Tag Archives: Beverage

Beverage, Dessert, Eggs, Holidays, Less than 5

Crema Fina Egg Nog

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Egg nog is a classic holiday beverage, with many possible origins for its name and recipe. Whether you love it or hate it, spike it or drink it virgin, pasteurize or leave out the eggs completely, it is irrevocably linked to the winter holidays and Christmas.

The thought of drinking raw egg throws off most people, unless you’re already a body builder or someone who drinks them daily already. But not all eggnog includes egg. Some are basically just a thinned down pudding or a boozy milkshake.

This recipe does call for actual eggs, and is for adults only. You can definitely make alcohol free eggnog, but since the base ingredient here is wine, clearly, this is not the recipe for you!

This is super simple to scale up as needed, you can make yourself just one glass or a whole pitcher for a party. And if you don’t happen to have Crema Fina (so sorry) you can easily create a similar flavor with milk, creamer, and rum or even brandy.

Ingredients (per serving):

  • 1 cup crema fina hazelnut wine (or, 1/4 c hazelnut creamer, 1/2 c milk, and 1/4 cup dark rum)
  • 1 raw egg, room temperature
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tbsp powdered sugar

Simply combine all the ingredients in a blender, and whip it up for at least a minute or two. The longer you blend, the frothier it becomes. You can also use a hand mixer or a whisk.

Cheers!

 

 

Beverage

Perfect Iced Coffee

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If you ever tried to make an iced coffee at home only to end up with lukewarm, watery coffee; or if you’ve ever tried to make a homemade Frappuccino and ended up with cold coffee-scented water, this post is for you.

My friend B is a bit of a Starbucks addict. Any time the S word is mentioned, off we go for venti frappuccinos. Because of the significant toll this takes on your wallet, we started experimenting at home. Regular hot coffee is a no-brainer; it is far cheaper to brew your own in the mornings, saving you $1-4 per day. About $5 per pound of coffee and $1 for 100 filters will give you a few months of java.

The problem is when it heats up outside, a steaming cup of coffee isn’t so desirable. When you pour hot coffee over frozen water, physics dictates that you end up with a watery, tasteless, lukewarm beverage. Then she came up with the most brilliant idea ever: freeze extra coffee into coffee cubes!

coffee cubes

We then pop these into a plastic bag in the freezer, and use them when the hankering for an iced coffee hits. They can also be blended into your own version of a frappuccino. Feel free to add in sugar, honey, creamer, cocoa powder, Hershey’s syrup…

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This saves money twice: extra coffee is not wasted, it is instead frozen for later. Also you can use that frozen coffee for two different types of frozen caffeinated beverages during the warm summer months.

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Step 1: Just fill your mug with coffee cubes, and pour more coffee over it. It is best to let the coffee cool down, or even put it in the refrigerator to chill before pouring. Physics still says hot liquid over frozen things will cause it to melt. =)

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Step 2: Add in your creamer and/or flavorings.

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Step 3: Give it a mix, and enjoy! Take your iced drink to work, school, the pool, a picnic, whatever. If you want a Frappuccino, simply fill a blender with coffee cubes, pour in a cup of cool coffee and flavorings, and blend until smooth. You can add whipped topping, cinnamon, Khalua… whatever your heart desires.

Iced coffee

Enjoy non-watery iced coffee every summer from now on!