Homemade Holiday Eggnog

4 egg yolk
1/3 cups sugar, plus 1 Tablespoon
2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 Teaspoon fresh nutmeg
4 egg whites
Bourbon or brandy, optional

Separate the yolks.
Then pour the yolk in one bowl and the white in another.
Why can’t you just do all of the eggs over one bowl and catch all the whites at once?
You can if you are a gambler.
Because if just one drop of yolk infects your whites you have to start all over.
They will never whip up because fats and whites don’t mix.
Put the whites in the fridge and start with your yolks.
If you don’t have a mixer then get your favorite whisk.
Mix the yolks and sugar together until they lighten a bit in color and grow in volume.
Now combine your milk, cream and nutmeg in a medium saucepan and put it on medium heat.
If you don’t want to pasteurize your yolks, skip this step entirely.
Heat this to just below boiling temperature. Probably around 170 degrees.
Slowly drizzle in a cup of the hot liquid into your eggs.
Keep mixing the yolks while you do this.
Then once your cup of hot liquid is mixed in with your yolks, your yolks will be up to temperature and you can slowly add them back to your saucepan.
If you don’t bring your yolks up to temperature, your eggs will cook when they hit the hot liquid.
Now put this back on the burner until it reaches 160 degrees.
Keep whisking it and it will only take a minute or two.
You can then be assured that your eggs are safe.
Add in your brandy if you are using it and stick the mixture in the fridge to chill out.
As a shortcut, you can place the mixture in a mixing bowl and put it in a larger bowl with ice water.
Whisk the hot mixture and it will cool down rapidly.
Put in the fridge, it’ll take an hour or two to chill and then you need to prep your egg whites.
Just mix them up with a mixer until they are fluffy.
IMPORTANT: Be sure to wash your mixers really well before you do this.
Once the whites start forming little peaks, add in that extra tablespoon of sugar and keep mixing until you get stiff peaks.
Finally, once your milk base is chilled, fold your whites into your milk base and you have the best eggnog ever.
Note
If you mix your whites an hour or two in advance that is okay.
Just be sure to whisk them together for a minute or two before you add them to the milk base because some liquid will probably separate out.