OLD SLAVE EGGNOG

Via Kimberly, Belle Grove

Old Slave Eggnog is not just another recipe. It is a HERITAGE that has been handed down from generation to generation.

It is reminiscent of a way-of-life that died with the echo of the last shot fired in the Civil War.

Its flavor, when properly blended, is as delicate as the fragrance of the wild magnolia and as tantalizing as the sweet scent of the cape jasmine that permeates the air, on swarm summer nights, in the Deep South.

When the South was in full bloom, Old Slave was a tradition at Christmas time. It was served on Christmas Day and especially on Christmas Eve at gay Plantation parties.

It was truly a nectar of Romance. Charming and gracious ladies, bedecked in jewels, attired in silks and satins and their gentlemen escorts, raised silver cups of it, to toast a way-of-life which they believed would never end.

Chivalry was the guiding force in the lives of the hot-blooded Southern Gentry. Men looked over the rims of silver cups of the nutmeg-flecked, creamy potion, raised in toasts, deep into the eyes of their lady loves and learned the reason why they would duel to death for them.

Some did and died....some loved and lost and some lived, loved, and died in poverty at the end of the Civil War.

In memory of that GLORIOUS PAST, I am most happy to share with you and you may share it with worthy friends the recipe for Old Slave Eggnog, so that it may be perpetuated.

It is not known from which plantation Old Slave originated. It came to me from my father who was born in New Orleans, La., in the early seventies.

Oaklawn Manor could have been the birthplace of Old Slave. Since seeing Oaklawn Manor and falling in love with it...I feel deeply that they belong together. Therefore, I give and bequeath to Oaklawn Manor, my legacy of, OLD SLAVE EGGNOG

12-7-60
Bernard Bares

THE RECIPE

Separate the yolks and whites from one dozen eggs and place in separate bowls. Place the yolks in a very large bowl as all of the ingredients will eventually be mixed in it. Add one cup of granulated sugar (cane sugar) to the yolks and beat well. Now add one quart of half cream and half milk and 4 tablespoons of vanilla and beat well. Then stir in 6 ounces of any good quality of light rum (do not use dark rum) and one pint of any good blended whiskey or bourbon, and let batter stand.

Beat the whites of eggs adding 1/2 cup of powdered sugar and 1
tablespoon of vanilla and beat until stiff.

In a separate bowl whip one pint of whipping cream and slowly add 1/2 cup of powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon of vanilla and beat to whipped cream consistency.

Place the whipped cream and the whites of eggs into the original yolk batter and beat thoroughly. Add 2 quarts of milk and beat until foamy.

Place in refrigerator and let stand for several hours before serving.
Sprinkle a dash of nutmeg on each serving.

Good luck and a Merry Christmas

From Free North Carolina