Holiday Nogs

What is more Christmassy than enjoying a delicious cup of eggnog?  Nothing I can think of.  So for my fellow nog afficianados out there, here are a couple of new variations to sip on.  I found these in my Favorite Brand Names Appetizers cookbook and thought I would give them a try.  Not disappointed.

Raspberry Eggnog
Favorite Brand Names Appetizers, page 340, recipe paraphrased 

1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp cornstarch
4 cups skim milk, divided
2 egg, beaten
1 (12 oz) pkg frozen raspberries, thawed
1 tsp vanilla
6-9 drops red food coloring (optional)
ground nutmeg for garnish

Combine sugar and cornstarch in a large saucepan.  Stir in 2 cups of milk and bring to a boil over low heat, stirring constantly.

Continue boiling 1 minute or until thickened, again stirring constantly.

Whisk small amount of hot milk mixture into eggs in a small bowl. 

Whisk egg mixture in saucepan and cook over low heat for 1 minute.  Strain and cool.

Place raspberries in a food processor or blender and process until smooth.

Strain and discard seeds.

Stir raspberry puree into the cooled milk mixture and add in remaining 2 cups of milk and vanilla.

 

 

Add food coloring (if wanted) one drop at a time until eggnog is the desired shade of pink.

Cover and refrigerate until cold or ready to serve.  Sprinkle with nutmeg.  Garnish with mint sprigs and raspberries, if desired.

Makes 12 (1/2 oz) cups.


Mocha Eggnog
Favorite Brand Names Appetizers, page 346, recipe paraphrased

1 qt eggnog
1 tbsp instant coffee
1/4 cup coffee-flavored liqueur
cinnamon for garnish

Heat eggnog and coffee granules in a large saucepanover medium heat until mixture is hot and coffee is dissolved. Do NOT boil.

Remove from heat and stir in coffee liqueur.

NOTES

I ended up not adding any red food coloring to the raspberry nog because I liked the light pink color it was without.

When it comes to straining the raspberry puree, after several messy attempts, I found the best thing to do was line a strainer with cheesecloth and squeeze it through.

NOTE

I used the instant expresso that I used for the cappuchino pie and Kahlua, because you can never go wrong with Kahlua.