The Wilson Touch

Do you like creamy sweet things? Do your body and psyche both start to crave rich fat-infused treats about this time of year? Do you gag at the thought of drinking raw eggs?

If you answered "yes," "yes," and "yes," in that order, then this recipe is a Christmas present for you!

My sweet neighbor and friend, Illiana, is from Costa Rica. (A lot of people move to Shelton Laurel from Costa Rica. Just kidding.) Everything that hails from Illiana's kitchen is very, very excellent. I'm not sure what's going on in there, but it's like she has some special touch that automatically imparts deliciousness on everything it comes in contact with. I will call it The Wilson Touch.

A few weeks back I drove over the mountain to pay Illiana and her husband James a visit. We talked, laughed, played with the cats, and, of course, ate awesome food. I nearly overdid it on ropa vieja, a slow cooked beef dish, in which the meat is infused with juicy, tomato-y savory flavor-y greatness. Rice and fresh salad accompanied and rum cake and rompope followed.

"What the heck is rompope?" you might be dying to know. Well merry Christmas because I am telling you right now.

Rompope Recipe from Illiana

Ingredients:
1 can (or about 14 ounces) coconut milk
1 can (or about 14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1 can (or about 14 ounces) evaporated milk (or equal part fresh whole milk)
1-3 cinnamon sticks
vanilla extract to taste
nutmeg to taste
1-1/2 cups rum

Directions:

Place the cinnamon stick(s) in the whole milk (or evaporated milk) and bring to a low boil. Turn off heat and let the cinnamon infuse into the milk for a few minutes.

Strain the milk. Add the coconut milk and the sweetened condensed milk to the cinnamon infused milk and whisk. (You can adjust the thickness of the drink to your preference by using thicker or thinner coconut milk, or by adding a little corn starch. If you are going to use corn starch, put it in when the milk is heating.)

Add 1 or 1 1/2 cups rum, vanilla, and nutmeg to taste. Put the cinnamon sticks back in. Chill completely.

Serve alone, on the rocks, in hot coffee, in hot chocolate, in the morning, in the evening. Whenever and whatever. My favorite is in hot chai tea.

This drink is thick, creamy, fatty, sweet and spiced with some of the world's finests. It is the perfect comforting treat for this time of year and like a golden gift from the angels themselves for those of us who, for one reason or another, can't bring ourselves to accept the raw eggy factor of our popular holiday drink entitled "eggnog."

Rompope is a Costa Rican party drink. Illiana says you can find it at Christmas, birthdays, Quince An~os (that's a big birthday celebration for turning 15- kind of like our Sweet Sixteen), and other special occasions. Different families and individuals have their own variations on the recipe. I happen to be fond of it exactly the way Illiana made it. She graciously gave me permission to share here, so thank you Illiana, for gifting my handful of readers with a sort of virtual version of The Wilson Touch. And Merry Christmas to all of you who answered "yes," "yes," and "yes" at the beginning! (And to the rest of you crazy eggnog drinkers too.)