Tag: Eggnog

Holiday Films

A Merry Scottish Christmas

LizLockeLeave a comment
Image credit: A Merry Scottish Christmas, Hallmark, 2023

I’m going to try not to turn this into a Party of Five appreciation post… and I’m going to fail miserably. You see, A Merry Scottish Christmas was made for those of us who still harbor a deep love for this ’90s television show and those plucky Salinger siblings. I don’t even care that this is blatant stunt casting because part of me always wanted reassurance that Bailey and Claudia would grow into happy, functioning adults. Now, here is the proof: they’re totally fine, and they’ve just inherited a Scottish castle!

Before you make the mistake of thinking two Salingers (Scott Wolf and Lacey Chabert) are now playing love interests, rest assured they are STILL siblings, albeit estranged ones. Brad is married to a thoroughly boring woman he is reluctant to impregnate, while his sister Lindsay is an overworked general practitioner. Although they’ve grown apart, Brad and Lindsay agree to reunite at their mother’s castle in Scotland, one she’d kept secret from them throughout their childhood. Now, they must decide if they’re willing to step in and help her run it, or if the family should sell. Lindsay has a romance with a charming Scottish property manager, while Brad and his boring wife reconnect over a Highland Fling, resulting in what is sure to be an extremely boring baby. It should have been named Owen, but sadly, nobody asked me.

Because this is a Hallmark movie, I was not expecting much alcohol. However, whisky tastings and boozy nights at the village bar suggest that the channel has gone to the dark side. Finally! Also, in a great PoF nod, the bar is called Salinger’s, and it’s staffed by a man named Charlie! Although there are a couple of festive cocktails imbibed here, I went with the one that utilizes the country’s main export, Scotch. While watching A Merry Scottish Christmas, I recommend drinking a Highland Snowball.

Highland Snowball

¾ cup Eggnog

1 ½ oz Scotch Whisky

½ oz Butterscotch Schnapps

Nutmeg + honey (garnish)

Star Anise

Prepare glass by dipping an edge in honey, then lightly in ground nutmeg. Set aside. Combine eggnog, schnapps, and scotch in a shaker with ice. Shake until chilled, then strain into prepared glass. Top with star anise.

With a manor that resembles something out of Downton Abbey, morning bagpipes, and cozy tartan blankets beside crackling fires, this movie is just the relaxing holiday watch I needed. The stakes are low (to castle or not to castle?), and the acting is remarkably decent. The most important thing I learned? That I will still watch Bailey and Claudia in just about anything… as long as they never play lovers. Cheers!

Classic Films · Holiday Films

Desk Set

LizLockeLeave a comment
Image credit: Desk Set, 1957

I’ve got a question for EMERAC—which 1950s film starring Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy will put me in a retro holiday mood? The answer, of course, is Desk Set (Disc/Download), the delightful romantic comedy written by Nora Ephron’s parents Phoebe and Henry. If it’s one thing the Ephron family understands, it’s how to make smart people fall in love.

If you’ve never seen this movie before, you might be shocked to learn that in the days before Google, actual humans were employed to answer mundane trivia questions from the general population. As reference librarian Bunny Watson, Hepburn looks perfectly at home surrounded by books, speaking authoritatively into a telephone. However, her peaceful workplace is soon disrupted by the arrival of Spencer Tracy and his living room-sized computer. EMERAC threatens both Bunny’s job and her pride when, due to a severe lack of communication, she and her co-workers start to worry the men upstairs will replace them all with a machine. Can Bunny save her status as the leading human computer? Will she ever get a chance to wear that gorgeous green dress from Bonwit Teller’s? WILL SHE MAKE IT TO THE OFFICE CHRISTMAS PARTY?? Watch and learn the answers to these burning questions.

Speaking of questions, one in particular came up while I was watching this film. Spencer Tracy’s character Richard seems awfully excited to be served something called “Floating Island”. Not having a reference librarian of my own to call up, I turned to Google to find out what this dish is. Turns out, it’s straight out of a Julia Child cookbook, and can be easily modified into a cocktail. While watching Desk Set, I recommend drinking an Eggnog Floating Island.

Eggnog Floating Island

3 oz store-bought Eggnog (I used Trader Joe’s oat milk version)

¾ oz Dark spiced rum

¾ oz Brandy

2 cups milk

For Meringue:

3 large egg whites

¼ tsp cream of tartar

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

Ground Nutmeg (for garnish)

Edible Glitter (for garnish)

  • Combine eggnog with dark rum and brandy, pour into martini glass, and place in the fridge to chill.
  • Pour milk into a skillet, and turn on the heat to simmer.
  • Next, make the meringues. Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until foamy. Add cream of tartar, and beat until they hold stiff peaks. Add sugar slowly, beating until the whites are stiff and glossy.
  • Scoop some (about the size of an egg) onto a spoon. Drop into the simmering milk on the stovetop, and cook for 2 minutes, turning meringue over halfway through. Repeat with as many other meringue scoops as you want.
  • Using a slotted spoon, transfer poached meringue to a clean towel, then onto a wax-lined sheet. Refrigerate for 1-3 hours.
  • Once the meringues have cooled and set, place one poached meringue on top of the eggnog in your martini glass. Dust with ground nutmeg and edible glitter. Serve with a small spoon.

I admit, this cocktail is a little more involved than I normally care to get. However, the holidays are always a good time to try out new recipes you don’t have time for the other eleven months of the year. And if you’re not up for anything complicated, you can always just pass a bottle of bubbly around like these boozy librarians—I’ll never tell. Cheers, and happy holidays from Cinema Sips!

Comedies · Holiday Films

While You Were Sleeping

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While you were sleeping
Image credit: While You Were Sleeping, 1995.

Before I dive into a month’s worth of classic Christmas films, I’m easing into the holiday spirit with the movie that probably inspired countless contemporary romance novels and Hallmark productions. (Let’s pause to write the producers a thank-you note).  While You Were Sleeping (DVD/Download) is the Christmas movie for lonely hearts, the siren call for every schlubby transit worker who dreams of the guy in the suit, only to realize the guy in the Carhartt jacket is way sexier. Trust me- you want the guy who can build you a chair, not the one who can buy it for you.

Starring Sandra Bullock as a single, cat-owning, Oreo-eating heroine, While You Were Sleeping is a film not just about romance, but about family connection. After she saves her crush from being hit by a train, his family mistakenly believes she’s their future daughter-in-law, and she goes along with it because it kinda sucks to be alone at the holidays. But then she meets her faux-fiance’s brother played by Bill Pullman (honestly I was always more of a Paxton girl myself, but Pullman makes it work), and realizes he’s maybe kinda sorta her soul mate.  Hijinks ensue, Christmas trees are bought, presents are unwrapped, and Chicago looks really f*cking cold. Pass the eggnog!

One fun thing I discovered on a recent re-watch of this film is that the grandma-with-a-heart-problem (because of course) is played by none other than Glynis Johns, aka. Mrs. Banks from Mary Poppins. Grandma Elsie mixes up a mean batch of eggnog, meant to be sipped slowly. So while watching While You Were Sleeping, let’s join in the fun by drinking Elsie’s Eggnog:

Elsie’s Eggnog

4 oz Store-bought eggnog

1 oz Rumchata

1 oz Southern Comfort

1 oz Bourbon

Whipped Cream and cinnamon for garnish

Stir together eggnog and other ingredients in a shaker with ice. Stir until chilled, then strain into a chilled glass. Top with whipped cream and cinnamon.

eggnog

This movie is especially endearing because it’s not just a film about a girl trying to get a guy at Christmas. It’s about a girl trying to connect with a family, one that comes with drunk relatives, ugly furniture, and the kind of mom who will put up a stocking for someone she barely knows. And that’s what makes the holidays so great, when you stop to think about it. Well, that and boozy eggnog. Cheers!

Holiday Films

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

LizLockeLeave a comment

Photo Credit Warner Bros. 1989
Photo Credit Warner Bros. 1989

It wouldn’t be Christmas without a viewing of my favorite childhood holiday movie- National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. I can think of no other film that totally captures the joy and the stress of family holiday get-togethers quite like this movie. National Lampoon movies have always been pretty low-brow, but out of all of them I think Christmas Vacation is by far the best. Chevy Chase as Clark W. Griswold is the everyman in all of us- the person who has such high hopes for a wonderful, sentimental holiday surrounded by friends and family and hot cocoa, only to see those hopes dashed by uninvited guests, financial woes, and tangled piles of non-working Christmas lights. He tries so hard to make it all perfect, not realizing that a perfect holiday is impossible when in-laws are involved.

Christmas Vacation was always an annual movie in my house, along with A Christmas Story. In fact, I liked Christmas Vacation so much that I can remember watching it several times during July! We didn’t have huge holiday gatherings like the one in this movie, but there were still a lot of things that rang true for me. Just the opening scene of a station wagon traveling on a dirty, slushy, salt-covered highway is enough to make me shudder in memory of my childhood in western Pennsylvania, where the winter weather never fluctuates much from “grey”. Then there’s the bickering amongst siblings, the grandparents stressing out the parents, overheated department stores, and hours spent checking twinkle light strands for the ONE bulb that isn’t working. When Clark fantasizes about an afternoon by the pool as Hawaiian Christmas music plays in the background, I think we can all relate to that need to escape by the time Dec. 25th rolls around.

For my pairing this week, I decided to play on Clark’s fantasy of a sunny Christmas, while mixing in a dash of Cousin Eddie’s preferred beverage- eggnog. I’m not a huge fan of eggnog, but when mixed with enough other things, it becomes tolerable. I particularly like this recipe because it reminds me of a tropical drink- sort of a vacation in a glass.

Mele Kalikimaka Eggnog

2oz eggnog

1.5 oz pineapple juice

1 oz spiced rum

Combine eggnog, pineapple juice and rum in a cocktail shaker over ice. Shake and strain into a chilled martini glass.

*Note- If you want to make this for a crowd, these quantities can all be upped pretty easily for punch-bowl serving. Also, if you like coconut, feel free to use Malibu rum for an even more tropical flavor.

P1060561

This Christmas, before you get yourself all stressed out trying to make things perfect, sit back with a glass of this eggnog, watch Christmas Vacation, and remember that things could always be worse. You could have a redneck cousin emptying his RV’s sewage line onto your street, a squirrel loose in your house, a turkey drier than Texas in August, and the SWAT team arriving at your door on Christmas Eve. What this movie shows us is that Christmas is really all about family- the good, the bad, and the Cousin Eddie’s. Cheers!