January’s Ultimate Blog Challenge

Happy 2017!!
Happy 2017!!

The Ultimate Blog Challenge is back!

The Ultimate Blog Challenge runs every 3 months, and January is the latest one. I have committed to write 31 posts in 31 days for the entire month. With the holidays fondly behind us, I am eager to jump in and get started!

You might remember that I first participated in this challenge this past July. It’s been around for some time; however, I had not learned of it before then. It really helped jump start my blog writing, so I decided to sign up this month and am planning to rev things up once again. I am curious to see what other things I am able do with my blog…what new ideas I’ll pick up from this month’s challenge and where I can take them.

I’m not sure what new adventures this month will bring, but I welcome new [and old] readers to travel along. And I invite you to offer any insights, comments, and questions you might have.

Oh, and it’s January 1st so Happy New Year! Hope you all enjoyed a safe, happy and healthy holiday season!

Homemade Eggnog!!!


Last night I FINALLY got my homemade eggnog fix. We usually have it before Christmas at an annual caroling party. My neighbor hosts the gathering, which includes several families – kids and all – and I bring the homemade eggnog. This year, however, the caroling party was the night before we left town, which also happened to be within the same week my husband and I returned from London (to find exploded egg all over my kitchen – another story for another time…), the week my son returned home from college for Winter Break, and the day after we celebrated our family Christmas. In addition to all of this I was not feeling well, and somehow the idea of using raw eggs while sick was unappealing. I certainly did not want to serve it to anyone! So this brings me to last night. We returned to TX on New Year’s Eve in time to celebrate the new year with friends. Yesterday I just could not stand the fact that the season was passing without my annual eggnog, so I whipped up a batch. We did have some last night, but it will taste so much better today after the flavors have had a chance to ripen together. Perhaps we will even invite some friends to help us partake of all this goodness…

Our tradition of homemade eggnog goes back many years – even before my husband and I were married. His father made eggnog on Christmas Eve every year. I had never had homemade eggnog until then, but after the first sip I was hooked! I believe his recipe came from the back of a Meyers Dark Rum bottle because it called for an entire bottle of dark rum…lots of nog to go with a little egg! When we moved to TX we really missed the tradition of homemade eggnog, so we began hosting our own eggnog get-together for friends and neighbors. Most had never sampled homemade eggnog, only the falsely-thickened, store-bought, overly sweet variety. Trust me, once you have had the real thing it is difficult to go back to the carton! So over the years this has become our own holiday tradition…a few years back we combined it with our neighbor’s caroling party due to time constraints, and the rest is history!

My recipe is a mixture of several recipes, and it does use dark rum like my father-in-law’s; however, I also add Maker’s Mark Bourbon to mine – generally half rum/half bourbon. I chose to keep with my FIL’s tradition of a high ratio of nog to egg…somehow it seems to be the right thing to do! Some recipes add peach brandy or cognac instead of (or in addition to) rum and/or bourbon…it is really a taste preference and what flavor you associate with eggnog. The consistent part includes separated eggs, hard alcohol, sugar, milk, and heavy cream. I also add freshly grated nutmeg, which in my mind is a must-do. I have found that the flavor is best when the egg yolk and sugar mixture is combined with the milk and alcohol and sits for a minimum of several hours, preferably overnight. Just before serving I fold in the whipped egg whites and whipped heavy cream, then grate the nutmeg on top. I even have a special bowl and ladle I purchased about 8 or 9 years ago specifically for eggnog! Is this over the top? Perhaps…but when the neighbors see that bowl heading down the street they know what the night holds in store!!!

Resolutions…Do YOU have one???

The new year is nearly upon us. As with many of you, I am considering what, if anything, I will adopt as my New Year’s resolution. I generally avoid making such committments since they are usually tossed aside by the end of January, but I think I may give in this year. My New Year’s Resolution will involve working on my website – expanding it to evolve into something much more exciting. Writing has always been one of my passions, and food is an even bigger passion than writing. I look forward to sharing my love of all things food: recipes, restaurant reviews, history of food, nutrition, etc.

And to anyone out there who might actually be reading this: What is *your* New Year’s Resolution???