Chocolate Friday: From Grog to Nog

I bought some white chocolate creme liqueur to try.  Is it too early for a toddy?  Can I sip my lunch? 

Did you know our traditional holiday egg nog began as "Egg and Grog in a Noggin"?  According to Saint Margaret Mary:

... It became customary for a community’s young men to go “wassailing” on New Years Day. They visited the houses of their family, friends and the town’s elite, receiving at each abode a bit of meat and an alcoholic drink. The wealthy benefactors were obliged to share their bounty in order to win the loyalty of the lower class and preserve the social structure, so the young men sang and made merry, becoming more and more inebriated after each visit. The man who completed his holiday rounds was revered by his intoxicated peers.

In this precursor to Christmas caroling, the drink most often served was the Tom and Jerry — a frothy potion made from egg, milk, brandy and spices.

...
Except for holiday wassailing, the drink was confined to the upper class in England; poor London-folk could rarely afford milk. In America, however, farms and dairies were plentiful, and the drink gained popularity and a new name — eggnog.

The word “noggin” was used in 1500s Europe to denote a small, carved wooden drinking vessel, and the word “grog,” often used in Australia, typically denoted a rum-and-water drink. “Egg and grog in a noggin” was a mouthful, and the name was shortened.

Be that as it may, I wanted to share a couple of interesting recipes I found, variations on tradition, to be sure, but interesting none-the-less.  First is a modified recipe, originally posted on about.com's coffee/tea section, for coffee grog.  I added chocolate, a splash of orange flavored vodka, and voila.  Not for the faint of heart.

Chocolate Orange Coffee Grog
3 cups coffee
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup brown sugar
4 ounces melted dark chocolate
2 tbs butter, softened
1/4 tsp cloves, ground
1/4 tsp nutmeg, ground
1/4 tsp cinnamon, ground
Peel of 1 orange
Peel of 1 lemon
1-2 jiggers orange vodka

Melt chocolate.  Break fruit peels into 6 pieces, each. Place one piece of each into cups. Blend butter, sugar, cloves, nutmeg, chocolate and cinnamon in a small bowl. Mix coffee and cream together with the spice mixture.
Serve into 6 cups with whipped topping if desired.

Second, a recipe I haven't tried yet, but it's up next.  Can't remember where the recipe came from.  I'll let you know how it turns out.

Chocolate Egg Nog
1 cup milk
1 1/2 cups chocolate milk
5 eggs
1/4 cup brown sugar (packed)
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup Kahlua (or strong coffee)
1/2 cup dark rum
1/2 tsp ground cinammon

Combine milk and chocolate milk in a saucepan and scald (do not boil). In another bowl, beat eggs and sugar together until thick. Add about 1/2 cup of the hot milk to the egg mixture and mix through. Then stir the egg mixture back into the hot milk, and place over low heat.

Add whipping cream and Kahlua. Cook and stir until mixture thickens. Do not boil. Remove from heat and add rum and cinnamon. Let cool and refrigerate until chilled. Serve with a sprinkling of grated chocolate and nutmeg.

There, now you're all ready for Christmas wassailing with grog and nog.  Merry merry!
Don't forget to get your last minute Christmas recipes in to the Carnival!!

Comments

[riki]

Well interesting recipe for my girlfriend.Thanx