been pondering what to take for months. But it was difficult decision. Judi had arranged my plane ticket and Sallie was putting me up at her house for three days — so I needed something special and food-related.

Judi had once given me a bottle of Texas wine and I considered taking her a bottle of Tennessee wine. But revenge didn’t seem appropriate and it didn’t solve the problem of what to give Sallie — who had certainly done nothing to deserve a bottle of local wine. I was just plain stumped.

Then on the Monday before the Bash I finally

bought a copy of Charcuterie by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn. The book had been on my list for some time and had finally made it to the top. By the time I went to bed Monday night I knew what the gifts would be — smoked duck breasts.

Tuesday morning I picked up a couple of breasts at the local equivalent of Whole Foods and by noon they were in a brine. Wednesday evening I pulled out my stove-top smoker and smoked them with cherry wood chips. Then I froze them.

Ruhlman’s recipe calls for six breasts, but I only did two and made half as much brine as he called for. I also subbed dried herbs for the fresh called for in the original recipe.

Smoked Duck Breasts
(adapted from Charcuterie)

2 ea whole Pekin duck breasts, skin on
Brine:
1 qt water
6 tbsp Morton’s kosher salt
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp pink (curing) salt
1/4 c maple syrup
1/4 c Madeira
2 tsp dried thyme
1 ea bay leaves
1 1/2 tsp juniper berries
1 tsp rubbed sage

Combine the brine ingredients in a large pot over medium high heat and bring to a good simmer, stirring occasionally to dissolve salt. Turn off heat and cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until cold.

Place duck breasts in two zippered freezer bags and divide the brine between them. Refrigerate for 8 to 12 hours, turning bags on occasion to distribute brine.

Rinse breasts, pat dry, and place on a rack in the refrigerator, uncovered, for 12 to 24 hours.

Hot smoke the breasts to an internal temperature of 160F. This took about an hour using the Cameron smoker.

Ruhlman says the flavor is ham-like, but my first reaction was “bacon.” However it’s not precisely bacon, it’s more subtle. Sliced very thin, the duck would be wonderful on a cracker or slice of baguette with, as Ruhlman suggests, blue cheese. I think it would also pair well with chèvre. But what I really want to do is cube it and add it to this bean dish — or any dried bean dish.

On a side note, because I used the stove-top smoker, the rendered duck fat accumulated in a pan. A couple of nights ago I fried some potatoes in it. Duck fat is great with potatoes, but smoked duck fat is even better.

I’m going to do this again, but my next project from Charcuterie is bacon. I have a pork belly on order.

Technorati: Food | recipe | TAGNAME

Home Alone

Home Alone

I‘m single, and have been for the past 26 years. It suits me. I come and go as I please. I never have to compromise when ordering movies. I have no in-laws. No one steals the sheets at night.

I’m not anti-social, but I am a-social — meaning I have little need for company other than my own. (Although I do like having a cat around, cat’s, unlike dogs, are wonderfully undemanding roommates.)

And as much as I enjoy spending a holiday with family and friends, I also enjoy spending holidays by myself. And spending a holiday alone is no excuse for not celebrating.

Some have meat, and cannot eat, And some cannot eat that want it; But we have meat, and we can eat – And let the Lord be thanked. ~ Robert Burns

This year I was invited to my sister’s for Thanksgiving, but I’ve agreed to man the phone for ChefsLine on Thanksgiving, and so I’ve been planning a solitary Thanksgiving dinner.

I’m thinking I’ll start with mushroom bisque. I’ve been meaning to post this recipe for a while, but I don’t have photo of it. So I’ll take a few shots before dinner and then post the recipe in time for those who might like to try it for their Christmas meal. Also, I can do 80 percent of the work the day before, which is good if T’day is as busy as we’re hoping.

For the entrée, I’m planning a stuffed roast pork loin. I’m still thinking through the details, but in general the stuffing will be a mixture of homemade breakfast sausage, chopped apple, and sourdough-bread crumbs seasoned with onion, sage, and (I’m not positive about this) bourbon. The sausage has a distinct note of mace in it as well as some ground country ham that I think will complement the bourbon. I’ll brine the pork in an apple cider mixture and at the moment a cranberry coulis is a distinct possibility.

Along with the pork, I plan to roast baby potatoes, baby beets, and baby carrots. For a green, I’m going with Brussels sprouts braised in balsamic vinegar and Dijon mustard.

I’m still exploring dessert options. As with the bisque, I want something I can make the day before. Pumpkin mousse might be a good option in tune with the holiday. But it occurs to me as I write this that I make a mean rhubarb mousse and a cranberry mousse might also be delicious. Hmmm… Something to think on further.

So here’s what I’m planning:

Mushroom Bisque with Crème Fraiche
Stuffed Roast Pork Loin with Cranberry Coulis
Roasted Root Vegetables
Braised Brussels Sprouts
Pumpkin Mousse

And then on Friday, I begin cooking for Christmas. But next Thursday, I’m home alone.

Technorati: Food | essay | thanksgiving | menu

The Food Encyclopedia

Geek

When I was in the fifth grade I read the World Book Enclyclopedia — yes, the whole thing from A to Z — in Mrs. Foster’s science class because I wasn’t learning anything in the class. I love knowing things and already knew most of what Mrs. Foster was covering.

Because of this love, I tend to collect reference works and, in fact, almost half my library consists of books like the Windows 2000 Graphics API, Designing Compilers in C, and Strength of Materials. As you might expect I also have a collection of cooking references (in addition to cookbooks). There’s On Food and Cooking, Larousse Grastonomique, and the Encyclopedia of Food Values. So when I got an e-mail asking if I wanted to review The Food Encyclopedia I was happy to do so.

This is a huge book. Written by Jacques L. Rolland and Carol Sherman and published by Robert Rose, it contains over 8,000 entries on topics ranging from “abalone” to “zymurgy.” The contents include entries on people — Andy Balducci of Balducci’s in New York is mentioned as is Jane Grigson; ingredients, for instance dandelions garner almost half a column. (Did you know that in France it’s also called pissenlit, “wet the bed,” because it’s supposed to be a diuretic?); dishes such as “mushy peas” are included; and preparations like braising are explained.

I chose some terms at random and looked them up: oleic acid, no entry; jugged hare, found; waterzooi, found; cracklings, found; koumiss, found; ergot, not found. All in all, not bad. Oleic acid, a component of olive oil, should have had an entry, but ergot (a hallucinogenic mold found on rye) was a bit of a ringer.

If you’re a serious cook, you need at least one good cooking encyclopedia and, having now spent a week leafing through this one, it appears to fill the bill. And if you’re like me, you need at least three or four such encyclopedias so you can cross-check the information.

Technorati: Food | review | food encyclopedia

Bashing Texas

Bashing Texas

Photo by Rud Merriam

There were four of us. A cadre who, after the first Cooks’ Bash in Charleston, South Carolina, had to do it again, and again, and now seven times. Every other year since 1994. In the fall when the leaves change, we resist time and the year’s waning by gathering to celebrate…

To celebrate…..

I dunno, celebration itself, perhaps.

It isn’t just the four, though. There are quite a few others who have attended one or two or four bashes. This time, nine experienced bashers gathered from Atlanta, San Francisco, Chicago, and other cities across the continent to hug and chat face-to-face instead of online and to eat. And at this event we had three significant-others who had never been to a bash — although two had reputations that had preceded them by many years.

I wrote of this bash and a bit of the history of the Cooks’ Bashes back in September, so I won’t reiterate it here. Except to say that I did cook dinner on Saturday night and was ably assisted by Sallie (who was also gracious enough to turn her kitchen over to me as well) and John. I’ve never had sous chefs before. I highly recommend acquiring one or two if you have the opportunity.

We should look for someone to eat and drink with before looking for something to eat and drink… ~ Epicurus

Unfortunately, I didn’t do a good job of accounting for other demands on their time (nor how sore my feet would be after a day of touristing) and so dinner was an hour late. Nevertheless, it seemed to be a success from appetizers to dessert.

Amuse Bouche
Cherry Tomatoes stuffed with Herbed Chevre
Prosciutto/Gruyere Gougere
Salmon Mousse en Endive

I somehow managed to double salt the salmon and so there were a few left over — everything else disappeared. The gougeres, in particular, were spectacularly good.

Soupe
Mushroom Bisque

I first had Mushroom Bisque at my brother’s wedding 20 years ago, fell in love with it, and came straight home and created my own version. It got raves Saturday night.

Entrée
Lamb Stuffed with Blue Cheese and Mint
Broccoli Rabe Sautéed with Pancetta, Anchovies, and Garlic
Rice and Carrot Pilaf

It was all good, but the lamb was almost superb and overwhelmed the other dishes. The lamb would have been absolutely superb but I screwed up the sauce. It tasted fine, but the texture failed — hence the “almost superb.”

Entremets
Ambrosia en Galette
Torte Ricotta

Ambrosia is fruit salad, we needed a light dessert, that was it. The ricotta cheesecake, though, was excellent with a raspberry/Amoretto puree.

Aside from cooking and eating dinner, we visited Houston’s Central Market — a veritable warehouse of specialty foods and produce; Bayou Bend, which has an extraordinary collection of American decorative art; a Penzey’s Spice store; the Houston Museum of Fine Arts; the Houston Space Center; and a few other places.

As usual, we were beginning to discuss where to have the 2008 Bash before this was over with.

Technorati: Food | cooks bash | menu

Christmas Egg Nog

I’m Dreaming of a Bourbon Christmas

Our memories are the flesh of our past, but they hang on a skeleton of tradition.

It was Christmas Day 1964 — give or take a year and I was 11 — give or take that same year. Around 2:00 PM my parents, three siblings, and I began setting up the buffet.

I’ve no idea what we kids did, but letting their children play while they were getting ready for a party was not part of my parents’ constitution. So I’m sure we all had chores of some sort. And, in all honesty, the issue wasn’t about us playing while they worked, but about meeting the mutual familial obligation of hospitality.

My parents have always had an open house on Christmas Day. In fact, they probably still do when they have Christmas at home it’s just that — now in their 80s — they don’t offer explicit invitations anymore. Most of the friends who came to those long-ago events are now dead, and there’s no longer any family in the area with the exception of me. But I’m confident if a cousin, or even the child of one of those old friends, called and asked, their house would again be “open” on Christmas.

Everyone (meaning all their friends) knew about the open house tradition and over the course of the afternoon and early evening anywhere from half a dozen to a couple

of dozen people, including kids, might show up. People came if they could and felt like it and didn’t if they didn’t.

The specific open house I’m remembering wasn’t a good one for me. I recall it started well, there was a dusting of snow when we got up Christmas morning and there were more flurries throughout the day. But no real accumulation, just cold with a landscape in shades of gray.

For some reason, lots of folks showed up along with their kids. My parents were a tad younger than most of their friends, and so I was a tad younger than the other “oldest” kids. I remember one of my presents being broken, though I don’t recall what it was. Then the afternoon went downhill.

But, that was one bad day in the context of years and years of open house Christmases. And there was a period in my 30s when most of the guests were of my generation (cousins and friends of my siblings and mine) and I was the slightly elder and respected one.

The open houses I remember, although not dead, are mostly gone. It’s a tradition I can’t own and be responsible for. But there is another family Christmas tradition, equally old and a key part of the open houses that I have taken to myself.

The tradition began Thanksgiving weekend. My mother would make her mother’s (Mummo’s) recipe for Bourbon Cake and Dad would make his Eggnog base.

Mom no longer makes Mummo’s Bourbon Cake. It requires either a lot of physical strength (which she no longer has) or a stand mixer (which she’s never had). So I’ve taken over that duty

Dad still makes ‘nog when they’re at home for Christmas. But I’ve made it when they came to visit me for the holiday.

Both of these food traditions require planning. They’re not cookies made in an afternoon on the spur of the moment. These are foods that must age to achieve perfection. The bourbon cake requires regular care during the aging process. The ‘nog simply needs time and a dark, cool corner in the pantry. Both need to be made at least a month in advance to be at their best on Christmas, and so I’m posting this now to give anyone who’s interested time to make them.

I posted the recipe for Bourbon Cake last year and this year I’m adding the recipe for eggnog.

Making a dish with raw eggs and allowing it to sit, unrefrigerated, for a month may seem foolish, but there is so much booze in the base mixture that there is no way it can spoil. And the long aging process is essential to creating a smooth (as opposed to a raw, whiskey) flavor.

Eggnog, Base Mixture

6 eggs
1/2 c sugar
3/4 c bourbon
1/3 c rum (dark is best)

Beat eggs until well-mixed. Combine bourbon and rum and add very gradually to the egg mixture — this should take about fifteen minutes. (Note: If the booze is added too quickly it will curdle the eggs, so take it slowly.) Beat in the sugar and store, loosely covered, in a glass or ceramic container in a cool, dark place — but not a refrigerator.

Eggnog, Serving

1 c whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 c sugar

Whip the cream until almost stiff. Whip in vanilla and sugar. Stir up the booze mixture and thoroughly mix into cream. This nog will be very thick and you may wish to thin it somewhat with milk. Serve in punch cups with a sprinkling of finely grated nutmeg.

My father says he often increases the bourbon to 1 cup and the rum to 1/2 cup in the base mixture producing a more potent (and less thick) end result. He warns that if you do this the time spent adding the booze to the eggs will be proportionally longer.

Make both of these treats and I guarantee a Merry (and delicious) Christmas.

Technorati: Food | recipe | christmas | bourbon | egg nog