By guest contributor Bernadette Dryde

No other dish in my lifelong cooking repertoire brings fonder memories of Christmas, sense of place and family than does the recipe below. My mother made drinking custard every year during the holidays and served it alongside her fabulous date pudding or tall applesauce cake (drizzled with caramel icing and studded with whole pecans).

I still can see myself as a little girl, standing over the custard pot on the stove, stirring and helping myself to hot, sweet spoonfuls. When done, we’d carry the pot outside to the well top, where it would cool in the frigid air. A few hours later, my dad and I would take turns spooning up the skiff of frozen-custard deliciousness on top.

Bernadette Dryden with a bowl of persimmons.

Both my paternal and maternal grandmothers made this custard, as did likely many cooks before them of Scots-Irish descent. As far as I can tell, it is a British Isles drink that got transported across the seas during the settling of the colonies. On the woodstoves in the hills and hollers of Virginia and Kentucky, my ancestors no doubt gave this eggnog their own special touches. A nip of dark rum or bourbon is a fine addition to the cooled product.

I guarantee that once you try this, you’ll never sully your palate again with that grossly over-spiced commercial eggnog that is ubiquitous this time of year on grocery-store dairy shelves.

Drinking custard—a delicious way to kick off the holidays!

By guest contributor Bernadette Dryden

Ingredients

12 egg yolks
1 gallon milk
1 cup flour
2 ¼ cups sugar
1 cup whipping cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (or fresh vanilla bean)
Fresh nutmeg

Instructions

Equipment: 2 big pans; one in which to cook the mixture and a slightly larger one for the hot-water bath.

Beat yolks well (until fluffy). Add all milk; mix well. Whisk flour and sugar together, and then whisk well with liquid. Add whipping cream and whisk well. Set pan of mixture in hot water to cover one-half of pan or thereabouts. Whisk occasionally, and more frequently, as water gets hotter and boils. Cook for one hour or until it is as thick as you like (water should boil rapidly for a while). Whisk like crazy and then cool. Will thicken more as it cools. Add vanilla. Whisk well before serving.
Great hot, cold or partially frozen (set it outside to cool, and if the weather is freezing, a nice crust will form on top). If you get a crust, scoop some into a cup and pour liquid custard over the top. Enjoy frozen crust with the help of a spoon.
Dust with freshly ground nutmeg.
Drink a cup and walk several miles! Mmmmmm

Warning: Make only when you are planning to have a party, so at least a dozen other people can share the calories…or enjoy it on your own! More for you!

Does your family have traditional holiday recipes? Tell us about them in the comments!