A Mid-Century Open House, Prohibition Eggnog and an Encore Eggnog

A little party on the second day of Advent

December 1956, Gourmet Magazine, photo featuring eggnog, fruit cake, candied fruit and tiny sandwiches.

It’s always fun to look through old issues of Gourmet magazine (I particularly like breezing through the 1950s) to see what aspirational set-ups are featured for the holidays.

In the December, 1956 issue, an “Open House” included eggnog, fruitcake, candied fruit and tiny sandwiches. All are served on REED & BARTON silver plates, or, in the case of the eggnog, from a silver R&B punch bowl.

I got a kick out of the menu because (tiny sandwiches aside) these are all things people seem to either love, or — not love.

I’m in the “love them all” camp, and today’s post features two eggnog recipes with great stories from two terrific writers.

Really good homemade eggnog is one of the holiday season’s most delicious traditions, and I hope you enjoy these, courtesy of

Amelia Wilson

and

Alison Acheson

.

Grandfather Hooper’s Eggnog

This recipe from

Amelia Wilson

, (who writes the cozy, charming and idea-rich

Some Happy Scribbles

) has such a colorful story attached about her husband Jim’s great-grandfather that I asked if she would share it here. Thank you, Amelia!

We use a recipe passed down from Jim’s great-grandfather, and it tastes like liquid ice cream. “Fluffy!” “Delicious!” “Is there any more?” are the words the kids use to describe it. Jim's father, Bud, reports that during Prohibition, his grandfather, Dr. Hooper (who lived by the sea in North Carolina), and his pals would go out on their boats to meet Canadian rum runners to procure the essential ingredient (booze!) for the 'Nog!

Some notes: we use an electric mixer for all the beating. Serve in small amounts! This batch will provide about 15-20 adults with small cups. We usually split one batch in two - with half spiked and half unspiked. Keep it in the fridge. A sprinkle of nutmeg on top of each serving is nice.

Grandfather Hooper's Eggnog
2 dozen eggs
1.5 cups sugar
2 quarts whipping cream
whiskey
rum

Separate eggs. Cream yellows of eggs til very light. Add sugar very gradually to yellows and mix completely. Beat egg whites til dry then fold into yolk mixture. Beat cream lightly till frothy on top, then fold in. Add whiskey and rum to taste!

—

Amelia Wilson

Eggnog party, 1980, Getty Images

An Encore Eggnog Recipe from The Boston Cooking School Cook Book by Fanny Merritt Farmer

When I first started Time Travel Kitchen almost four years ago,

Alison Acheson

, who writes the indispensable

Unschool for Writers

, was one of my first pals here. She wrote a lovely guest Christmas post for TTK in 2021 about eggnog and her prized cookbook and I wanted to share her story again this year. I really love the story of Alison’s vintage 1940s Hazel Atlas Punch Bowl Set, too.

Alison’s 1940s Punch Bowl Set

Thank you, (again) Alison!

Click below to read her essay and for the recipe.

A Brief History of Eggnog

If you’d like to read about the history of eggnog, I’ve linked to this short piece by Taryn White in Smithsonian Magazine from last December. Link: HERE

When the beloved drink crossed continents to North America, in the mid-1700s, it became known as ‘egg-n-grog’ a term derived from the Scottish and Gaelic word noggin which means cup, and grog, an English term for hard booze, often rum. The American colonists soon shortened that to “eggnog”…

— Taryn White for Smithsonian

“The Little Town” Advent Calendar has arrived

“The Little Town” 1946 Advent calendar I‘d ordered arrived yesterday and it is so sweet and poignant given the history out of which it was born. I’ve opened the first two doors — the first contained an illustration of candles, the second a scene of a choir and violinist. I’ll post a photo each day as we move through Advent. The link to Sellmer-Adventskalendar is here and the calendars are also available at other online retailers if you are interested.

Day One

Day Two

Thanks for being here, see you tomorrow for Day Three!

Jolene