Combine 1 1/2 cups of the flour, yeast, and nutmeg in a large bowl; set aside. In a saucepan heat and stir the 1 cup eggnog, water, margarine, granulated sugar, and salt just till warm (120 to 130 degrees) and margarine is almost melted. Add to flour mixture. Add egg. Beat with an electric mixer on low to medium speed for 30 seconds, scraping bowl. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Stir in fruits and peels, raisins, and as much of the remaining flour as you can.

Knead in enough of the remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (6 to 8 minutes total). The paddle attachment on my Kitchenaid worked perfect for this. Shape into a ball. Place in a greased bowl; turn once. Cover, let rise in a warm place till doubles (about 1 1/2 hours).

Punch dough down. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide dough into three equal pieces. Cover and let rest 10 minutes. Roll each piece of dough into an evenly thick 10-inch rope.

To make braid, line up the three ropes, 1 inch apart, on a large greased baking sheet. Starting in the middle, loosely braid toward each end. Press ends together to seal; tuck ends under. Cover and let rise till nearly double (about 456 to 60 minutes). Bake in a 350 degree oven 10 minutes. Cover loosely with foil and bake 15 to 20 minutes more or till bread tests done. Cool.

Combine powdered sugar with enough eggnog to make a glaze of drizzling consistency. Drizzle over loaf. Garnish the top with additional candied fruit, if desired. Makes 1 braid.

Note: If any of the fruit falls out while you're shaping the ropes for the braid, just press the pieces back into the dough.