Food Wine Sleep

Shortly before Christrmas a guest was asking for Egg nog to be served during her party. It came to me that, even though I had fond memories of egg nog being served at Christmas parties during my time spent in New York, I had never bothered to write down the recipe. So with the help of our bartenders and some of my kitchen staff we started to collect recipes and sample, test and taste them(and in the progress getting pretty tipsy). The recipe below is the result of this research and testing. This recipe is for a chilled egg nog, but egg nog is at times also served warm. Then the drink is done the same way and then gently warmed in a waterbath and brought so to temperature.

Polenta is one of those things I despised as a child and only really got to appreciate when I became a chef. Polenta is a great alternative to pasta, rice and potatoes and goes well with chicken, rabbit and grilled sausages. Polenta traditionally is cooked in saltwater only, but different chefs prefer to use beef bouillon, milk or a mixture of it. It really depends on each individual's preference. For different taste and textures, replace the Parmesan cheese with Mascarpone, Ricotta or soft goat cheese. Grilled mushrooms, vegetables or crisp Parma ham also make a great addition to polenta.