Irish Cream

We had our NICU Christmas Party on Saturday night...it was great!  We did an Italian pot luck.  So many delicious foods, desserts, and drinks!  We had eggnog, punch, wine slushes, some delicious drink made with Amaretto, and I brought my favorite: Homemade Irish Cream.  A few people were initally wary of it because it has raw eggs, but once people started drinking...rave reviews!  They loved it!  So I decided to post the recipe on here so everyone can enjoy it for themselves (and because I can't afford to make it for anyone else...Jameson is expensive!)

Irish Cream

1-3/4 cups Jameson Irish Whiskey

1 cup whipping cream

1 can condensed milk

4 eggs

2 Tbsp chocolate syrup

2 tsp instant coffee

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp almond extract

Place all ingredients in blender.  Blend until smooth.  Store in a container with a tight fitting lid and refridgerate for up to 30 days.  Serve chilled.  Enjoy over ice or added to coffee :)

** I am sure you can use a cheaper kind of whiskey, but I have never tried.  Jameson is perfect :)  Also, I find that if you put the whiskey in the blender first then add the cream, condensed milk, and eggs and start the blending at a low speed it will turn out better.  I left it blending on the low speed while I added the chocolate syrup, coffee and extracts.  Then I turned it up to blend for a minute after everything was in.  Turned out perfect! **

Eggnog

Eric and I were talking about eggnog the other day (I know...we're weird) and he was asking me about if it usually contained alcohol.  I thought it sometimes did, but I realized I didn't know much about eggnog...which happens to be one of my very favorite beverages!  So I decided to do a bit of research.

Eggnog

Origin is unknown, but believed to be English during medieval times.

Contains milk, sugar, raw eggs, spices (including nutmeg), brandy and sometimes cream.

English aristocrats drank it mainly because the ingredients were expensive.

After the movement to the new world in the 18th century, began using rum since brandy was heavily taxed.

During the Revolutionary War domestic whiskey and burbon were used due to the short supply of rum.

Drinking it cold and without alcohol has only been practiced since the 1960's.

Currently, commercially produced eggnog cannot contain raw eggs.

So, that is my brief history of eggnog.

Not that any of this matters.

All that matters is that it is delicious!

I will take it anyway I can...plain, as a latte, as a Godiva truffle, as IHOP pancakes, as ice cream...I'm not picky!

I know its not the Thanksgiving quite yet, but I bought my first half-gallon of the season today!  Yummmmmmmmm!