I come from a family of six siblings. We have different personalities and different temperaments. We get along with some better than others. What we do share, though, is a strong distaste for store-bought eggnog.
While growing up, a holiday ritual in my family was our father’s making of the eggnog. Dad, known as “Ron” by his children when they reached adulthood, had the rare talent of making a simple thing appear complicated, like the simple Catholic Mass compared to High Mass. The recipe came to Ron from his father – my namesake: fresh cream, milk, eggs, powdered sugar (no high-fructose corn syrup in those days… or now). Oh yeah, whiskey and rum.
Separating the eggs was a precision operation, as was beating the whites until they were perfectly peaked. Powdered sugar was added oh so slowly and delicately. And he poured the whiskey and rum just a little at a time, taste-testing to get the right alcohol flavor and proportion. The only thing more elaborate was his one other kitchen disruption: the drawn out process of preparing the turkey stuffing.
We grew up knowing what eggnog tastes like, and cannot abide that flavor-dead stuff in the grocery store.
Family lore includes the story of little brother Paul, unsupervised while parents were otherwise occupied hosting an open house, bouncing around like a pachinko and consuming several cups of the nog. He was the life of the party for a short period before crashing.
Paul and spouse Katy host the Wogg Nogg at their home every December. (“Wogg” is a nickname Paul picked up, but that’s another story.) They open their house to friends and neighbors, family, sons, daughters, nieces and nephews. A bounteous buffet, including vegan delicacies, helps to absorb the endless nog. (A non-alcoholic version is offered, too.) It begins early evening and goes “until we’re done,” usually after the living room has been cleared for dancing. If you leave without being filled with seasonal cheer, it’s your own fault.
The solstice-holiday season begins Saturday.
An important part of the holiday season!