Jessop Egg Nog and Hickory Farm Goodies

this christmas is going to be very different from the last 29 christmases i have experienced. it will be the first year the whole jessop family has not been in town. it will be atypical to say the least. luckily AJ was here this past weekend and we did a couple christmas things while she was here. the main thing? we made the first batch of jessop egg nog.

this secret family recipe has been a integral part of every christmas i can remember. it was usually made a day or two before christmas eve and enjoyed that evening. last year was an exception to the rule as poppop made egg nog early and we were able to enjoy it leading up to christmas and into the new year because he ended up making 3 batches.

this stuff is serious. i won't be giving you the exact recipe but lets just say it has lots of eggs, real cream, sugar, whiskey, and brandy. dang, it is good stuff! now-a-days, we have the luxury of an electric mixer. let me tell you, it's an arm workout. i cannot begin to imagine making this fluffy, spiked, frothy goodness with just a whisk. poppop remembers all the kids helping to make it, taking turns at the hand whisk.

the effort is well worth it. it's one of those things that tastes even better as it ages. we have always stored it in cleaned out half gallon milk cartons. this year i was a bit fancier and used a glass hermetic closure bottle.

while we whisked, we had to have a little sustenance. is it wrong to "drink" while making "drinks"? if drinking cava is wrong, i don't want to be right! we also enjoyed some cheese, sausage, and crackers courtesy of hickory farms.

one of the perks of being a foodbuzz sponsored blogger is i get the opportunity to "opt in" to various promotions. the wonderful people at hickory farms sent me a box full of goodies to try for the holidays. although the food was free, the opinions of the loot are 100% mine.

the sesame, caraway, and sea salt crackers were excellent! the crunchiness and flavor from the seeds really added a little something extra. i also loved the summer sausages. unfortunately, i found the cheeses to be a bit artificial tasting. all the cheeses were labeled "pasteurized process cheese" and i could taste it. perhaps it has to be this way so the cheese can be shipped without being refrigerated but it was a bit disappointing. i guess i'm just a real cheese kind of girl.

the evening was wonderful spending some pre-christmas time with family. the jessop egg nog was the perfect finish to a great night!