Bill Wade, Post-Gazette

Better Eggnog Tips for beating Whipping cream should be cold when beaten. Bowls and beaters should be chilled, too. Only heavy or extra-heavy cream will whip. Half-and-half and light cream are for coffee. Eggs are easier to separate when they are cold. Separate eggs, one by one, into a small custard cup rather than directly into the mixing bowl -- if you have an accident and some yolk slips into the cup, you won't have ruined the whole thing. Egg whites achieve greater volume when they are beaten at room temperature. Whites should be whipped in clean glass or metal, never plastic because oils tend to adhere to it. If a bit of yolk falls in with the whites, remove every speck. Whites from pasteurized eggs will not achieve the volume of regular eggs. -- Suzanne Martinson

On the farm, we had just-laid eggs from "free-range" chickens and rich milk fresh from the bulging udders of our Golden Guernsey cows. But homemade ice cream was our family's piece de resistance, and we never celebrated the holidays with eggnog.

So much the pity.

Last fall, my husband and I were in San Juan, Puerto Rico, for the Association of Food Journalists' eat-and-educate annual conference. One night after we returned from a dinner in Old Town, The Ritz-Carlton pastry team had a greeting for us -- waiting in our room was a Coquito. Translation: Rum and Coconut Eggnog Spiced With Cinnamon.

If that doesn't shout celebration, what does?

In Puerto Rico, of course, a country whose middle name might be rum, the Coquito contained rum, but it's delicious without it, too. We theorized the drink may have been named for the tiny tree frog, which calls "co-qui, co-qui" to visitors. But alas, it was more straightforward.

"In Spanish the word means coconut," explained guest relations coordinator William Rosa. "So coquito means little coconut."

Still, a stuffed frog called Rico arrived with the Coquito.

Coqui frogs exist all over the Caribbean and Latin America, but only the ones in Puerto Rico sing -- and then it's only the males.

"They hide in the plants from the people," Rosa said, "but they sing really loud for them."

Supposedly the yellowish brown, spotted frogs prefer isolated areas in the mountain, away from the bright lights, but the ones we got acquainted with hung out around the beautiful hotel pool, which was perfect for a person who wants to swim off a few calories, but doesn't like it when the water is over her head.

Meanwhile, from Venezuela came another recipe for eggnog, this one called Santa Teresa 1796 Eggnog, a recipe inspired by Hacienda Santa Teresa in Aragua, which is 50 miles outside Caracas. To nobody's surprise, this recipe contains a fifth of 1796 Solera, along with some history of the drink. Couldn't find Santa Teresa sipping rum locally so we skipped their nog, but we appreciated the historical perspective.

Eggnog, according to the press release, is a popular European beverage that dates as far back as the 17th century. "Eggnog was originally prepared by mixing eggs with milk or wine. Americans re-created this recipe by substituting the milk or wine with rum, or grog, as it was called in Colonial times. Known as a social drink, eggnog was commonly served in noggins, small wooden mugs, at most taverns and inns."

It wasn't long before the combination of eggs, grog and noggin became the legendary eggnog. We thought you'd never ask.

Not to be outdone by the Puerto Ricans and the Venezuelans, one of this year's holiday movies, "Christmas with the Kranks" starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Tim Allen also went noggin with a recipe, supposedly one featured in the movie.

Though I haven't yet seen the film (too busy making Christmas cookies), the little potato chip of a book on which it's based, John Grisham's "Skipping Christmas," found its way into many stockings three years ago, including mine.

To be honest, the book, though eminently predictable, was infinitely more fun than coal. (OK, I felt a little jealous when such a short book sells that many copies. Don't tell Santa.)

As Post-Gazette critic Barbara Vancheri wrote in her movie review, the book "Skipping Christmas" was a "clever novelty story but didn't exactly have enough material for a 98-minute film. I kept imagining someone using the TV sign for 'Stretch!' -- hands that come together and apart, as if pulling taffy -- throughout the process."

Well, the eggnog from the movie wasn't difficult to make if you have a good mixer, and it tasted fine, too, proper holiday fare saturated with simplicity. Rich, for sure.

Back home in Michigan, we didn't worry about such dangers as our raw milk and uncooked eggs, because we knew the cows and chickens personally.

Fortunately, today both pasteurized milk and eggs are available. So, not to egg you on, but let's get noggin.

RELATED RECIPE

HOLIDAY EGGNOG Reviews of "Christmas with the Kranks" movie have been mixed -- putting it mildly -- and this eggnog may be the highlight.

• 6 eggs (we used pasteurized), separated
  
• 6 tablespoons sugar
  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  
• 1 cup whiskey (optional)
  
• 1 pint whipping cream, whipped
  
• Nutmeg for garnish
  

Separate eggs. Beat whites until stiff. In another bowl beat yolks and add sugar, vanilla and whiskey, if using. Gently fold in whites and cream.

Note: At our house, no eggnog is complete without a crank or two of freshly grated nutmeg, though nobody will raid your party if you use ground nutmeg.

Nora Krank in "Christmas With the Kranks"