Happy Christmas, let’s drink!

If you happen to be on the interweb today after weeks of stress and preparation, you might be glad to know that this column includes a homemade cocktail recipe. Each year for Christmas, our lovely family friends deliver a handcrafted bottle of Irish Cream. And each year, I drink most of it. I drink it in coffee, I drink it on the rocks, I drink it with toffee, I drink it with a fox.

So this year, I was like, duh. I’ll make some. I had my mom contact our friends for the secret McElroy Irish Cream recipe and they were happy to share. Thank you! After I blended that whiskey cream goodness into submission, I promptly sipped on a small glass with two ice cubes and finished up the last of my gifts.

I was a little hesitant at the idea of drinking raw egg, but what the hell. It’s once a year, and I think that decadence ought to be forgiven every now and again. The only substitution that I made was to use half and half instead of the McElroy recommended Rich’s non-dairy creamer–couldn’t find it. Keep the finished product to yourself or pour into a mason jar, empty wine bottle or other receptacle of choice and gift to that lucky someone.

My other project this week was a discovery from my favorite website, Design Sponge. I needed a few last minute gifts and I loved the idea and simplicity of this project. The original creator calls the project a “Vintage postcard calendar journal,” but the general idea could be utilized for anything from daily checklists to seasonal recipes. This would be a great gift for a coworker or anyone expecting a child. They could record all the baby’s firsts–burps, poops, steps–all that good stuff.

So pour yourself a glass of Irish cream and cut some note cards in half! Happy Christmas.

“Vintage postcard calendar journal” (or whatever)

4 x 6 index cards, cut in half

date stamper and ink

fruit box (I found some wooden fruit boxes at an antique store)

vintage postcards

Cut your post cards in half and use your stamp to date each card for the year. Trim vintage post cards to use as your monthly dividers and place them ever so gently in your fruit box.

McElroy’s Irish Cream

1 c. whiskey (I used Powers!)

3 eggs

8 oz. sweetened condensed milk

1 c. Rich’s nondairy creamer (I used half and half)

1/8 – 1/4 t. coconut extract

1 T. Hershey’s chocolate syrup

Combine ingredients into a blender. Mix on low for 1 minute and then on high for 2 minutes. Thank you for sharing this divine recipe!