Here’s a quickie post for your Holiday pleasure – a favorite of mine, since introduced to it by some of my Cuban-American co-workers during the days before Christmas (when no one really cares if you’re a tad shit-faced at work!) – Oops! Did I say that out loud?

Crema de Vie (Cuban Eggnog)

1 cup water
2 cups granulated sugar
1 can evaporated milk
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 – 6 egg yolks, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup rum (or to taste – use light or dark rum, your preference)
(I used nearly 2 cups, but that’s just the kind of girl I am!)

Combine water and sugar and boil for 3 – 4 minutes until it becomes syrupy. Let cool slightly.

Whisk egg yolks till frothy. Add both milks and vanilla extract to yolks. Whisk well. Add the still-hot syrup in a thin stream while still whisking. Add rum. Mix well again. Strain the mixture through cheesecloth or coffee filter. Pour into one or more decorative bottles with tight seal. Refrigerate.

Serve in small apéritif-style glasses… okay…who am I kidding? Serve in whatever glasses you want with a light grating of fresh nutmeg (optional). Just be forewarned – the stuff is addicting and potent!

This is the only recipe I know of where you can fool with the egg quantity. Just depends on how yellow & eggy you like your eggnog. I’ve seen recipes calling for up to 8 egg yolks, but that’s too close to “American” eggnog for this style, in my opinion.

*Variation: Add a 13.5 oz can of coconut milk, combine thoroughly, and you’ll get the Puerto Rican version of this holiday classic: Coquita. Adjust rum accordingly, if necessary. Also, muy delicioso!

The Crema de Vie is best made well ahead of time – my co-worker’s mother makes this in early November! But it will be extremely delicious even after just a few hours and ice-cold.

Enjoy – and Happy Holidays to All!

We’re Heeeeere! Finally!

Halloween is here and, if you’ve been hopping along the #GreatHallowTweet Blog Hop trail all week, then you should be loaded up with a gazillion ideas and recipes for spooky celebrations for grownups and kids, alike!

These last two aren’t recipes. Let’s call them, umm, serving suggestions. Hee!

These Bloody Marys, garnished with Witches’ Fingers (It doesn’t get much more appropriate than that!), were made with Oxford Falls* Bootleg Bloody Mary Mix. Seriously, the best I’ve ever bought – if you click on the picture and enlarge it, you’ll see all the bits of veg and spices in there. Yum! I say, why work that hard if there’s something out there that’s as good or better than you can do yourself.

Anyway, the garnish is made with Oxford Falls* pickled asparagus spears. Dot one side of an almond slice with cream cheese, and stick it to the tip of the asparagus spear (which you’ve first dried off with paper towel). Witches’ Fingers! Float a couple of (washed) plastic spiders on top of an ice cube, and there you have a perfectly macabre cocktail!

Of course, too many of those macabre cocktails, and you might end up like this! Hahaha! Kidding.
Anyway… This is Oxford Falls* Dix Fried Green Tomato Salsa. It’s just called that – it’s really a tomatillo-based salsa, that we can’t stop eating. No kidding. MJ and I will suck down half a jar in a sitting. It’s not super-hot, but there’s enough of a buzz to let you know you’re eating salsa.

Lately I’ve noticed a lot of pumpkins decorated to look like they’re throwing up their guts… and other stuff. Not one to buck a trend, I’ve carved a couple of tomatillos and arranged them with the salsa for similar effect. Aw, come on! It’s freaking cute! Admit it!

If you haven’t been here all week, scroll down for some of my other favorite Halloween stuff, and when you’re done here, go over to that orange #GreatHallowTweet Blog Hop sidebar and visit 18 of my other blogger friends who have gone all out, all week long, for our favorite holiday!

Happy Halloween, Everyone! Stay safe, have fun, and don’t forget to check the closets and under the beds before you turn in tonight! BWAAHAHAHAHA!

*Yes, I know it’s all Oxford Falls brand stuff. No, they didn’t pay me, ask me, or even know that I’m featuring their products. I bought all of it. Out of my own paycheck. So there. I just like the stuff, okay? Look ‘em up on the web at www.oxfordstuff.com

Come in! Make yourself… umm… comfortable. Heh heh heh! May I offer you a cocktail? How about a nice Black Martini with Devil’s Eyeballs? BWAAHAHAHAHA!

For the Black (Espresso) Martinis you’ll need:

2 cups prepared espresso
2 cups black vodka or espresso-flavored vodka
1 cup Kahlua (or other coffee liqueur)
1/4 cup sugar (or to taste)

Dissolve the sugar into the hot espresso and chill. Combine the espresso with the remaining ingredients. Chill well and serve in chilled martini glasses.

Alternatively, fill a cocktail shaker half-full with ice, add espresso mixture, shake well, and strain into chilled martini glasses.

Makes about 8 servings.

*Note: You can make the martinis a couple of days ahead, if you like. The advantage, other than time-savings, is that the flavors meld further and the drink concentrates a little, enabling the Devil’s Eyeballs to float menacingly in the cocktail!

For the Devil’s Eyeballs you’ll need:

1 can lychee fruit, drained
1 small bottle maraschino cherries, drained (not jumbo-sized)
chocolate chips (preferably semi-sweet)

Blot the lychees and cherries with paper towel to dry a bit.

For each eyeball, insert one cherry, stem-end up, into a lychee. Take a chocolate chip and press the point into the cherry stem dimple. For best effect, it should turn a little sideways for that creepy, evil, cat-like pupil.

Great way to get your Halloween party guests in the proper spirit – enjoy!