Kris & Caroline: Merry Christmas and happy holidays to everyone from Ambersandwich! Christmas is a great time to get together with friends and family and drink a good beer (or two, or three, or….). We hope you all had a wonderful holiday!
Caroline: Tis the Season!! Kris and I made homemade eggnog a few days before Christmas. I guess the idea of a milky egg drink with alcohol in it would sound unappealing to some, but for me it’s DELICIOUS and it wouldn’t be Christmas without it! As you can imagine, we found a way to incorporate beer into our recipe!
This recipe makes about 2 X 650 ml bottles (this may vary depending on how much yours reduces and thickens). We used sterilized passata jars. They make great Christmas presents (or keep them all for yourself!)
We used Brewdog Rip Tide stout in our recipe along with a healthy serving of Elijah Craig Bourbon.
Kris: The Brew Dog Riptide is an 8% Imperial Stout. It has rich chocolate and coffee flavours. It also has subtle bitterness and is well balanced with the higher alcohol. It’s a great addition to our egg nog recipe.
Ingredients
8 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
2 cups milk
5 whole cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
4-5 slices of ginger
1/2 cups cream
1 tsp grated nutmeg
2 tsp vanilla extract
120 ml of bourbon (and/or rum or brandy)
200 ml Brewdog Rip Tide
Method
Beat egg yolks until they become lighter in color, slowly adding the sugar as you beat.
In a pan combine the cream, milk, beer, cloves, cinnamon and slowly heat on medium until the mixture is steamy hot, but not boiling.
Gradually add half of the milk mixture into the eggs/sugar, whisking constantly as you add. Then, pour it all back into the saucepan with the rest of the warm milk mixture.
Cook on low/medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture begins to thicken, and coats the back of a wooden spoon.(Approx. 10-15 minutes)
You want the consistency of a thin anglaise and remember that it will thicken even more as it cools.
(as you stir MAKE SURE the mixture doesn’t boil and cook the eggs or curdle the milk!)
*If the eggs start to cook or milk splits DON’T PANIC. Remove from heat immediately and pour through a fine strainer, this will remove the lumps and the nog should be fine*
Remove from heat. Strain the mixture through a mesh strainer to remove the cloves, ginger etc. Let cool.
Mix in vanilla, nutmeg, and bourbon. Chill and DRINK!
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!
Kris: A sunny afternoon, some fresh local seafood and a couple of friends dropping by? Time for some riesling and perhaps a beer or two. I was keen to make some sushi and discovered a 6 pack of Sapporo at our local bottle shop that, under further investigation on the packaging, was brewed in Adelaide, South Australia. I have tried the Japanese version, the Canadian version in the 500ml can, so how would the Australian interpretation taste?
I have said it time and time again, I love Riesling! I think it is the hop driven, beer lovers wine. My favourite interpretation of this varietal is aromatic with a distinctive lemon/lime character. Jim Barry 2010 Watervale Riesling is a classic, affordable version of this style. It is also a great match for oysters and tuna sashimi.
Kris: As mentioned previously, I am still learning the fine art of sashimi/sushi. It is one of my favourite ways of eating fresh seafood. I have the upmost respect for sushi chefs; it is truly an art in itself.