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holiday nostalgia

January 12, 2010
I know some of us are a little bummed that the holidays are over, myself included. But if you still want to savor the last say.. 8 ounces of holiday spirit you need to make this recipe for egg nog. I know some people don’t like egg nog but I still recommend making it. Matthew, for one, hates the stuff, but surprisingly loved this! He said it wasn’t thick and gloppy as the stuff from the store. It’s actually really light and fluffy!
Alton Brown’s Egg Nog

Ingredients

nocoupons

  • 4 egg yolks
  • 1/3 cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
  • 1 pint whole milk
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 3 ounces bourbon
  • 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • 4 egg whites*

Directions

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the egg yolks until they lighten in color. Gradually add the 1/3 cup sugar and continue to beat until it is completely dissolved. Add the milk, cream, bourbon and nutmeg and stir to combine.
Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat to soft peaks. With the mixer still running gradually add the 1 tablespoon of sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.
Whisk the egg whites into the mixture. Chill and serve.
For cooked eggnog, follow procedure below:
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the egg yolks until they lighten in color. Gradually add the 1/3 cup sugar and continue to beat until it is completely dissolved. Set aside.
In a medium saucepan, over high heat, combine the milk, heavy cream and nutmeg and bring just to a boil, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and gradually temper the hot mixture into the egg and sugar mixture. Then return everything to the pot and cook until the mixture reaches 160 degrees F. Remove from the heat, stir in the bourbon, pour into a medium mixing bowl, and set in the refrigerator to chill.
In a medium mixing bowl, beat the egg whites to soft peaks. With the mixer running gradually add the 1 tablespoon of sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Whisk the egg whites into the chilled mixture.
For those of you who are glad the holidays are over, and are already planning a tropical vacation, save this recipe for next year!

Remember to Enter my B.E. giveaway!

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ho-ho-holiday party!

December 8, 2009
This weekend was busy but oh so fun! Matthew and I did a little Christmas shopping on Saturday. I was only able to knock out part of one person’s gift though so I still have a lot to do! I also have to get Matthew’s gift! Sigh..why are guys so hard to shop for?!
Saturday night we went to his work’s holiday party at the Petersen Automobile Museum and it was awesome! All these cool old cars everywhere, delicious food (avacado eggrolls, goat cheese empanadas, dim sum, french fry bar, sweet corn ravioli) and the desserts..omg!(s’mores on sticks, mini milkshakes in milk bottles, sugar cookies, mini cupcakes and more!) I was in a food coma heaven! They also had this really cool “photobooth” type set. Here are the pictures we took!
 
 The props were all provided. In another picture I had on boxing gloves and Matthew wore a fur cape. That one got mixed up though so he should get it sometime this week.
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! I was so excited because it rained in LA today. All I wanted to do was curl under the covers and watch movies all day. Hopefully it lasts a little longer so I can do just that!

the trick to losing the holiday weight

November 30, 2009
Hang out with silly and adorable cousins!
My sweet little cousin Emma is just the funniest girl. She made me laugh so hard on Thanksgiving my abs actually hurt! She’s 6 years old but has the spunk of a 12 year old! We colored, played house {and school}, took pictures of each others funny faces and sneaked M&Ms from “the grown ups.” Thank goodness I’m not considered one yet..at least not by her!
 
It’s so good to be back in LA although I do miss beautiful Northern California. We spent the weekend in San Francisco celebrating my Dad’s birthday and I took so many pretty pictures on Matthew’s camera {if I do say so myself!}. I’m sure I’ll be sharing them with you all week! The ONLY thing I don’t like being away for Thanksgiving at home is not having leftovers..sigh it’s just not the same!

Also, good news: ordered my new camera on Friday so I should have it by tomorrow !! Happy happy Monday!