GZ Tai-Tai

Egg Nog

My family loves Egg Nog come holiday season.  When we moved overseas it was impossible to find. The beauty of this recipe was that you made a cooked custard with the eggs and did not have the worry of getting sick or making anyone else sick. The lack of refrigeration in the local markets made it likely that this could happen, we won't even get into the bird flu factor.

We adapted the original recipe over the years, and it was used for our in home egg nog consumption. It is the recipe we served at our Christmas parties over the years. At the Christmas party we left the booze out, this way our adult guests could choose the booze of their choice to add to their cup of nog.  This worked well because there were usually a few younger party goers watching Christmas videos in the family room. They were always invited to have some snacks and something to drink too. What kid or adult can pass up a punch bowl full of creamy egg nog, especially when it’s topped with clouds of whipped cream.

Egg Nog

Step 1 Make Soft Custard

Soft Custard

3 large Eggs, slightly beaten

1/3 cup of Sugar

dash of Salt

2 ½ cups Milk

1 teaspoon Vanilla

Mix eggs,sugar, and salt in heavy 2-quart saucepan.

Gradually stir in the milk. Cook over medium heat 10 to 15 minutes, stirring constantly, until mixture just coats a metal spoon; remove from heat. Stir in the vanilla. Place saucepan in cold water until custard is cool. (If custard curdles beat vigorously with hand beater until smooth.) Cover and Refrigerate at least 2 hours but no longer than 24 hours.

Egg Nog Assembly

1 cup whipping (heavy ) cream

2 Tablespoons Powdered Sugar

½ teaspoon Vanilla

½ Cup Rum

Fresh Ground Nutmeg

Prepared Soft Custard.

Just before serving, beat whipping cream, powdered sugar and vanilla in chilled medium bowl with electric Mixer on high speed until stiff.

Gently stir 1 cup of the Whipped cream and the rum, if using into the custard.

Pour custard mixture into small punch bowl. Drop remaining whipped cream in mounds onto custard mixture. Sprinkle with nutmeg. Serve immediately. Refrigerate any remaining eggnog.

 

Shake and Bake Mix

 This recipe came to me from a High School friend's Mother. We have stayed in touch over the years.I have always scoffed at mixes that you buy because of the high salt content. Hubby came from a house hold that used lots of store bought mixes. When Linda told me about this recipe I thought it would be worth a try. Hubby loves it, he says it is much better than the store bought.

 You can follow the cooking instructions below, or do as I do, instead of using butter, I spray the pan with Pam or olive oil. Instead of basting with the butter I give a spray or two of the Pam or olive oil over top of the meat before placing in the oven.

I have even used it on fish and reduced to time in the oven to about 20-25 minutes at the 400F temperature.

I can get several uses out of this amount of mix. I just put what I need in a bag for each particlar meal.

 

Shake and Bake Mix

4 cups flour
2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 cup bran flake cereal (crushed) Grape Nuts are great too.
2 Tbsp. parsley flakes
2 Tbsp. garlic powder
1 Tbsp. onion powder
2 Tbsp. taco seasoning
1 Tsp. ground pepper
1 Tsp. curry powder
1 Tsp. basil
1 Tsp. oregano

Mix together well. Store in an air tight container until ready to use.

 

When ready to use:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Put the amount of mix needed, for the meat you are cooking in a plastic bag. Place meat in bag and shake to coat. 

 

Chicken:

Shake 1 disjointed chicken in above mix.
Melt 1/4 cup butter in a shallow 9 x 12 baking pan. Place chicken skinside down and baste top with melted butter from the pan. Bake uncovered for 25 minutes. Turn skin side up, reduce to heat to 350 degrees and bake until tender, about 30 - 35 minutes.

 

Pork Chops:

Use the amount needed to cover moistened pork chops and
shake them in a plastic bag. Do the same with the chicken if using pieces.