Eggnog

Tess Coker from Bend, Ore., has been trying to locate a recipe similar to the one she once had for making an eggnog tart or tartlets. Christie McVie from Knoxville, Tenn., sent in a recipe she likes very much from the November 2004 issue of Gourmet magazine for a Cranberry Eggnog Tart. She said she tried this dessert when she first saw the recipe and it has become a standard at her holiday gatherings. While the recipe may seem a bit complicated at first glance, it really is not all that difficult.

It's prime winter time and we here at b are always on the lookout for cocktails that conjure images of curling clenched hands around a mug, fire blazing and scarf draped upon neck - something that'll let you pretend we're actually having a winter here in Baltimore even when it's 56 degrees out in January. And while optimally the quintessential winter drink may come in a mug, sometimes you can find such a thing in a cocktail glass with fancy garnishes, much like Bradley's of Fells Point's aptly titled drink, Snowed In. Snowed In is interesting to say the least.

About this time every year certain people get the urge to make eggnog. I am one of them, and so is James E. Kelly Jr.In the middle of December, Kelly and his wife, Pat, invite about 50 people over to their Baltimore County home to make massive batches of a concoction called Irish eggnog. Everybody who attends the party is assigned a job. Some folks crack the eggs, some pour in the booze, some help put the eggnog in bottles that the guests carry home.The eggnog bottles even have labels supplied by one of Kelly's )

The annual Olde Tyme Christmas Eggnog Contest is Saturday, part of the 9th Annual Fells Point Olde Tyme Christmas weekend. Participating taverns and retailers will offer free tastes of their special recipe eggnog to strolling sippers. This year's participants include Todd Conner's , One Eyed Mike's , aMuse Toys , the Greene Turtle , Bradley's of Fells Point , Riptide by the Bay , Alexander's Tavern , Cat's Eye Pub , Rye , Slainte , Kooper's Tavern , John Stevens and Party Dress . Strollers should pick up a ballot at the Fells Point Main Street booth on Broadway Square, at the southwest corner of Thames and Broadway, before heading out to their favorite destinations.

A woman called recently with news that her friends were afraid of my eggnog.They wouldn't drink any because they were afraid of one of the ingredients. Not the 2 cups of bourbon, not the 1 1/8 cups of sugar, not the 4 cups of whipping cream. But the 6 egg yolks.Since the yolks weren't cooked, the friends of this woman were worried that the eggs could be contaminated with salmonella bacteria, and that drinking the nog would make them ill.What, the woman on the phone wanted to know, could she do?

It is eggnog time again.Just about this time every year I print the recipe for the best eggnog in the world, mine.And every year about this time people read the recipe, try it, then enter a state of high-fat bliss.They laugh, they smile, they sing. They feel goodwill toward men, including investment bankers.Then they lose the recipe.And 12 months later they call me up, in a panic.They tell me about the wonderful time they had last year. And under questioning, they tell me where they last saw the recipe.

THERE ARE VERY few columns that offer a Christmas Day present to readers, but you hold one in your hands right now - and not because of any dazzling prose to follow. No, the gift today is the recipe for the Ultimate Eggnog, which I pass along to add a little holiday cheer to your humdrum lives. One thing before we go any further: Don't be taken in by that "World's Greatest Eggnog" recipe my friend Rob Kasper trots out in his food column every Christmas. With all due respect, that nog won't hunt.

How about a cake and pie day? These two will offer a sweet TC treat and maybe even some early thoughts about the holidays.An eggnog coffee cake was the request of Christine A. Sefton of Woodstock, Ill., who wrote that the recipe was once printed on the Borden's eggnog container and "it was our family favorite."Lois Skovran of Rapid City, S.D., responded.Skovran's eggnog coffee cake1 1/3 cup sugar1/2 cup margarine2 eggs3 cups all-purpose flour3 teaspoons baking powder2 cups eggnogPreheat oven to 350 degrees.

IT IS DECEMBER, AND I want to believe that throughout the Baltimore area, kindly souls are nestled in their homes making eggnog. This is probably not an accurate depiction of the local mood. I suspect that a more realistic view would be that, in December, harried shoppers are rushing through fast-food restaurants and are "beeping" what passes for supper in microwaves.But I am a romantic, at least, during this, the eggnog season. Romantics rarely see the world clearly, especially if they have been sampling the nog. I cling to the view, however ill-focused, that the masses crave eggnog in December.

When it comes to eggnog, I have a narrow standard. There is my homemade nog, and then there is every other nog. Mine calls for a mountain of sugar, a river of raw egg yolks, a torrent of bourbon and a deluge of whipping cream. It is not politically correct or nutritionally correct. Because it uses raw egg yolks - thereby exposing imbibers to a small risk of salmonella - many dietitians consider it forbidden fare, especially for anyone with a weak immune system. (You can, I am told, substitute pasteurized eggs.

Tess Coker from Bend, Ore., has been trying to locate a recipe similar to the one she once had for making an eggnog tart or tartlets. Christie McVie from Knoxville, Tenn., sent in a recipe she likes very much from the November 2004 issue of Gourmet magazine for a Cranberry Eggnog Tart. She said she tried this dessert when she first saw the recipe and it has become a standard at her holiday gatherings. While the recipe may seem a bit complicated at first glance, it really is not all that difficult.

After watching a few minutes of the nightly news, you might feel pretty ungrateful about the 2007 holiday season that kicks off with Thanksgiving. There's plenty of senseless death, destruction and wasted potential to validate that point of view. And if you have suffered a personal loss of any kind, the season can seem like a cruel, monthlong game of charades. Who wants to paste on a smile and parade through the open-house circuit, making festive chitchat with people who might not understand the depth of your pain?

For a drink that appears only about six weeks of every year, eggnog takes many forms. According to The Dictionary of American Food & Drink by John F. Mariani, the word "nog" is an Old English term for ale, but eggnog was often made in England with Spanish red wine. In America, the book says, spirits took the place of wine, but those have varied, too -- from rum to brandy to bourbon, or a combination. Then there's the more serious safety debate: Should the eggs in the nog be cooked or uncooked?

NEXT WEEK IN THE ESSENTIALS-- COOKING 101 -- How to make your own eggnog

When it comes to eggnog, I have a narrow standard. There is my homemade nog, and then there is every other nog. Mine calls for a mountain of sugar, a river of raw egg yolks, a torrent of bourbon and a deluge of whipping cream. It is not politically correct or nutritionally correct. Because it uses raw egg yolks - thereby exposing imbibers to a small risk of salmonella - many dietitians consider it forbidden fare, especially for anyone with a weak immune system. (You can, I am told, substitute pasteurized eggs.

I was shopping one recent evening in the Weis Market in Abingdon. Everything was fine and relatively quiet. Fish sticks were on sale. The broccoli looked fresh. The woman behind the deli counter smiled and called me "Hon." Then, I pushed my cart into the dairy section, and something happened. Eggnog happened. Eggnog in cartons. Eggnog in jugs. I get the willies when I see eggnog. Early eggnog. I know it's December now, and we've even had some snow already. It's been beginning to look a lot like Christmas since September.

My husband and I have been on the South Beach Diet for over four months, and so far it is working great. Around the holidays, my husband usually makes eggnog with just a splash of rum, vanilla ice cream, and half a gallon of store-brand eggnog. He also adds whatever he feels might add a different taste, including vanilla, almond or strawberry flavorings. Is there any way to make a low-carb, low-sugar eggnog? All I could think of was to use as many low-carb, low-sugar ingredients as possible, but I'm not sure how that would taste.

Doing things the "same old way" at this time of year is valued, at least by some of us. Those of us who treasure the old ways might call ourselves "traditionalists." Others refer to us as "fogeys."The first time I was called a fogey by one of my kids, I was offended. But now, rather than fight the characterization of being someone who is behind the times, I embrace it. If the world is divided between "cool" people who are "with-it" and "fogeys" who are "out-of-it," I am much more comfortable in the second group.

Say so long to Martin Gramatica, Tom Brokaw, that amazing Jeopardy guy, Ken Jennings, and the turkey-induced Thanksgiving semi-coma. Bring on Julius Jones, endless reruns of 'A Christmas Story,' intolerably long lines at the Best Buy and, well, the leftover turkey-induced December semi-coma. A new season is upon us, and just in time for the fantasy football postseason. In a standard fantasy football format, Week 13 generally marks the end of the regular season, with the playoffs contested in Weeks 14-16.