Friday, December 14, 2018

Eggnog and A Mystery



It's time for holiday parties and murder with Alex Erickson's new novel, Death by Eggnog and an excellent eggnog recipe to match. If this doesn't get you ready for Christmas, I don't know what will.

Death by Eggnog, the fifth Bookstore CafĂ© mystery, opens with our heroine, Krissy Hancock, being recruited to fill in at the community theatre by her friend and town gossip, Rita Jablonski. Of course, Rita doesn’t bother telling her that the Christmas play is a musical. Krissy doesn’t have long to learn the lines, let alone the songs, and things only get worse when the man playing Santa ends up getting murdered.

Krissy is no stranger to solving murders in the small town of Pine Hills, so when her ex-boyfriend, Robert, is accused of killing Santa, she can’t help but investigate. Unfortunately for her, the director refuses to call off the play, so while she’s busy trying to solve a murder, she has to continue to sing and dance for a show that was doomed from the start.

Eggnog is not only a perfect beverage for this time of year, but it was also a favorite of our murdered Santa. In fact, he was drinking it when he died, though he never did say whether or not his personal recipe contained rum or bourbon (but yours can!)

The recipe:

6 beaten eggs
2 cups milk
1/3 cup of sugar
2 - 4 tablespoons rum (optional)
2 - 4 tablespoons bourbon (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons sugar
Whipped cream
Ground nutmeg

Stir together the eggs, milk, and 1/3 cup of sugar in a heavy, large saucepan. Cook and stir continuously over medium heat until the mixture reaches 160 degrees (should coat a spoon). Remove from heat. Cool by placing the pan in very cold water. Continue to stir while the mixture cools (1-2 minutes). Stir in vanilla, as well as your alcohol of choice (if you desire a kick.) Chill in the fridge for 4 - 24 hours.

When ready to serve, whip cream and remaining sugar until soft peaks form. Transfer chilled egg mixture to serving container. Fold in whipped-cream mixture and top each serving with whipped cream. Sprinkle with nutmeg. Makes approximately 10 4-ounce servings.

Alex Erickson can be found online on Facebook and 

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