Bye, Eugene

My father-in-law, Eugene Kelly, passed away this afternoon at the age of 86. Pat and I both lost our dads within four months. Argh.
Eugene was a kind and gentle man, a loving husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather. He was patient beyond belief.
A veteran of the Army in WWII, he landed on the beach in Normany on D-Day and fought through France until the liberation of Paris. He was an Aide to General Eisenhower and according to my mother-in-law, knew a lot of things that were classified.
He will be missed immensely. Rest in peace, Eugene.

Here we go again and it's not good

Losing my dad this August has been a painful and sad experience for all of us. We miss him every day. The last couple of weeks I cry just about every day. I guess it's part of the mourning process.

My Father-in-Law, Eugene Kelly, slipped on the ice and fell about 10 days ago. He's 86 and broke his hip. Very worrisome. He made it through surgery fine and they put three pins in his hip. Post surgery hasn't been so good. He's had breathing and oxygen issues.

Last night he apparently had what they call "respiratory arrest" which means he stopped breathing. They think he has aspiration pneumonia and is currently on a ventilator and not conscious. Although we've been hoping for a full recovery from the broken hip, now it looks like he won't live to see 2010.

Eugene, like my dad, Clyde, is a WWII veteran. Eugene was one of the first guys to land on Omaha Beach in Normandy on D-Day and fought through to the liberation of Paris. He is a kind and loving man.

We are hoping and praying for Eugene and for a full recovery, but things are looking pretty dire here. Not a very nice Christmas at all.

Egg nog time!

Yeah, it's that time of year. Our house has been spiffed up, the tree is up and is beautiful and my belly has been filled with lutefisk. Time for St. Nick to descend upon us, but not before we have some egg nog.
I've been making home made egg nog for about 25 years. People who don't like egg nog love mine. If you are a lover of egg nog you will never drink the emusified crap from the grocery store again. I'm going to share with you my not so secret recipe. The recipe here is a quadruple batch because it's labor intensive and my family and friends love it. I have been known to make up to 8 or 10 batches during December (in the quantity posted here) to satisfy the cravings of my family, friends and colleages.

You will need a very large stock pot, as this stuff expands when it cooks. Ready?

1/2 gallon of whole milk
1/2 gallon of half and half
cook on high (stirring all the time) until it comes to a boil
remove from heat and let cool
skim the top and add
2 cups sugar and 5 teaspoons of vanilla. Splurge for the real vanilla and don't buy that imitation junk they sell. Trust me, it's worth it.
Put it back on the stove and bring to a boil - yes, stirring all the time.
Lower the heat and gently boil it for 20 minutes
yes, 20
(some good music or a book and a glass of wine come in handy here)
take it off the heat and cool
skim the top.
meanwhile - separate 32 eggs - yes, 32
you can toss the whites or make a ton of meringue - or angel food cake - whatever
beat the egg yolks on high for five minutes
they should be thick and lemon colored
stir the yolks into the cooled stuff - the mixer works well here, as the yolks will float to the top.
add about 1 1/2 cups of white rum - more or less to your taste or none at all, if you wish
chill it until it's cold and serve with a cinnamon stick or a sprinkling of nutmeg on top.

Enjoy my egg nog and don't blame me when your arteries clog up.

PS. Don't lecture me on salmonella and raw eggs. Dozens of people have been enjoying this stuff for a quarter of a century and NO ONE has become sick from it.