Boiled Custard

On this snowy weekend in Asheville, Kade followed my grandmother's recipe, and made a family hit.  The only tweak she made was reducing sugar by 10-15%.  It was still very sweet.  And boy was it yummy!  This is actually the third time Kade's made it.  Not too far from us, in this same lovely mountain town, my brother made his own boiled custard, from the same recipe.  As you can see, he found a very creative way to chill it.  He also upgraded the recipe a bit.  Thanks to our grandmother for her inspiration!

And Dinah's glass pitcher was without contents, and void.  And Kade said, Let there be boiled custard, and there was boiled custard.  And Kade saw what she had made, and, behold, it was very good.

Boiled Custard

8 eggs

1 cup sugar

6 cups milk

2 tsp vanilla

Beat eggs well, and add sugar.  Beat until lemony color.  Add milk and cook on medium high, stirring constantly, until custard coats a metal spoon and does not drip from it.  Custard is done when it reaches 175 degrees with a candy thermometer. Remove custard from heat, allow it to cool a bit, then add vanilla.

Serve chilled or warmed with a dash of nutmeg sprinkled on top of each cup. Add a splash of rum and you have homemade eggnog!

During the holidays Deedee always had boiled custard chilled and ready for enjoyment. Let's all get back to the basics of Southern Hospitality and always keep boiled custard on hand.

Mark