It's Nog-Tini Time

In my family, Thanksgiving always marked the start of Egg Nog Season. Every year we had a big sugary carton of the store-bought stuff to go with our gooey breakfast cinnamon rolls, in front of the TV, watching the Macy's Parade. From there we'd bounce off the walls until a big ole turkey dinner would knock us comatose. How crazy is that entire scenario, on so many levels? Of course it's a happy childhood memory, but only two things from it stick with me now - the parade and the nog, although now it's made from cashews instead of eggs. This is a really easy recipe to make in your blender, and because it's sweetened with dates (and contains no raw eggs) it's much healthier than traditional store bought or homemade nogs. Drink it straight up, in your coffee or tea, or mixed up into a decadent Nog-Tini (recipe below).

Cashew Nog

1 cup raw cashews, soaked in water at least 2 hours

1/2 cup pitted dates (about 20-25 dates)

1 cup boiling water

1 tsp powdered cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp powdered ginger

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups cold water

Cut the dates in half to be sure the pits are all out, and pour the 1 cup of boiling water over them, allowing the dates to soak for at least an hour. Longer is better.

When all the soaking is done, drain and rinse the cashews only.

Place the cashews, dates and date water, and all other ingredients in a blender, and blend on high speed for about one minute or until very smooth. Store in the refrigerator and shake well before serving.

Nog-Tini

3 cups Cashew Nog

1 1/2 cups Frangelico (hazelnut liqueur)

1 1/2 cups vodka

nutmeg for garnish

Stir or shake all ingredients together and chill well before serving, or serve over ice with a sprinkle of nutmeg on top. Cheers, my dears!