What is Flan and Egg Nog?!
Answers: I have no idea, I heard they were like creamy and sweet? I love things that are creamy and full of sugar! So is it easy to make? What are they?
Flan is a creamy hardened dessert like pudding.
Egg Nog is a Creamy thick drink like a spiced milk shake but with no Ice Cream in it.
Easy Flan Recipe #113507
Here's a simple recipe that my mom's used for years. She picked it up somewhere in South America (either in Peru or Brazil). It's fast, easy and very tasty. The cinnamon makes all the difference. Using a tube pan makes it bake more evenly and more quickly and makes for a prettier presentation.
by Susan #2
18-24 servings
1? hours 20 min prep
1 cup sugar, caramelized
6-10 eggs, well beaten
2 (14 ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk
2 (12 ounce) cans evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 dash cinnamon
Coat tube pan with caramelized sugar.
Allow to harden, then place pan in container with ice cold water until the caramelized sugar cracks.
Mix other ingredient in order, stir well and pour in mold.
Place mold in pan with 2" hot water in preheated oven.
Bake at 350°F for 1 hour or until firm.
Let cool, then invert& unmold.
Decorate with fresh berries or edible flowers, if desired.
Cyril K. Collins Eggnog Recipe
http://256.com/gray/recipes/eggnog/
This is my grandfather's eggnog recipe. It is a rich, creamy, and truly delicious version of the holiday drink. I do not know if he concocted it himself or picked it up somewhere.
Please note that this eggnog is a potent alcoholic beverage. Please encourage the members of your party to bring a Designated Driver if they plan on drinking. To lower the alcohol in the recipe, use lower proof whiskey and/or rum, or substitute a cup of milk for every cup of alcohol removed.
http://256.com/gray/recipes/eggnog/print...
Ingredients 8 servings 16 servings 24 servings
Fresh Eggs
(separated into yolks/whites) 4 8 12
Sugar
(divided into 2 equal parts) 1/2 cup
(1/4c, 1/4c) 1 cup
(1/2c, 1/2c) 1 1/2 cups
(3/4c, 3/4c)
White Rum (dark works) 1/2 cup 1 cup 1 1/2 cups
Milk (Whole or 2%) 1 1/2 cups 3 cups 4 1/2 cups
Whiskey (Bourbon or Canadian) 1 1/2 cups 3 cups 4 1/2 cups
Heavy/Whipping Cream
(divided into 2 equal parts) 1 cup
(1/2c, 1/2c) 2 cups
(1c, 1c) 3 cups
(1 1/2c, 1 1/2c)
Ground Nutmeg
(strongly recommended) Enough to sprinkle on servings.
Consider whole nutmeg nuts and grinder.
Eggnog Recipe Instructions
You are doing things gently and slowly to preserve the eggnog's fluffiness. A good whisk for the stirring and a high speed mixer for the egg-whites and cream helps this process immensely. Notes on taking this to a party below.
Separate eggs into yolks and whites in separate bowls (see below for a how-to). I put the whites into the mixer and the yolks into another bowl.
Beat egg-yolks with 1/2 of sugar, set aside.
Beat egg-whites until stiff, then mix in other 1/2 of sugar.
Pour the yolks into the whites and mix together slowly.
Stir in white rum slowly. I've tried dark rum and it works.
Stir in milk slowly (see below for dairy intolerance)
Stir in whiskey slowly (Bourbon, Canadian, Sour Mash. I use Jim Beam or Jack Daniels)
Stir in 1/2 of cream slowly
Whip rest (1/2) of cream and fold in carefully. Notes on how to fold below.
Serve at room temperature by ladling the eggnog into cups and sprinkle nutmeg on the top. Information on nutmeg grinders below. Try to get some of the foam and some of the liquid (if not fully mixed) in each cup.
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Notes
Drinking responsibly: Albeit strong, this eggnog recipe makes a truly delicious drink -- I am quite biased of course. This translates into the fact that you need to make more than you expect since it will be consumed faster. This also means that you should encourage people to bring their Designated Drivers if they are interested in sampling. If you see me intoxicated (hosting, walking, or backseat driving I assure you) around the time of the holidays, you will know the reason why.
Nonalcoholic: If you wish to leave out the nog, this recipe can be made nonalcoholic by substituting an equal amounts of milk for the rum and whiskey and it is still delicious. I've not tried it personally and I'd love to get more feedback on this. I understand and respect the question, but to me, making eggnog without alcohol is akin to making lemon-aid without the lemons.
Raw eggs: People ask about the raw eggs in the eggnog. My grandfather always said that the alcohol "cures" the eggs although I'm not sure that's true. I tried pasteurized eggs in 2004 and they do not work. They didn't separate well and the whites did not froth up at all. The FDA says that in unpasteurized eggs, one in 20,000 contain bad bacteria. I have made (and drunk) at least 100 batches and have never felt ill or had one of my guests feel bad. I usually buy the eggs just before I made the eggnog and keep them well refrigerated. In 2005 I made a batch with some organic eggs laid the day before and I've never had such yolks or foam. Yummy! I try to smell the egg when I crack it open and although I have never gotten a bad egg over the years -- I did get some bad cream. You can also try gently lowering the eggs into a container of water. Bad eggs should float because of a build up of gases, old eggs should sink slowly, while good eggs should sink nicely to the bottom of the container.
Dairy intolerance: If you (or your guests) are lactose intolerant, there are a couple of options. This is different from a milk allergy which precludes all dairy products. I've not tried it but I hear that Lactaid milk found in many large markets tastes just like normal milk, maybe a bit sweeter. I assume it would be fine in eggnog. I have used sweet acidophilus milk which tastes like normal milk but has beneficial cultures and some varieties are lactose free. There are also milk alternative like Vance's DariFree which I would think would work. If you have folks with intolerance, you could separate out some of the mixture made with one of these lactose-free milks for them to enjoy before you add any heavy cream. It will be less thick and a little stronger but it should be tasty. Others have used soy-based Silk coffee creamer as a thickener in place of the cream.
Punch Cups: Eggnog is traditionally served in small crystal glasses or punch cups which can be found in the US for ~$2 each in many antique stores.
French toast: Although certainly almost as good as a drink the next morning, eggnog can be refrigerated overnight and used at breakfast by soaking bread in it and frying till browned for some excellent French toast -- adding butter and syrup at will.
Servings: These are 1 cup servings and are very approximate numbers given that I don't have any empirical evidence at this time to support them. Please contact me if you'd like to agree or disagree. I calculated them by adding up all of the liquid quantities and assuming that the egg whites and the whipped cream, half again increases the volume of the eggnog if mixed appropriately.
Separating (how-to): I usually separate the egg yolk from the white by carefully cracking an egg over a cup and then slowly opening it up so that the bottom half of the shell holds the yolk. The excess white will run out into the cup. Then very carefully switch the yolk to the other half of the shell letting more white run out into the cup. Do this a couple of more times slowly keeping the yolk from mixing at all with the whites. When you are done you can transfer the yolk into a bowl with the others and the whites (with no yolk in it) into the bowl with the whites. If the yolk breaks at all then discard immediately.
Another method is to crack the egg open over a bowl keeping the yolk into one half of the shell like the above. But instead of switching the yolk from one half-shell into another, just pour it down slowly into your hand keeping your fingers close to one another. The white will seep through your fingers while the yolk will stay in your hand. When the white has seeped out, lay the yolk into a separate bowl. One problem with this method is that any contamination on the shells will be transferred to the yolk and white. Also, careful hand-washing is necessary prior to this operation.
WARNING: With such a large number of eggs, it is recommended that for each egg, you separate the whites into a cup and then pour this cup into a larger container upon success. If you break a yolk into the whites you can then discard only that egg. Separating failures usually result on the last egg and will ruin the whites if any yolk gets in. A dozen eggs can be suddenly quite hard to find one holiday evening. If you do manage to drop some yolk into the whites, see if you can fish it out cleanly with a spoon immediately.
NOTE: I have used with limited success an egg separator tool. This is a little device which captures the yolks and allows the whites to run into the container below. It will not save you from a broken yolk but does speed up the process a bit. If you in the mood, here's a bizarre separator.
Folding (how-to): Julia Child suggests using a rubber spatula, dealing with 1/3 of the mixture of a time, and rotating the bowl until blended. Putting the spatula into the mixture and essentially bringing up to the top what was on the bottom. Move the bowl and do it again and keep doing it until the mixture has some consistency. In other words it is not still mostly whipped cream here and other there, but an airy light mixture generally. I've also used a whisk to fold with success.
Taking to a party: If you are trying to take some eggnog to a party, you have a couple of options. Recently, I did the egg-whites, yolks, and sugar steps and put that foamy mixture in one container. Then I mixed all of the "nog" liquids (without the cream) into a second container. Then I brought the heavy cream which I added and whipped on site. You could also add the heavy cream liquid in with the other liquids and whip and take the rest of the cream in a third container.
Nutmeg Grinders: Grinders or graters allow you to use whole nutmeg nuts which about the size of a large olive and are quite hard. I usually grind the nutmeg right on top of the individual eggnog servings although grinding a bunch into a shaker immediately ahead of the party will also work. The pre-ground stuff is just not as flavorful. I've also noticed that older nutmegs left over from last year are good but tend to jam the grinders more. You should be able to find a grinder at your local kitchen store. If not, here are some online sources.
Great list of nutmeg graters and nuts. From US$3-$20.
Chrome Nutmeg Grinder US$30 from Cooking.com. We like this grater although it has been jamming lately. May need fresher nuts.
A nice simple classic grater for US$4 from ComplementsToTheChef.com.
Zyliss Nutmeg Grater (US$15) from Cook's Warehouse.com. We've used this and it's not as easy as the above.
History: My grandfather, Cyril K. Collins, was Assistant Vice President in charge of the Traffic Department of the Bell System, back when it was the sole US telephone company. He proposed and implemented such technologies as call-time discounts, testified before Congress numerous times about changes in regulations, and was involved with the introduction of direct-dialing and area codes. Before this all calls were routed by operators. He would have been fascinated by the transition of computers from telephone switching systems into the backbone of the information age.
Just exchanged email with a woman who said that this was her father's recipe as well. As far as she knew her father got it from her grandfather who moved came over to Winnipeg, Canada from Lancashire, England. Interesting. Also heard that nog in Dutch can mean more which may explain the derivation of the name. This is also true in Afrikaans which is a form of old Dutch. Another reader sent me mail commenting that Irish and Scottish receipes that he's seen are very close to this. My grandfather's family emigrated
Flan is a spanish- milk based custard pudding.........YUMMY.
Egg Nog is a sweet thick drink made with cream and eggs and nutmeg-DELISH!
This is the first flan that I learned about, right before my senior year in HS:
And egg nog, one of my favorite things to drink:
Wow ... I was going to attempt to answer this question for you but it seems like we have all been "out answered" by Big Bear ... so my suggestion to you would be to follow his directions be them long but oh so very thorough and true! I would not leave my first attempt at tasting either egg nog or flan to store bought as it will vary so much and it might also leave you with a ... dare I say ... sour taste in your mouth for either or both! Flan is one of the most delicious desserts God ever intended man to put on this earth and egg nog ranks right up there with it as a holiday favorite! The french toast idea with the left over egg nog is a great find! Kudos to Big Bear for sharing that with us, too!
Thanks for posting this question because it lead to some terrific answers and recipes!
Flan is a Mexican dessert like a custard pudding. It's very good. Jello makes a Flan mix that is easy and good. It's with the other Jello pudding mixes on the grocery shelf.
Eggnog is a drink generally served during the Christmas and New Years holidays. It is milk, eggs, sugar, and nutmeg. Stores sell it in the dairy section. I love the stuff. It's a good thing it's only available for a few weeks a year or I would weigh three hundred pounds.
I don't like it with liquor in. Eggnog is great without it.