This HoHOHoliday show was kind of poorly planned.
Give us a break, it’s finals week. Recipes brought to you by the Internet, via Seriouseats.com and eggnogrecipe.net.
Traditional Eggnog Recipe
12 eggs, separated
6 cups milk
2 cups heavy/ thickened cream
2 cups bourbon
1+ ½ cups sugar
¾ cup brandy
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
In a large bowl and using a mixer, beat the egg yolks together with the sugar for approx 10 minutes (you want the mixture to be firm and the colour of butter).
Very slowly, add in the bourbon and brandy – just a little at a time.
When bourbon and brandy have been added, allow the mixture to cool in the fridge (for up to 6 hours, depending on how long before your party you’re making the eggnog).
30 minutes before your guests arrive, stir the milk into the chilled yolk mixture.
Stir in 1+ ½ teaspoons ground nutmeg.
In a separate bowl, beat the cream with a mixer on high speed until the cream forms stiff peaks.
In yet another bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Gently fold the egg white mixture into the egg yolk mixture.
Gently fold the cream into the egg mixture.
After ladling into cups, garnish with the remainder of the ground nutmeg.
Cola Ham
One 4-1/4 to 4-1/2 pound bone-in ham
One 2-liter bottle Coca-Cola
One onion, peeled and halved
5 to 8 whole cloves
One 5 to 6-inch piece orange zest, or a few orange slices (optional)
Directions
1. If the ham is especially salty, place it in a pan, cover with water, bring to a boil, drain, and proceed as directed below.
2. Place the ham in a large pan (skin side down if there is skin—see note #1) with the onion, cloves, and orange zest, if using. Pour enough Coca-Cola in the pan to almost cover the ham (you might not need all 2 liters). Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cover. Cook one hour for every 2 pounds—if you’re using a ham as big as the one specified above, this should take about 2-1/2 hours.
3. Remove the ham from the pan and reserve the cooking liquid for another use (see note #2). Allow the ham to cool slightly. At this point, Nigella recommends peeling away the skin, scoring the fat, studding it with cloves, and smearing it with a sticky sugar-mustard mixture before blasting the works in a high oven for ten minutes or so. Me, I skip the glaze and just carve the ham as is. Serve it with horseradish and Dijon mustard.
4. Makes 8 very generous servings—enough for lots of leftovers.
Sugar Cookies
2 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup (2 sticks, 8 oz.) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons canola or other flavorless oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
Procedure
1. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour and salt together and set aside.
2. Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and use the paddle attachment on medium speed to cream them together until light and creamy, about 1 minute. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time, followed by the oil, vanilla and lemon zest, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
3. On low speed, slowly beat in the flour mixture, then increase the speed to medium and beat the dough until it comes away from the sides of the bowl. Shape the dough into a large disc and wrap it in a sheet of plastic; refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
4. When you are ready to bake the cookies, remove the dough from the refrigerator to slightly soften it while you preheat the oven to 350°F, positioning the racks in the center of the oven. Spray two cookie sheets or rimmed sheet pans lightly with non-stick cooking spray and line them with parchment paper.
5. Divide the dough into three pieces; work with one piece at a time, keeping the other pieces chilled or in a cool part of the kitchen. On a lightly floured board, roll the dough 1/8th of an inch thick, taking care to make sure the dough doesn’t stick to the board and remains cool to the touch. Use your favorite cutters to stamp out the cookies into desired shapes and transfer them to the baking sheets, 1/2 and inch apart. Work with two sheets at a time, refrigerating the remaining dough and scraps during baking, cooling and decorating.
6. Bake the cookies 10 to 12 minutes, or until they just turning golden at the edges. Rotate the baking sheets halfway through the baking time to ensure even browning.
7. Allow the cookies to cool for one minute on the sheet, and then slide them onto a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat as necessary with the remaining pieces of dough.
8. Store the cookies up to 2 weeks in an airtight container.
Chocolate Mousse Pie
Ingredients
1 16-ounce jar of Peanut Butter & Co. Dark Chocolate Dreams*
1 8-ounce tub of Cool Whip
1 Keebler Chocolate Pie Crust
1/2 cup chopped salted peanuts
*Note: if you don’t have this, just gently melt a few tablespoons of semisweet chocolate chips into peanut butter.
Procedure
1. Empty the contents of the jar of dark chocolate peanut butter (or your homemade version) into a large mixing bowl and stir soften.
2. Fold in the Cool Whip until the mixture is well combined.
3. Spoon the mixture into the pie shell and cover with plastic wrap and place in the freezer to set for at least two hours.
Set List
Durutti Column with One Christmas for Your Thoughts
Atmosphere with If I Was Santa Claus
Weezer with Holiday
José González with Crosses
Nico with The Fairest of the Seasons
The Fiery Furnaces with Evergreen
Belle & Sebastian with The Fox in the Snow
Gwen Stefani with Early Winter
Happy Holidays from the A-Long J-Wong Cooking Show © Christmas Edition.
