Movies and Munchies

Everyone has been telling us to visit the "Christmas house" here in our town, so last night we went and oh my it was like Clark Griswold's house on crack, put to music. It was wonderful! So of course we went straight home and watched National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, one of our favorites.


For our munchy we thought some homemade eggnog would be fun to try. I poured through recipe's and they were mostly the same, but I found this peppermint one that's a twist on the traditional eggnog. So, so, so yummy. Here is a traditional recipe that looks delicious if you're not into peppermint.

• 6 large eggs
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons more sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pure peppermint extract
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 4 cups whole milk
• 12 peppermint candy canes, broken into pieces
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• Peppermint sticks, for garnish

Directions

1. Prepare an ice-water bath; set aside. Whisk together eggs, egg yolks, sugar, salt, and the extracts in large saucepan over medium-low heat until combined. Pour in milk in a slow, steady stream, whisking until fully incorporated. Raise heat to medium. Cook, whisking constantly, until mixture registers 160 degrees on an instant-read thermometer and is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 30 to 35 minutes.
2. Pour milk mixture through a fine sieve into a medium bowl. Set bowl in ice-water bath; let mixture cool completely. Transfer custard to an airtight container, and refrigerate at least 4 hours or up to overnight.
3. Process candy canes in a food processor until finely crushed. Sift in a strainer to discard dust. Transfer to a shallow dish.
4. Melt chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Let cool 5 minutes. Dip rim of each cup into melted chocolate, then crushed peppermint. Refrigerate until set, about 5 minutes.
5. Remove custard from refrigerator; set aside. Put cream into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment; mix on medium speed until stiff peaks form. Fold into cold custard until combined. Fill cups with eggnog. Sprinkle with crushed peppermint, and garnish with peppermint sticks; serve.