This week's treat- Frozen Hot Chocolate

I went to NYC last year (before the whole job loss, moving in with the in law's thing!). Anyway while I was there, with a wonderful girlfriend, we decided to check out Serendipity! We just HAD to try the frozen hot chocolate! It was good, HUGE and nice. Even better? Totally able to make at home! I just made a batch of my homemade Hot Chocolate and then put it in the fridge. Once it was cool I threw it into my ice cream maker. Since it doesn't have cream in the hot Chocolate it doesn't cream up, instead it crystallizes a bit. Anyway, I made a batch tonight! It totally hit the spot. This way I can enjoy my favorite beverage even in the middle of winter! Whatever you don't finish just put it back in the refrigerator (it get's too hard in the freezer) and you can either reheat it for hot chocolate, or refreeze another time.

Hot Cocoa
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup hot water
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
4 cups milk
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Mix cocoa, sugar, water and salt in a saucepan. Over medium heat, stir constantly until mixture boils. Cook for one minute, stirring constantly. Stir in the milk and heat, but do not boil. Remove from heat and add vanilla; blend well. Serve immediately.

On the Ninth day of Christmas...

I made my Hot Chocolate, with a Candy cane to stir it... MMMMMMM. And yes, this picture is from October, but I forgot to take a picture!

On the Sixth day of Christmas...

I made my Homemade Egg Nog! Well I made most of it last night, but it has to sit overnight before you add the final whipping cream. It wasn't my best batch to date, I was doing too much at once and over whipped the egg whites, but still much better than store bought! We both love egg nog, but Bill likes it that much more than me, and I love making it for him!

Chocolate Week Day 1

So I was scavenging the Internet for all things chocolate when I came across this: Chocolate Week 2007. I was so excited! Of course it's in the UK, and so I live no where CLOSE to any of the wonderful smelling tasting events. But why not celebrate on my own. So I thought I'd make something NEW and Chocolate every day this week. To day I decided to try a variation of my Hot Chocolate (I tend to get onto something and stay one it for awhile). I figured I should work my mojo and experiment with a slushy cold Hot chocolate. So I took the basic Cocoa/water/sugar/salt mixture from my Hot Chocolate and instead of adding 4 cups of milk and heating it I added 1 C cream and 2 C milk, added the vanilla and left it chilled. I wanted the flavor, and creaminess to be stronger for 2 reasons, I knew I wanted to add crushed Ice and it would water it down, AND the cream slush's better in the Ice Cream maker. I put it in for only 18-20 mins instead of the 25-30 I would normally do. Then I half filled a glass with crushed ice, scooped the Chocolate Slush in and topped it off with my normal Whipped Cream! Ta-da!!!! I was right the stronger taste was a bit much that FIRST sip, but once I stirred it with the ice cubes it turned out just right. It was perfection, the great taste of Hot Chocolate (vs Hershey's chocolate milk) but chilled, and thick (but not too thick, not a milkshake, runny slushier) I loved it. I think I'll also experiment with making a Hot Chocolate flavored Ice Cream for another fun change. Now that I live someplace that is always warm I needed to think outside the box, but simple cold Hot Chocolate wasn't hitting the spot. This, however, was a great treat! Of course it won't keep well in the slushy stage, so I let the rest go for a bit longer and froze it (not long enough to be thick ice cream though). Tomorrow I'll add some leftover slush scoops to crushed ice cubes, let it sit a bit, stir and it should be just right!

My Sore Throat Solution

I've had a sore throat for a few days so I thought it was the perfect excuse to make my favorite treat... My amazing Hot Chocolate! I know it isn't really cold yet, but honestly I don't think it WILL ever be cold enough in Houston to NEED Hot Chocolate, so I figured I might as well make it just because I WANTED it. And I could always drink it chilled... Not that I DO, but I COULD. Can you tell from my Caps that I'm Justifying a bit... Anyway, this is the greatest Hot Chocolate recipe and I'm sharing it with you! Enjoy (esp those of you who live in a colder climate).

Hot Cocoa

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup hot water

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

4 cups milk

1/8 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix cocoa, sugar, water and salt in a saucepan. Over medium heat, stir constantly until mixture boils. Cook for one minute, stirring constantly. Stir in the milk and heat, but do not boil. Remove from heat and add vanilla; blend well. Serve immediately.

I make a double batch and keep it in the fridge and heat it up one cup at a time and enjoy it for days. It will separate, so you'll have to mix it a bit every time. I keep in my mixing pitcher for ease. The best part about it is I get a lot of milk in my diet this way. In fact this is one of 2 ways I ever drink/eat reg milk (Cereal is the way~ I have a weakness for Cap'n Crunch). All other dairy is in the form of Cream, Butter, and Cheese. I keep a plentiful supply of all three at ALL times.