eggnog:scrambled

my first attempt at homemade eggnog. it SHOULD have been amazing, especially since i used farm-fresh milk and eggs, and organic cane sugar. unfortunately, i messed up with my tempering of egg yolks, and i overcooked my swiss meringue. the result was drinkable, but not what it should have been. homemade eggnog is different than store-bought eggnog; it's almost foamy. i got the foamy part, but it was not very smooth due to scrambled yolks and whites.

it wasn't horrible, though. next time i should have more success. i've made custards and pastry creams before, so i have had experience tempering eggs. it is still difficult though. for some reason i've been overcooking my swiss meringue. i think i'll start making italian meringue instead; there's no way to overcook it.

i used the recipe from alton brown, on foodnetwork.com. as i am a germ freak, i opted for the cooked version, while also cooking the meringue. i know that "technically" there's no salmonella in the whites, but it still undoes me. i'll stick with cooked meringue, thank you very much. besides, who likes french meringue? its' too gritty and unstable, and lacks that divine marshmallow-creme texture of swiss and italian meringue. i'll attempt to make eggnog again soon, but tomorrow i have to bake 200+ cookies. i shall let you know how that goes.