Egg Nog, Two Ways: Traditional and Puerto Rican

America's Test Chicken consists of two separate chickens, each with her own take on this cooking thing. Check out Chicken One's related blog, A Travel for Taste where she shares travel stories and recipes collected whenever she ventures abroad. And give Chicken Two's new, also-related blog, Poop from the Coop a read. There you can find stories about her personal adventure re-experiencing the kitchen after many years away. Please join our Facebook group to share your own recipes, kitchen practices and know-how. We are also on Pinterest and Instagram.

Complete recipes appear at the end of this post. 

From Chicken One: Perhaps  you'd better read the other column first, for Chicken Two is giving you her take on the first time making egg nog from scratch. My column this time is a variation on that theme, and a completely different taste.  I love egg nog in all its forms, including this one which tastes like a creamy, tropical cocktail, complete with coconut and rum. A recent trip to a tropical-themed restaurant taught me this drink is also known as coquito. As you can see in this photo, the ingredients are common and you have to open a few cans. But it's all worth it. First break apart cinnamon sticks and boil them in water for a great-smelling reduction. It certainly gives your house a holiday scent. Whisk the reduction into some coconut milk. Then cook the egg yolks and evaporated milk over a double boiler until thickened. The common term for thickness in this case is, "until it coats the spoon". I'll explain. You have to dip the spoon into the mixture, raise it and swipe through the back of it with your finger. When you start out, the thin mixure looks like this:   When thick, it will look like this:   If you go a little too long (like I did when I couldn't get the pan off the double boiler fast enough), it looks like this: This last one is arguably a tad over the line for thickness. Cook it any longer and everything will become scrambled eggs. If you should happen to do this, and as long as it isn't TOO terribly scrambled-eggy, you can blend the finished product with a stick blender to smooth it out. This ONLY works in a small margin of cases, though, so keep an eye on that double boiler! Now combine the cinnamon milk, thickened egg mixture and the rest into a wonderful concoction: Add rum to taste. Don't hold the rum apart for combining individually at serve time like regular egg nog. The taste really depends on all the ingredients together. The recipe calls for 3 cups of rum, but the Chickens stopped at 2. We didn't want to overwhelm the creamy egg nog taste. All this is subjective, of course! A word of warning: the coconut milk will partially solidify when chilled, so give the whole thing a shake or whisk before serving. Happy Holidays to you all! Here's an impeck-able Chicken Two working egg-stra hard in the kitchen for you!

From Chicken Two: To say my husband loves egg nog is an understatement! He impatiently awaits the arrival of the first container of egg nog at the grocery store and for the entire holiday season, there is at least a half gallon of it in the fridge. Lord help the store that runs out! Me, I can take it or leave it.  Until, that is, I experienced the pure taste of home made! Even if you're not fond of it, give this a try…it could change your entire perspective. It did mine, for sure, and you're bound to have family members and friends who will love it, too! My husband, the doctor, (yes, really) was somewhat skeptical of my making this and his first question was, "Are you cooking the eggs???" In a panic, I texted Chicken One. "Are we cooking the egg nog?" Thankfully, her reply was yes. (According to Alton Brown, you can do it both ways.) Combine the first four ingredients over medium heat and cook to about 160 degrees, or until the spoon is coated. (See pic in column 1.) We used freshly grated nutmeg. Click here for a review of nutmeg graters on my Poop from the Coop blog. Add the remainder of the ingredients. Chill at least overnight - two days brings out the full flavor.  This basic recipe is so simple, and, apart from grating our own nutmeg, doesn't take very long to do. I like the idea of being able to add bourbon or rum or what ever you want in the amounts you prefer, or nothing at all. To each his/her own!   Don't tell Chicken One, but personally I prefer the Puerto Rican version…it's got a little kick to it. My husband and family liked it, but we ran out of the basic egg nog first. I think that says something! And not to be outdone (who's competitive???) here's a picture of Chicken One, stirring up a pot of trouble! Have a safe and Happy Holiday!

Traditional Egg Nog

Ingredients

• 10 eggs
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 4 cups milk
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground nutmeg

Cooking Directions

1. Combine eggs, sugar, milk and salt in top of double boiler. Heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens enough to coat the spoon, which will be about 160 F.
2. Remove from heat immediately. Stir in cream, vanilla and nutmeg.
3. Chill til very cold. It's best to chill for two days for full flavor.
4. Serve cold with brandy, whiskey or other spirits mixed in to taste. Garnish with more grated nutmeg.

Puerto Rican Egg Nog

Ingredients

• 2 cups water
• 8 whole cinnamon sticks
• 6 egg yolks
• 3 twelve-ounce cans evaporated milk
• 2 twelve-ounce cans coconut milk
• 3 fourteen-ounce cans sweetened condensed milk
• 3 cups white rum

Cooking Directions

1. Break up cinnamon sticks into pieces and combine with water in a small saucepan over high heat. Boil until reduced by half. Strain and set liquid aside. Let cool completely.
2. Whisk together egg yolks and evaporated milk. Cook over double boiler until mixture coats spoon, about 160 F. Remove from heat immediately and allow to cool completely.
3. Mix cinnamon liquid and coconut milk well. Stir in thickened egg mixture and sweetened, condensed milk. Add rum to taste.
4. Chill overnight. Makes about 1 gallon.

Panna Cotta & Boeuf en Croute

America's Test Chicken consists of two separate chickens, each with her own take on this cooking thing. Check out Chicken One's related blog, A Travel for Taste where she shares travel stories and authentic local recipes collected whenever she ventures abroad. And give Chicken Two's new, also-related blog, Poop from the Coop a read. There you can find stories about her personal adventure re-experiencing the kitchen after many years away. Please join our Facebook group to share your own recipes, kitchen practices and know-how. We are also on Pinterest and Instagram.

This time the Chickens cooked an entire meal. The star of the meal was the boeuf en croute, which Chicken Two handled expertly. The star of the dessert was panna cotta, which Chicken One turned out with ease. The whole reason for the meal was to try something that we'd always wanted to attempt but somehow intimidated us. You might say we overcame our chicken-heartedness!

Complete recipes appear at the end of this post. 

From Chicken One: Panna Cotta with Raspberry Sauce I chose panna cotta, the light, creamy dessert from Italy. I'm not sure why this one always intimidated me, but it did. Note: it no longer does! I got the recipe from my Culinaria Italia cookbook, whose photos alone make me want to go immediately to Tuscany. Squelching my desire to travel, I forged ahead with the recipe. It turns out it's really quite simple.  Hydrate some unflavored gelatin in some water.   Whisk the gelatin into hot cream.  The recipe calls for light cream. All I could find in the local market was regular cream, which I used to great success. I've since tried heavy whipping cream, and it yields totally different flavor. I much prefer the regular cream.     Ya gotta strain it in case your whisking abilities are lacking The only SCAFU of the day: spilt milk. But I didn't cry; I just poured it into ramekins and put them in the fridge to chill while Chicken Two did her meat thing.    I did manage to whip up a raspberry sauce for the panna cotta. I put some fresh raspberries and sugar into a saucepan and mashed them over heat until there was only juice and seeds. I strained out the seeds and returned the liquid to the stove to reduce, adding a little cornstarch and water to thicken at the end. I turned out the set panna cotta on a plate, drizzled the chilled raspberry sauce around it and garnished with fresh berries and mint leaves.  A fitting, relatively light end to a wonderfully rich main course.

From Chicken Two:   Boeuf En Croute I've always loved the idea of boeuf en croute but was terrified to attempt it. Frankly, every recipe I found made it sound so complicated, I wasn't sure I could pull it off ( at least not if it was going to take all day…short on endurance…very short on patience!) Finally, bolstered and encouraged by Chicken One, I decided to brave it. Next came picking a recipe! You won't believe the variations! I finally chose one from the Cooking Channel that I thought I could live with, and made a couple of changes/additions. We were so pleased (and I think a little surprised!) with the results. Hope you will be too! The recipe is below the pictures. Beef tenderloin sprinkled with  salt and pepper Mushroom duxelles Horseradish sauce on top, mushroom duxelles beneath the roast   After rolling out the dough, gently place over the roast   and make sure the sides are pinched tightly Brush with egg wash    Bake, then remove from oven and let sit for about 10 minutes And serve! Isn't it pretty???

Panna Cotta with Raspberry Sauce

Ingredients

For panna cotta

• 1 packet (1 ounce) unflavored gelatin

• 2 tablespoons water

• 4 cups light cream

• 1/3 cup sugar

• 2 pints fresh raspberries

For raspberry sauce:

• 2 pints fresh raspberries

• 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon water

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 2 teaspoons cornstarch

• 1 bunch fresh mint

Cooking Directions

1. Panna Cotta: Mix gelatin with about 2 tbsp water in small bowl – set aside til gelatin absorbs water. Bring cream and sugar to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in moistened gelatin until smooth. Strain and pour equal portions into ramekins. Chill in refrigerator for at least 2 hours until set. Turn out onto serving plate. Drizzle raspberry sauce around panna cotta. Garnish with fresh raspberries and mint leaves.
2.  Raspberry sauce: Reserve 1/2 pint fresh raspberries for garnish. Combine rest of raspberries, 1/2 cup water and sugar in saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir constantly and mash berries until mixture is liquid with seeds. Remove from heat and strain out the seeds. Return liquid to low boil. Combine cornstarch with 1 tablespoon water and whisk into raspberry liquid. Boil, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool. Other suggestions: serve with a small dollop of whipped cream on the side. Garnish with dark chocolate.

Boeuf en Croute
Ingredients

• 1 1/3 pounds beef tenderloin roast

• about 1 tablespoon each kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 3 tablespoons butter

• about 1 tablespoon olive oil for drizzling

• 2 shallots, minced

• 1 pound mushrooms, very finely chopped

• 1 sprig fresh thyme, leaves picked

• 1 bay leaf

• 1/2 cup Madeira (or Marsala, which is what we used)

• 2 tablespoons crème fraîche

• 1 handful chopped fresh parsley leaves

• 2 one-pound packages puff pastry (thaw if frozen)

• 1 egg

• 1 teaspoon water

• about 1/4 - 1/2 cup prepared horseradish sauce

Cooking Directions

1. Season the beef with salt and pepper. Melt a tablespoon of butter with a drizzle of the olive oil in a saute pan until hot, then sear the beef on all sides. Remove from the pan to a board and let cool completely, then wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate.
2. In the same pan as the beef, prepare the mushroom duxelles: Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and fry the shallots until translucent. Add the mushrooms, thyme, and bay leaf and cook until very tender. Pour in the Madeira, and bring to a boil. Cook until all the liquid has evaporated. Add the  crème fraîche and cook down to a very thick paste. Season the mixture with salt and pepper. Stir through the chopped parsley. (OK, I confess - I didn't really chop up the mushrooms. I used my trusty Cuisinart food processor and did the job right! And fast. Short on patience, remember?) We searched the grocery store for Madeira, but because it's fortified, it is only sold (at least here) in a liquor store. However, we found Marsala and used it instead. The result was wonderful, so don't panic if you can't find the Madeira!
3. Roll out one block of pastry to a rectangle large enough to fit the meat with a roomy border. Place on a baking sheet. Remove the fillet from the refrigerator and unwrap. Spoon the mushroom mixture into the center of the pastry and set the meat on top. Here's where I spread a very generous layer of horseradish sauce on top of the meat. I must say, it really gave the roast a punch! Roll out the second sheet to fit over the whole fillet generously. In a small bowl, beat together the egg and 1 teaspoon water. Brush the margins of the bottom pastry with egg wash, then drape the second sheet over, pressing to seal well. Trim the edge to a 1-inch border. Crimp the edges with your fingers. Refrigerate until ready to bake.
4. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
5. Brush the whole surface of the pastry with egg wash and make two slits in the top with a knife to allow steam to escape. Bake 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 400 degrees F, and continue to bake 20 minutes, depending on how well you like your meat done. Remove from the oven and let stand about 10 minutes before serving in slices.
6. Let us know how yours turns out!

Hard Whiskey Sauce & Caramel Sauce for Bread Pudding

America's Test Chicken consists of two separate chickens, each with her own take on this cooking thing. Check out Chicken One's related blog, A Travel for Taste where she shares travel stories and recipes collected whenever she ventures abroad. And give Chicken Two's new, also-related blog, Poop from the Coop a read. There you can find stories about her personal adventure re-experiencing the kitchen after many years away. Please join our Facebook group to share your own recipes, kitchen practices and know-how. We are also on Pinterest and Instagram.

This time: two luscious sauces for last month's bread pudding!

The complete recipes appear at the end of this post. 

From Chicken One: I, of course, opted for the sauce with the liquor in it. Both these sauces are super easy, but I think the hard sauce is even easier than Chicken Two's caramel sauce over there. The whole thing takes about 5 minutes after you've gathered the ingredients. Just melt some butter and stir in some sugar, an egg yolk and some water. Once it boils, remove from heat and stir in the hard stuff. It's best warm spooned over bread pudding. No major SCAFU's to report this time, thank the Great Hen and dessert gods!

From Chicken Two:     I think this version - the Caramel Sauce - is super     easy too! The trick is NOT overcooking! Burned     caramel sauce ain't tasty! Just combine the ingredients and cook until bubbly. Be sure to stir constantly and, when the sauce looks slightly curdly, cook and stir for another 2 minutes. You'll add the vanilla after you take the pot off the heat. If you've never had warm bread pudding (yes, you can serve it over cooled pudding), you're missing a real treat! There are a couple of other sauces you can use as well such as Vanilla or Bourbon Sauce, but I invite you to use your imagination and create your own using your favorite flavors. Let us know how it turns out!

Caramel Sauce for Bread Pudding

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/3 cup half-and-half or light cream
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cooking Directions

1. In a small, heavy saucepan, combine brown sugar and cornstarch. Stir in water. Stir in half-and-half, corn syrup, and butter. Stir over medium heat until bubbly (mixture may appear curdled). Stir 2 minutes more. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Serve warm or cool over bread pudding. Also great for ice cream, baked fruits or cake. Cover and chill any leftovers for up to 3 days.

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Bourbon Sauce for Bread Pudding

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg yolk, beaten
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 - 2 tablespoons bourbon

Cooking Directions

1. In a small saucepan melt the butter. Stir in the sugar, egg yolk and water. Stir over medium-low heat 5 to 6 minutes or until sugar dissolves and mixture boils. Remove from heat, stir in bourbon. Serve warm over bread pudding.

Bread Pudding Recipe and Tutorial

America's Test Chicken is proud to announce the launch of Chicken Two's new blog, Poop from the Coop! Check with her often for stories about her personal adventure re-experiencing the kitchen after many years away. Of course, Chicken One has her longstanding A Travel for Taste blog where you can share her travel and food stories and recipes she collects whenever she ventures abroad. Please also join our Facebook group to share your own recipes, kitchen practices and know-how. We are also on Pinterest and Instagram.

The complete bread pudding recipe appears at the end of this post.

Next month: two amazing sauces to smother over this month's delightful bread pudding recipe

 

From Chicken One: While Chicken Two (author of the new Poop from the Coop blog) gives you the down-low on how to turn out a great dish of this month's specialty, I'll fill you in on some history, etymology and personal ramblings. Bread pudding is, according to The New Food Lover's Companion, A simple baked dessert made with cubes or slices of bread saturated with a mixture of milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla and spices. Chopped fruit or nuts also can be added. Bread and butter pudding is typically made by buttering the bread slices before adding the liquid mixture. Both may be served hot or cold with cream or a dessert sauce. Bread pudding is appealing; there’s no doubt about it. Part of the appeal for me is the fact bread pudding makes use of stale, day-old bread. Food historians generally agree that bread pudding evolved from frugality. That is, cooks, probably poor ones, found a way to turn old bread into a viable dish. So I don’t have to throw old bread away! I hate throwing food away so bread pudding satisfies me on an emotional level while I’m making it. Eating it satisfies in a different emotional way, but that requires a completely different support group. Pudding has an ancient, checkered past. It has a checkered present, for that matter. Americans think of pudding as that custard-like comfort dessert from childhood, despite Bill Cosby’s current troubles. However, in Britain, pudding can be anything from a chocolate mousse to Yorkshire pudding, which is close to an American popover. Apparently, too, bread pudding in Britain is known as “Wet Nelly”. I would love to hear from readers who have first-hand experience with this dish in Britain. If you want to be grossed out, check into the evolution of puddings through history. What started out as sausages (meat encased in intestines and cooked) eventually evolved into cereals and meal steamed in pudding cloths instead of intestines, which then morphed into the puddings of today. Oh, there have been, and still are, so many variations of pudding all over the world that I got dizzy and had to stop researching. If you are interested, leave me a comment and I’ll send you my sources. The word “pudding” itself also has an interesting story. It started out in Latin as botellus, which means “sausage”, which found its way into French as boudin, which also means “sausage”. If you know how to pronounce that French word, you can easily see how it might have become “pudding” in English. Speaking of boudin, my only experience with this sausage is via Cajun cuisine. Turns out bread pudding is a specialty of New Orleans, just like boudin. In fact, Chicken Two has a New Orleans cookbook she got on a recent trip there with a wonderful bread pudding recipe, including hard (whiskey) sauce. Speaking of sauce, bread pudding depends on a sauce spooned over it before serving. The Chickens experimented with an aforementioned hard sauce and a caramel sauce as well. You can find our sauce recipes and results in next month’s post. So subscribe to this blog to keep abreast of all our kitchen shenanigans. Just for you: Here is a picture of chickens eating bread pudding. (Don't worry, it's actually a recipe made for chickens so they don't get sick from eating people food.)

From Chicken Two: When we decided to try bread pudding with our leftover bread, I don't think either of us realized the variations available. Just try Googling "bread pudding recipe" and see what happens. Who knew?? So this first attempt was to get back to the original recipe that reminded us of Grandma's great pudding. No fancy inclusions, just plain old bread and stuff. You can use any leftover stale bread - French bread works best, but if you don't have that, you can toast up regular bread if it's not real stale. Just make sure the bread is dry and hard. In a large bowl beat together eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla, orange peel (if desired) and cinnamon. It was a great opportunity to use my Cuisinart processor!   In an ungreased 2-quart square baking dish (ok, mine wasn't exactly square) toss together bread and dried fruit:  Pour egg mixture evenly over the bread mixture and press lightly with the back of a large spoon. Bake, uncovered in a 350 degree oven for 40 to 45 minutes or until puffed and a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.  Serve warm with a sauce of your choice. Our favorites are  Caramel Sauce and Bourbon Sauce. Both will be discussed in the next installment. A couple of tips: Don't try to shorten the time. The first time I did it, I was tired and in a hurry. Tasted good but didn't have much texture and was kinda runny. Bread pudding must use dried bread because it must absorb the custard mixture you pour over it before baking. The more liquid you pour over the bread, the denser the baked result. Therefore, you have a lot of control over the texture of the finished product. Let us know how yours turned out!

Bread Pudding

Recipe by America's Test Chicken

Traditional bread pudding recipe

Ingredients

• 4 eggs, beaten
• 2 1/4 cups milk
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 4 cups cubed French bread, day-old/stale/dried
• 1/3 cup dried cherries or raisins

Cooking Directions

1. To dry bread cubes, place them in single layer on a large, shallow baking pan. Bake at 350-degree F about 10 minutes, stirring twice. Let cool.
2. In a large bowl beat together eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon. In an ungreased, 2-quart square baking dish, toss together bread cubes and dried cherries. Pour egg mixture evenly over bread mixture. Press mixture lightly into pan with back of a large spoon.
3. Bake, uncovered, in a 350-degree F oven for 40 to 45 minutes or until puffed and a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool slightly. Serve warm with caramel or bourbon sauce.
4. Keeps well in a sealed container in the refrigerator overnight. Reheat to serve leftovers.