We are right in the thick of what Robert refers to as the “whipped cream holidays.” This is the span of time (roughly November to February) during which whipped cream starts to appear on the cocktail menu of every restaurant and bar in the country. If it’s got kahlua, creme de menthe, bailey’s, or frangelico in it, it’s going to be topped with whipped cream. People where I live practically count the days until eggnog and peppermint lattes show up in the coffee shops. I usually stay away from any beverage made with excessive amounts of sugar and cream; I prefer my coffee black and my cocktails basic. This year, however, I found myself wanting to make eggnog. I have absolutely no idea where this impulse came from because I have never been an eggnog drinker. But, there it was, this strange desire to indulge in a sweet, fattening holiday drink. I would soon be participating in the “whipped cream holidays” just like everyone else.

On Saturday, Robert and I wandered down to our local liquor store so that he could replace his diminishing supply of Maker’s Mark and I could get the rum I needed for my eggnog. I was originally planning on using the eggnog recipe from How to Cook Everything which is for a very quick, uncooked eggnog. But, then I came across this recipe which had been given rave reviews by all who had tried it. In this recipe, you cook the egg yolks slowly in spiced milk and then, after it has cooled, you add cream and lots of rum. It was a little bit more work but really was not that difficult. The only tricky part was combining the hot milk slowly with the egg yolks so that they don’t curdle.

I let my eggnog sit in the refrigerator for several hours before serving. It was very tasty and, as expected, extremely rich (see the recipe notes for calorie and fat count, if you’re curious.) I’m pretty sure the rum was actually the healthiest ingredient in there. That same evening, as Robert and I were sipping our eggnog, we happened to flip to the Food Network right when Emeril was making eggnog for his audience. His preparation was very similar to mine but, for some reason, his eggnog was coming out a disconcertingly bright shade of yellow. More frightening, however, was the extremely lumpy texture that his eggnog had taken on. It looked like scrambled eggnog. And this was the premade version that he pulled out of the fridge to serve to his guests, not the version he had been making live, which would have been slightly more forgivable. As we watched in horror, we began to appreciate the smooth texture and spicy, rummy flavor of my eggnog so much more!