Warming Trends

After ten days of snow and ice things started thawing out ever so slightly on Christmas Eve. The day after Christmas I went/made it to work for the first time in a week and a day. Barely made it off my street Friday morning, but the main roads were okay. I stopped on the way home to get bread, milk and a bottle of Bourbon. Three stops to keep on a short route home with clear roads. I didn't have any problems until I turned on to my street and made it about 10 yards and got stuck in the slush. I managed to make it another hundred yards and got stuck across the street from my driveway. Ten minutes of digging got me into the driveway, parked and I soon had a glass of bourbon in my hand.

The snow was soft and melting slowly on Saturday morning, helped along more by the rain than by the temperature. I shoveled off the walkways and cleared off the porches and made getting in and out of the house less of a hazard.

Things didn't start to thaw out seriously until Saturday Evening. I'd seen a couple of recipes for Tom & Jerry Batter that looked like they'd be fairly simple to make. It took about 15 minutes from start to finish to make the batter. I made myself a mug full and was soon glowing from the inside out. A couple of those and I was relaxed and ready for bed. I went to let the dogs out one last time and as I opened the door the outside air was positively balmy. The predicted warm front had come in over the last couple of hours and the temperature had gone from 36F at 7pm to 50F at 10pm.

Tom and Jerry Batter

* 3 eggs, separated
* 1/4 pound sugar - superfine if you've got it.
* 1/4 tsp ground cloves
* 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
* 1/4 tsp ground allspice
* 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Beat the egg yolks until thin, and gradually whisk in the sugar. Add the rum & spices. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff and fold into the yolk mixture until well mixed.

For each drink, put 2 ounces of batter into a toddy mug (you may want to scale that back if using a smaller mug or coffee cup). Add 1 ounce each of brandy and rum and fill mug with equal parts hot milk and boiling water. Top with grated nutmeg.