Help for the Last Minute Christmas Shopper Courtesy of George Washington
For the second year in a row, I predict more mayhem than usual for last-minute Christmas shoppers. Christmas this year falls on a Tuesday, meaning that all of the slackers who waited until the last weekend before starting their shopping (I’ve heard that such people exist) are going to realize within the next 48-hours that they have only Monday as a buffer, if they can’t finish up everything they need to do by Sunday. The result will be both more intense shopping activity than usual during the weekend-proper, and an entire sum of week-of-the-holiday shopping desperation packed into a single day before Christmas.
From this point forward, for help in surviving the commercial aspects of the Christmas season, I recommend the eggnog recipe favored by the First President of the United States, George Washington…
Er, after re-reading the recipe, let me be sure to be clear: I am only recommending the frequent tasting of our first President’s eggnog recipe after a safe return home from your Christmas shopping!Mix liquor first, then separate yolks and whites of eggs, add sugar to beaten yolks, mix well. Add liquor to mixture drop by drop at first, slowly beating. Add milk and cream, slowly beating. Beat whites of eggs until stiff and fold slowly into mixture. Let set in cool place for several days. Taste frequently.
- One quart cream
- One quart milk
- One dozen tablespoons sugar
- One pint brandy
- 1/2 pint rye whiskey
- 1/2 pint Jamaica rum
- 1/4 pint sherry
Egg Nog?
Where are the eggs?
I find 1 dozen tablespoons sugar a bit strange…….
Where are the eggs?
Merry Christmas to all!!!
From what I’ve been told, we can all expect a very good New Year!!!
Andrew:
You did leave the eggs out of the recipe. I tried it, myself, and also managed to forget the milk, cream, and sugar. VERY good…
JPS
“From what I’ve been told, we can all expect a very good New Year!!!”
Be still, my heart.
The original recipe does not specify the number of eggs. Adding back in the ingredients that Jon left out, the recipe calls for a little over three quarts, or twelve cups, of liquid. So my guess would be a dozen eggs.
Foaming the egg whites for egg nog. That’s a new one.
I’m just reporting here! I’ve seen it mentioned from other sources, in addition to the Farmers Almanac, that eggs were not specifically mentioned in the 18th century version of the Mount Vernon “recipe card” from which the eggnog recipe was obtained. So basically, it is GW who is saying toss in however many eggs you want, but treat the other ingredients with loving precision!
BTW, did you know that when it came time to get the whiskey for the recipe, Washington would have not had to travel far, because Mount Vernon was the site of one of the largest American distilleries of its time.