Eggnog crème brûlée

I had planned to make crème brûlée @ some point this week but wasn't sure when I would have the time.  Of course inspiration randomly bit me in the @ss as I was staring out the window on the LIRR, on my way home from a late evening out with a girl friend.  By "late" I mean the night ended @ 8:50 pm. On a work night.  OOOoooohhhh... totally girls gone wild, right?  hahaha  Anyway, after Vin picked me up and I put away the dishes to make room for the ones in the overflowing sink, I noticed that he was "photo-ing".  And the "Inception" soundtrack was playing.  And I took this to be my cue to get started on the crème brûlée because the aforementioned "photo-ing" (a.k.a. "photo editing") would take some time.  @ 11:40 pm.  On a work night.  I wasn't feeling like I wanted to make the same old crème brûlée, which, I've made plenty of times before since it's Vin's favorite dessert. So after taking out the separated egg yolks (the whites are for macarons!), I came across imitation rum extract while rummaging through my random flavors.  I figured I might as well take a shot @ making something slightly different and thought eggnog would be perfect!  A splash of "rum" here, a dash of nutmeg there, a hint of cinnamon.... I sipped a taste and the flavors were pretty spot on.  And from what I gather, the actual recipe for eggnog is very similar to the pre-oven crème brûlée mixture anyway.  I filled the ramekins to the brim and the delicious holiday smell of 'nog wafted from the oven.  


Right now the ramekins are cooling in the fridge.  I'll have to post a picture of the actual brûlée'd caramel top tomorrow (err... later today) before we eat it.  Why not now?  It's almost 2 in the morning and I'm in no mood for sugar now and... it's a work night.  This midnight-insomnia baking is getting a bit out of hand...

Update 12/26/10: click here for a shot of a torched crème brûlée serving.