Fetch Magazine by Taigan

My friend Lang Cardinal hails from Montgomery, Alabama and shared with me her family’s fabulous eggnog recipe. The frothy egg whites in the recipe make it the lightest—and tastiest—I’ve tried. To go with it, order up some of the cocktail treats also featured on Fetch this week or roast your own pecans. The recipe below is from my book Ham Biscuits, Hostess Gowns, and Other Southern Specialties. If you omit the pepper, they are also perfect for pie—the extra step of roasting and salting makes all the difference.

Either way, we at Fetch hope your days are most merry and bright.  And we encourage you to hedge your bets with Lang’s luscious eggnog!

Julia Reed

 

Nicrosi Family Eggnog Recipe

12 eggs, separated

1 quart heavy whipping cream

2 cups sugar

1 cup bourbon whiskey

 

Beat egg yolks in mixer for 15 minutes.

Add bourbon and beat another 5 minutes. Be careful to cover mixer to avoid splatter. Set mixture aside in LARGE bowl.

Divide 12 egg whites into half in order to handle volume. Beat half of egg whites until peaks form, gradually adding 1 cup of the sugar to mixture. Add this to the bowl of egg yolks and whiskey. Beat remaining whites and add remaining 1 cup of sugar as before. Add this to egg yolk mixture.

Whip 1 quart of heavy whipping cream until stiff. Gently fold whipped cream into yolk mixture.

Serve in large silver punch bowl.

Can be made up to a day ahead and refrigerated. May need to gently stir before serving if alcohol has separated.

[NOTE: Lang’s holidays are apparently less stressful than mine. Taste after adding the bourbon—you may well need one more cup!]

 

Toasted Pecans

4 tablespoons butter, melted

4 cups pecan halves

1 tablespoon salt

½ teaspoon white pepper (or more to taste)

 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place the melted butter and the pecans in a bowl and toss to coat thoroughly.

Spread the pecans in one layer on a rimmed cookie sheet or shallow baking pan and bake for 25 minutes. Shake the pan and stir the nuts around at least twice while baking to prevent scorching. Remove from oven and let pecans cool in pan. Sprinkle with salt and white pepper to coat. Store in an airtight container.

Pictured above: Julia Reed’s eggnog in  a Gorham Silver Pitcher and Estate Silver Goblets from Cozine & Co. on a silver tray (similar here).

 

 

 

One Comment to “White Christmas, Bright Christmas”

1. ann says:

   December 18, 2012 at 1:43 pm

   love that recipe, Julia. Best, Annette

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