georgmi | Eggnog

My lactose intolerance isn't the life-threatening-allergic-reaction kind, and over-the-counter lactase pills work well enough that I can safely eat pretty much anything with dairy in it, but a tall glass of milk is more than I can handle, even with the pills.

I've tried lactose-free milk, but the way that works is they add an enzyme which breaks down the complex sugar lactose into two simpler sugars, which makes the milk taste unpleasantly sweet, so that's not a solution for me. Which sucks, because I really like a tall glass of cold milk.

I also greatly enjoy milkshakes and homemade eggnog (not the nog you get in cartons at the store, that stuff's disgusting, and if that's the only nog you've ever had, you've never had nog), but because I don't drink lactose-free milk, I can't have those things either. Or haven't been able to, until something occurred to me.

See, my objection to lactose-free milk is that it's too sweet, but both milkshakes and eggnog involve *adding sweet things to milk*. So theoretically, if I just adjust my recipes, I ought to be able to drink at least eggnog again. Experimentation has led me to a pretty good place.

In the blender, combine:
3 cups lactose-free whole milk
3 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
Vanilla to taste
Nutmeg to taste

Blend until frothy and sugar is dissolved. In my case, the bubbles about doubled the volume of the liquid, so make sure you leave plenty of headspace in your blender.

Add a shot (or so) of good brandy* to a tall glass. Fill the glass with nog (which should adequately mix the brandy in; give it a stir if you want afterward). Grate a little more nutmeg in top and enjoy. (I should note here that the alcohol is absolutely not required; the kid had a glass of just nog and declared it tasty.

It was delicious, and even hours later, my stomach is not complaining. I haven't been this happy on a winter solstice in decades.

*alternate liquors I plan to try: spiced rum, Irish whiskey, Kahlua. M. thinks Cointreau, but I'm not convinced orange would go. Please, if you try this, use good-quality booze; the cheap stuff isn't going to give you the best experience.