'Tis the Season for Southern Cookin': Holiday Eggnog

“ 'Do you remember,' he said and under the spell of his voice the bare walls of the little office faded and the years rolled aside and they were riding country bridle paths together in a long-gone spring…  There was the far-off yelping of possum dogs in the dark swamp under cool autumn moons and the smell of eggnog bowls, wreathed with holly at Christmas time and smiles on black and white faces.” 

--Gone with the Wind, Chapter LIII

We have Bugsie and her eagle eyes to thank for this edition of Southern Cookin'. Because as she discovered, there's a small gem about antebellum Christmastime in the County tugged away in this nostalgic paragraph from the mill scene. Eggnog was a holiday tradition for Scarlett's friends and family! So with this knowledge in hand, we're naturally pleased to bring you not one but two recipes for eggnog, should you like to partake in this canon-approved holiday beverage.

Why the two recipes? Well, the first comes courtesy of The Dixie cook-book, published in Atlanta in 1883, to give you a local recipe that could have inspired Scarlett's own eggnog at Tara.

And if you want a little more pizazz, the second recipe offers up a Creole twist on this classic drink via The Picayune's Creole Cook Book, published in New Orleans (1901). 

We hope you enjoy these recipes and celebrate Christmas as Scarlett did--by raising a glass of holiday eggnog!


Eggnog

Stir half a cup of sugar (white), yolks of six eggs well beaten, into one quart of rich cream; add half a pint of brandy, flavor with nutmeg, and lastly add whites of the eggs well whipped.

--from The Dixie cook-book, published in Atlanta (1883) 

Egg-Nog

10 Fine, Fresh Creole Eggs

A Quart of Milk

2 Cupfuls of White Granulated Sugar

A Gill (1/2 cup) of Fine French Cognac

A Grated Nutmeg 

Beat the yolks to a cream, add the sugar, and beat to a cream. Blend all thoroughly, beating till very, very light. Now pour over the boiling milk, stirring well. When thoroughly blended add the whites of the Eggs, beaten to a stiff froth, and the Liquor, and serve hot. This Egg-Nog is also served cold by the Creoles at New Year's receptions. At the famous Christmas and New Year Reveillons it is served hot. The Liquor may or may not be added, according to taste.

--from The Picayune's Creole Cook Book, published in New Orleans (1901)

Thanksgiving à la Creole: A Holiday Edition of Southern Cookin'

While many of our American readers, including my co-blogger, are busy celebrating Thanksgiving, Bugsie reports to duty to explore a Thanksgiving dinner in the style of 19th century New Orleans. 

Prepare to start craving because it's time to kick off a new edition of the Southern Cookin' series with the help of a trusted friend, The Picayune's Creole Cook Book! For those of you who are new to the series,  this is a book first published in 1901 and written to preserve the wonders of 19th century Creole cuisine. (You can read more about the edition we're using here, in our "Honeymoon in New Orleans" edition of the series.)

Now, a real party à la Creole would have included breakfast, dinner and supper, with up to ten courses for each lavish meal. We chose to feature what the book terms a more economical dinner menu, and include, by way of introduction, some instructions for decorating the Thanksgiving table. In order to keep this a light read and because unlike iso I am a lazy blogger, we broke with our custom of writing the whole recipe for each dish and instead provided you with links, should the desire to actually try them strike you.

So, without further ado, let's see how our Victorian friends celebrated Thanksgiving!

A Thanksgiving Decoration 

"For the Thanksgiving table, nothing is more appropriate in the way of decorations than autumn leaves and berries. The woods at this season are full of beautiful trailing vines, of bronze and red: brilliant boughs, leaves, cones and berries, all of which are most appropriate on this day, suggesting, by their wild luxuriance and freedom of growth, the spirit of American liberty which gave birth to the day. If it is cold, in lieu of the usual coal fire light a blazing fire of pine knots, and you will have a glorious American illumination. 

"The favors may consist of tiny American flags, resting amid a cluster of autumn leaves and maiden-hair fern, if a formal dinner is given, and the symbol of our country may also be suggested in festoons of narrow red, white and blue streamers of ribbon, gracefully dropping from the chandeliers. "

A Thanksgiving Dinner

                                

Oysters on Half Shell 

Shrimp Gumbo 

Radishes     Celery       Olives      Pickles 

Soles à la Orly            Julienne Potatoes 

Chicken Croquettes with Mushrooms

Banana Fritters 

Roast Turkey, Oyster Stuffing, Cranberry Sauce

Young Squash, Macaroni au Gratin 

Small Onions, Boiled, Sauce à la Maitre d'Hotel

Cauliflower au Vinaigrette 

Plum Pudding, Mince or Pumpkin Pie

Pineapple Sherbet
Assorted Cakes     Nuts    Raisins     Fruit

Cheese 

Cafe noir

Happy Thanksgiving to our readers! We hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner of your own!

Sweets and Champagne: Another Honeymoon Edition of Southern Cookin'

"The wines and liqueurs and champagnes of New Orleans were new and exhilarating to her, acquainted with only homemade blackberry and scuppernong vintages and Aunt Pitty's 'swoon' brandy..."

" 'You eat as though each meal were your last,' said Rhett. 'Don't scrape the plate, Scarlett.  I'm sure there's more in the kitchen. You have only to ask the waiter.  If you don't stop being such a glutton, you'll be as fat as the Cuban ladies and then I shall divorce you.'

But she only put out her tongue at him and ordered another pastry, thick with chocolate and stuffed with meringue."  

--Gone with the Wind, Chapter XLVIII

In our previous installment of Southern Cookin' we brought you an assortment of Creole dishes that Rhett and Scarlett could have enjoyed on their honeymoon in New Orleans. But MM didn't just mention rich entrees, of course. There's also the small matter of liqueurs and champagne and sweets. So today I'm pleased to highlight the good stuff some sweeter and more bubbly fare from New Orleans.

The recipes--all either sugar or alcohol based--once again come from the trusty The Picayune's Creole Cook Book, first published in 1901 by The New Orleans Times-Picayune. (More info about the cookbook can be found in the first honeymoon cuisine post.)  

Check out the completely delicious, totally unhealthy menu after the jump.

Gorging on Creole Dishes: A Honeymoon Edition of Southern Cookin'

"Best of all things in New Orleans was the food.  Remembering the bitter hungry days at Tara and her more recent penury, Scarlett felt that she could never eat enough of these rich dishes. Gumboes and shrimp Creole, doves in wine and oysters in crumbly patties full of creamy sauce, mushrooms and sweetbreads and turkey livers, fish baked cunningly in oiled paper and limes.  Her appetite never dulled, for whenever she remembered the everlasting goobers and dried peas and sweet potatoes at Tara, she felt an urge to gorge herself anew of Creole dishes." 

--Gone with the Wind, Chapter XLVIII

It's time for another edition of Southern Cookin' and this time, we are bidding the aristocratic cuisine of Charleston adieu and moving on to that "strange, glamorous place" of New Orleans and its rich Creole dishes. As you've surely all guessed, the recipes we've prepared for you come from the quote above, taken from probably my favorite chapter in GWTW- the honeymoon chapter. Sigh, such happy times!

Some quick info on our recipes, which you'll find after the jump: They come from The Picayune's Creole Cook Book, first published in 1901 by The New Orleans Times-Picayune. While the cookbook's publication date marks the first year of the 20th century, many of its recipes are in fact older, as it was partially published to preserve Creole culinary tradition out of fear that the Civil War generation was now dying and, with them, the legacy of old Creole cooking. The Picayune's Creole Cook Book is still in publication today, last published in 1987 with slight modifications to aid the modern cook, and our recipes are excerpted from this version for your convenience, should you like to play Nola chef.

I was able to round up recipes (or close approximations) for all the dishes referenced in the quote above, with the exception of doves in wine and turkey livers. But, honestly, I can't imagine that you'll feel the loss of those two recipes too terribly.  At least I hope not because I'm sure you have much business eating doves these days, anyway.

But I shan't run on any more, for our New Orleans honeymoon banquet is all set and prepared for you after the jump. Bon appetit!