December 22nd, 2020
El Coquito Navideno, Puertorican Eggnog, Christmas Traditions, Puerto Rico, The Caribbean, La Isla del Encanto, Feliz Navidad
A simple mantle, a hot fire, Christmas is just a few days ahead. Growing up in Puerto Rico the weather is constantly warm. It does have a cooler season from January until the beginning of March. Best time to visit.
Holidays in Puerto Rico are very long. They last until mid January, when other festivals will also take place. It is like anything, it is not the same way now. In my youth there were great family parties during Christmas and then during Three Kings Day or El Dia de Los Reyes there were roasted pigs, blood sausage, which by the way are the best, tripe and all those things someone other than a foodie would think is so foreign. A Spanish island full of history and tradition. Three Kings Day is the Epiphany. Very Catholic too.
Pasteles are typically eaten during the Holiday Season. My grandmother Juanita made the best. Very labor intensive. They almost look like a tamal. Made out of plantains with and an adobo stuffing, olives, chickpeas, raisins, chicken, pork or beef, then wrapped in banana leaves. They are also made out of yuca, a root vegetable.
The photo above shows the ones I had flown from Orlando, Florida for my Three Kings Day dinner where my friends tasted them among other things like fried plantains called tostones.
Getting to the purpose of my post is the Coquito or Puertorican Eggnog. They said the Spanish invented it. Who knows. It is indigenous to the island, though. Everyone has a recipe, adding a little bit of this or a little bit of that. Rum being a main ingredient for sure. I love drinking it in a small aperitif glass.
The glasses here were my grandmother’s Palmira Pereyo Lopez. I love them and they are perfect for my Coquito. I used the Barcardi Gold Rum. I almost forgot, but you fill the empty rum bottle and give it as presents.
This recipe I have comes out delicious. I even got glass bottles to give some away. So this is how it goes:
Mi Coquito Navideno
4 cans (12 ounces each) of evaporated milk
1 can of condensed milk
2 cans (15 ounces each) of coconut cream, not coconut water
2 teaspoons of Vanilla
2 teaspoons of Cinnamon
6 egg yolks
1 bottle of rum (750ml) I used Bacardi Gold
a cap of Brandy or more
Beat by hand the 6 egg yolks in a small container
Blend separately the following in a large container 1 can of the evaporated milk, vanilla, and cinnamon.
Add the beaten egg yolks, the rest of the evaporated milk, the condensed milk, the coconut cream and the Brandy.
Then the whole bottle of rum. Mix well.
NOTE: Some time the Coconut Cream has separated. Mix it well. If the Coquito is lumpy use a sieve and put through the whole mixture.
The Coquito is not thick. It does get a little thicker when refrigerated.
Drinking it cold is the way to enjoy it. It can last in the refrigerator for some time because all the rum it has. It won’t last long though.
Anyway, play with it and make it your own.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Feliz Navidad.
Tags: Christmas Coquito, Christmas Season, Coquito, Coquito Navideno, Feliz Navidad, Holiday Coquito, pasteles, Puertorican Eggnog, Tostones or Fried Plantains
