Sleep in Heavenly Pizza Quotes

“THE CASTILLO FAMILY’S COQUITO (PUERTO RICAN EGGNOG) This is Angela Castillo, Junior’s mother. This was my Daniel Senior’s recipe, God rest his soul. During the holidays, our family always has plenty of coquito in the fridge. In small-town Puerto Rico at Christmastime, beware, because friends and family can show up at any time of the day or night. Especially at night, because that’s when the parrandas happen. These used to happen all over the island, but sadly they’re less frequent now. Here’s how a parranda goes: Your friends or family members show up on your porch late in the evening, after you’re in bed. The ringleader signals everyone to start belting out Christmas carols at the top of their lungs and playing whatever instruments they brought. You jump up out of bed and go downstairs to be serenaded. Here’s where your stockpile of coquito comes in handy! You invite the parranderos into your house, where everyone eats and drinks and sings for maybe an hour or two. Once everyone has had enough, you become part of the parranda and move on to the next house with the whole group. And so on and so on until the whole neighborhood is up and partying. Another word for parranda is “asalto,” or “assault.” You can see why! This is a sneak-attack party. Prep Time: 10 min Resting time: 4 hours to infuse and chill the coquito Ingredients • 1/8–1 cup white rum, such as Don Q (depending on how strong you want your coquito) • 1/2 cup coconut rum, such as Malibu (optional) • 1 (5 oz) can evaporated milk • 1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk • 1 (14 oz) can coconut milk • 1 (14 oz) can cream of coconut, such as Coco Lopez* • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon • 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg • 1 teaspoon vanilla • 2 cinnamon sticks, plus more for garnishing *If you can’t find cream of coconut, you can use coconut cream. Instructions Mix all ingredients except for the cinnamon sticks in a blender. Place the 2 cinnamon sticks into the mixture and chill in the refrigerator in glass bottles for a minimum of 1 hour, preferably overnight. Remove the cinnamon sticks. Shake well before serving. Serve cold in a small glass, garnished with a dusting of fresh nutmeg and a cinnamon stick. Note: Coquito makes a great gift! Pour some into a pretty bottle and bring it as a hostess gift to a holiday party. What party wouldn’t be improved by the addition of rum and sugar?”
― Mindy Quigley, Sleep in Heavenly Pizza