Category Archives: Cooking

The ‘Nogs

Okay, so eggnog season has finally come. Two of my batches of eggnog  (the first batch was from this post) were ready to be enjoyed!

In the photo above you can see all that’s left of my eggnog: batch 2 is on the left, batch 1 is in the middle, and the best store-bought is on the right.

Batch 2 I made in July. I noticed after I made the batch that the directions are different depending on if you use Alton’s milk mix or just do what he says for half and half version. The difference was that batch 2 ended up with a quart less half and half in it (and fluid in general). This made the eggnog darker, stronger, and thicker. Still very tasty though. This is actually the batch that I got to have the most of.

Batch 1 was made in December of ’12. It is super tasty. I am not sure if it was the extra age, the extra half and half, or the sweeter bourbon I used, but it was very drinkable. I’m not entirely sure where it all went. I know a big chunk of it went to a friend in a trade for a bottle of home-made Kahlúa. A few others went as gifts and, all in all, I was left with a little more than what is in the bottle in that picture. Batch 1 was much sweeter and it was thinner than batch 2.

And the store stuff is store stuff. Good, sweet, thick, non alcoholic. And really good to mix with batch 2.

I might make some again, but probably not until June or July.

Bubbie Pickles

So, like 16 weeks ago, I decided to make pickles. I procured the needed ingredients and supplies then went to work.

Well, it was like 40 minutes worth of work to get the brine and pickles all packed into a container and set on my counter.

I let them sit on my counter and ferment and all that jazz for 3 weeks or so. Then they were supposed to be ready. They were not. They simply were inedible.

They were bad.

Bad.

Bad. Bad. Bad.

They were much too salty and not pickled all the way through. I was at a lost of what to do. This recipe just sounded so amazing. I spent money on the supplies, and gosh darn! I wanted some pickles. 

So I just grabbed another clean jar and put the disgusting pickles in it, filled it up with fresh clean water and threw the jar in my fridge to deal with another day. I figured that if it was too salty, the fresh water would pull it out, and also fermentation just slows down in the fridge so maybe they’ll get better on the inside too.

Guess who’s got two thumbs and is right? This guy!

So after two months and a house move later, I had a sudden craving for a pickle and decided to give the salty mouth turds in my fridge another chance to be amazing. And they totally lived up to my expectations.

They were garlicy, slightly spicy, and just the right salty.

Amazing. Now, if I make it through the night without any… repercussions… I will declare them perfect.

Is it too early for Christmas ’13?

Cause I totally started today.

I came home, put on some Christmas music and made “The ‘Nog”. Okay, I probably won’t be calling it “The ‘Nog” but I have been thinking about making this since December 6th, when this article came out. The article combined so many of the things I loved. Alton Brown. Eggnog. Aging stuff. I just had to make it.

You can check out the directions and the ingredients here, though I did just use regular rum, brandy (instead Cognac) and just Half and Half instead of the mix he suggested.

And here it is:
IMG_3777

That’s the bottle to be opened at 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months. 3 months, cause I just want to have some now. 6 months to see if it’s good and to possibly make some more. 12 months from now? That’s Christmas time ’13.

And yeah, I just rinsed off the bottles so they look a little sloppy, and the small one has the paper still on the outside. It’s what’s on the inside that counts, right?