Brandy

I finally got around to buying some more brandy today. I ran out last winter due to egg nog. I couldn't find the brand I'd previously purchased, so I grabbed the smallest bottle the liquor store had, St. Remy VSOP.

It tastes like grapes on fire, and the aftertaste reminds me of something my dad would make during the holidays, ponche. I've tried to find more about it online, but nobody's sounds similar to Dad's. It's kind of like zabaglione/sabayon I guess. The Caribbean versions all have a bunch of other junk in it. Here is the way we make ours:

1 egg
brandy
sugar

Separate the egg into two bowls. Beat the egg white by holding the fork horizontally and making a circle with it vertically (I learned how to do this rapidly, but haven't managed to teach Max. When you do it right, the entire egg will rise up around the fork in an egg vortex kind of thing). Beat until frothy and stiff--when you can hold the bowl upside down for several seconds and nothing goes anywhere, but don't turn it into meringue either. Next, add the yolk back in, a sprinkling of sugar, and a little bit of brandy and mix some more.

That's it! Then you grab a soon and eat it. Yes, raw. The risk of salmonella is something like 1 in 30,000 eggs, ridiculously low. Plus it has alcohol ;)