den | Crackerjacks, eggnog

I found a "new" product at the local store today. It was a foil packet labelled "Crackerjacks", and listed the contents as popcorn, toffee and peanuts. I had a flash-back to when I was a kid living in the Blue Mountains, and a friend giving me some lumps of toffee, popcorn and peanuts, and we laughed as we read the silly box as we scarfed down the yummy, crunchy things. They were called "Lolly Gobble Bliss Bombs." I haven't seen them for years.

That's what the Crackerjacks are: rebranded Lolly Gobble Bliss Bombs. The toffee's not as sweet as I remember in the Bombs but it's still very yummy. I bought a couple of packs for the table.

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I found out what eggnog is. All the Yank chrismas shows have for many years had the characters offering their guests this eggnog. What the hell is "eggnog"?

Well, it's an egg flip with brandy.

Egg, milk, some sugar (optional, to taste) and some brandy smooshed in a blender. Eggnog
Egg, milk, some sugar (optional, to taste) and some vanilla essence, smooshed in a blender: Egg flip.

Egg flips make a good breakfast.

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Actually, most of 'em around here anyway go and use rum.

We've had those in the U.S. since the mid-20's, I believe. Here they come in a foil packet inside a box with a kid in a sailor suit saluting, and a little dog by his side. *And* they are most famous for having a "prize" inside each box. In the past, some of the prizes were pretty novel (there is at least one museum dedicated to them) but costs (and liability from kids choking) has forced them to turn to cheap crap like waterbased tattoo transfers and "joke" booklets...

Bliss Bombs came in a foil packet in a purple box with bizzare factoids on the side, most of which were about a peroxide-blonde yak. The Crackerjacks are just in a foil packet. I don't recall ever seeing any prizes in them.

You didn't have Cracker Jacks over there? I had no idea eggnog was a USAn thing, either.
Hmm. Wonder what else we take for granted that you've never come across? Probably quite a bit both ways, I suppose...

Not Crackerjacks as such, just the Bliss Bombs. And I've never has a Twinkie. Oreos have recently hit the market but I haven't tried them.

I think Eggnog is a Euro/Statian thing. I drink egg flips a lot, though.

Twinkies have a strong negative aura to them. I recall a friend telling me her dream about another friend's sister. This sister happens to weigh in the range of 150 kilograms, and some kids were making fun of her for it by pelting her with twinkies.

It's said that everyone has his own way of eating an Oreo. I liked to dink them in milk, myself. When an African-American calls another African-American an 'Oreo', it's supposed to imply that he's 'black on the outside and white on the inside'. I've personally heard this epithet in movies, on tv and in real life. It therefore must be fairly prevalent, I would think.

I'm not sure they still make them, but decades ago a product appeared known as "Screaming Yellow Zonkers." The boxes were very novel (and changed frequently) and included some rather funny jokes, pictures, and philosophical statements. For a short while, the contents were even listed as weighing "1/320,000th of a metric ton." They had to stop that, though, when the Federal Trade Commission threatened to sue them for misleading or confusing labelling. Yeah, right...

I'm certain our eggs don't have the salmonella problem. Yet. You still have to be careful when you're handling chook meat, especially when other foods can come into contact with it.

The US has eggnog for sale in supermarkets sans any alcohol so kids can drink it. Far as I can gather, most people don't make their own any more and buy the carton and drink it as is or add some alcohol.

If you haven't had Crackerjacks before (which they are pretty old snack food here historically) I wonder if you've seen Twinkies or Tandycakes. I suspect not given my previous wanderings in Coles and Woolies.

No Twinkies or Tandycakes, or at least not under those names. I know we don't have anything like Twinkies.

Which is probably a good thing, from what I've heard. 8)

Oy, mate! Don't forget the nutmeg! It isn't eggnog without it.

And my English grandmother made the stuff long before she went over to Vancouver on the ship. :)

Nutmeg. Gotcha.

Add nutmeg.

Eggnog is typically sold in the stores here, without the liquor. You add your preferred liquor yourself. I like rum.

I get eggnog delivered from my milkman (http://www.royalcrestdairy.com/). It's so rich I have to dilute it with milk (or rum ;) in order to drink it.

Eggnog is also great in coffee.

I'm not sure the issue of raw eggs is the same in Canada as the US. I still make my own eggnog... eggs, milk, vanilla extract, and nutmeg at home without problem and I haven't seen any warnings about eggs in Canada. The addition of alcohol being completely optional. (Personally I like spiced rum, but brandy and bourbon are good too).

Ditto on the coffee thing.... I just discovered that this year ... from MrCoffee :)

PS... nice trick in the making.... beat the eggwhites into stiff peaks first before mixing in the yolks and milk etc.... makes for a lovely foamy topping to hold the nutmeg :)

Anyone beating egg-whites like that end up making a pavlova. 8)

I must admit, I drink the stuff that comes in the carton.

I used to drink the real stuff as a youngster and had no gut, but these days the way folks are screaming about salmonella it's a risky business;).

But it isn't eggnog without *fresh* grated nutmeg. For me booze just makes it taste weird:). I'm drinking some right now:D.

I can get Screaming Yello Zonkers around here somewhere. I see them often. My favorite is homemade caramelcorn with sugared Beer Nuts (a brand name, come inna can).

Good Yulemas!

Well, technically, you don't use a blender. You mix up a few egg yolks, and then in another pan you heat up some milk and cream and sugar. Then you whisk the almost-boiling milk-mix into the egg yolks, add nutmeg, and brandy/rum.

Heat? But it's SUMMER!

Personally, I find eggnog to be gross. I tried it once, and it almost made me sick.

If there's anything in them that isn't produced in a laboratory somewhere, I haven't heard about it. These are amusing:

http://www.joke-archives.com/oddsends/twinkies.html

http://www.twinkiesproject.com/

--Quill

What? No Eggnog? No Cracker Jack? No Twinkies? You poor downunder folk. (Well...I actually wouldn't worry so much about the twinkies, TBH... :P) How about those delightful little marshmallow confections we so lovingly refer to as 'Peeps'?
http://www.justborn.com/products/peeps.html (serious)
http://www.peepresearch.org/ (very very funny)

Since it's warm for Christmas where you are, you might consider that eggnog is quite lovely in milkshake form, with a little whipped cream (and the obligatory nutmeg) on top. (FWIW, most people drink the nog cold, it's just heated for preparation, then chilled.

Happy Christmas!

Crackerjacks, eggnog

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CrackerJack

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Eggnog

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Nogg of Egg

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