No Regrets Regret

Why would anyone write about eggnog in the beginning of April? Well, would you believe that one of my greatest regrets of this sabbatical in Princeton has to do with this yuletide drink? It’s true.

What can I say? I’m a very lucky guy. Also, I’m very comfortable with the decisions I make and almost never look back and second guess what could have been.

Well, except for this one time back in January when I stopped into Halo Farm. If you recall, this is the dairy right outside Princeton that makes something that approaches my ideal ice cream. It’s closer than anything else that I’ve ever had. And while I’ve never had Jeni’s, my ideal ice cream doesn’t have tapioca starch in it. Ever.

But this isn’t about ice cream, it’s about eggnog. On that fateful visit, Halo Farm had what I expected to be their last eggnog of the season for sale. And it looked amazing. On the strength of their ice cream and the promise of no junk in the carton, I had high hopes that this eggnog would be some truly special stuff.

However, I had just recently turned to some new healthier eating habits that did not include eggnog. To make matters worse, Halo only sells fluid dairy in half gallon containers. And this half gallon of eggnog was set to expire on the very next day. Given how much I would have to drink in such a short time to avoid waste, I declined. At the time, I knew full well that since we would be moving back to Albany in July, I would probably never again have the chance to try this special stuff.

Regret washed over me. For months. Until the strangest thing happened.

I can’t figure out why, but Halo Farm had their eggnog back in stock last weekend. My only guess is that it could have something to do with Easter? But that seems like a stretch. Regardless, I wasn’t going to let this chance slip away from me, so I bought a half gallon and it was every bit as good as I had hoped.

It’s made from “fresh milk, fresh cream, pure cane sugar, skim milk, yolk of egg, and natural flavors.” That’s it. This is eggnog that way it’s supposed to be. Rich, sweet, and clean. Four ounces weigh in at a daunting 180 calories, 130 of which come from fat. That’s 15 grams of fat per miniscule serving, ten of which are saturated (making up 50% of your daily saturated fat allowance).

Fortunately, I had my father-in-law to help me drink it. And the kids loved it, too.

Maybe I took the wrong lesson out of this experience. As our time is getting shorter in New Jersey, I wanted to take Mrs. Fussy out to the regional treasure that is Delorenzo’s Tomato Pies. But even getting there at 5:30 pm on a Saturday night meant a forty-five minute wait for a table. Luckily, there’s a stellar Italian market across the street to kill time in.

It occurred to me that I might never get another chance to try the incredible prosciutto bread sold there. Fortunately, I was able to buy a half loaf, which was still $6 and weighed a ton. That was because this is no bread, despite its name. Really this is a tube of meat scraps and cheese encased in enough bread to soak up the rendered pork fat and deliver the one-two punch of refined grain and fatty cured meats.

Man, that stuff is good.

And I couldn’t say no to their lobster tail pastries either. Those we would have for dessert after our sausage pizza. The prosciutto bread I would consider to be an appetizer.

The good news is that I will not regret passing up on these amazing regional delicacies. The bad news is that I put four pounds on this weekend. Count ‘em. Four. I’m feeling tubby, and I don’t like it. Especially after all the work I had been doing in the gym.

That said, it’s still easier to get back on the elliptical and drop a few pounds than it may be to get back to that Italian market. Although it’s hard to slow down once you’ve gone off the rails. There’s still a bit more eggnog left, and it really does go great with coffee.