Crazy for hot cocoa
Regina Murphy
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
One of my favorite things about cold weather is having warm beverages to drink.
I make extra coffee in the morning, have hot herbal teas during the day and snuggle up to a mug of cocoa at night.
The beverage of Mayan and Aztec emperors, chocolate was brought back to the European continent by the Conquistadors. According to “What’s Cooking America”, the original cocoa recipe was a mixture of ground cocoa beans, water, wine, and peppers. It was frothed with a special kind of whisk, and drunk cold. It didn't take long for Europeans to begin heating the mixture and sweetening it with sugar. After being introduced in England, milk was added and “pots of chocolate” were served as an after-dinner treat.
In 1631, the first recipe for a chocolate drink was published in Spain by Antonio Colmenero de Ledesma, an Andalusian physician. He wrote: "Chocolate is healthy. It makes the drinker Fat, and Corpulent, faire and Aimiable.” Here’s his recipe.
COLMENERO’S COCOA
100 cocoa beans
2 chilies
1 handful of anise seed
2 handfuls of vanilla (2 pulverized Alexandria roses can be substituted)
2 drams of cinnamon (3/4 teaspoon)
12 almonds and the same amount of hazelnuts
Half a pound of white sugar
Enough annatto to give some color
Grind it all together in a pestle, add an undisclosed amount of water, and “...there you have the king of chocolates." Chiles go surprisingly well with chocolate; if you likea little heat you should experiment with them.
Mexican hot chocolate is made with special, bitter chocolate that is sold in six-sided cakes. One brand I’ve tried is Barra, and there are others. Mexicans like to use a special wooden whisk called a molinillo to really froth the beverage up, but you can use a “boat motor” hand-held blender or a regular whisk. This recipe is also enriched with eggs.
MEXICAN HOT CHOCOLATE
6 cups milk
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 oz. unsweetened Mexican-style chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
Stick cinnamon
In a large saucepan, combine milk, sugar, chocolate, ground cinnamon, and salt. Heat, stirring constantly, until the chocolate has melted and the milk is steaming. (But don’t boil it).
Beat 2 eggs in a mixing bowl. Stir in one cup of the hot mixture into the eggs, then return this mixture to the saucepan. Cook 2 to 3 minutes more over low heat, still stirring.
Remove from heat. Add vanilla. Whisk until it is very frothy. Pour into mugs, garnish with cinnamon sticks and serve. Makes about 6 servings.
EVERYDAY HOT CHOCOLATE
6 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups milk
Place everything in a saucepan over medium heat and whisk periodically until the mixture almost reaches the boiling point and is foamy. Remove from heat and if more foam is desired, use a wire whisk or hand held blender to whip the hot chocolate. Pour into a large mug and toss in a couple of marshmallows to finish it off.
This recipe makes one mug-full, and it does have alcohol in it. Make a nonalcoholic version by adding 2 ounces of espresso and melting in extra chocolate shavings and crushed peppermint candies.
CHOCOMINT TODDY
1 oz. coffee flavored liqueur
1 oz. peppermint schnapps
6 oz. boiling water
1 envelope instant hot chocolate mix
Whipped cream for garnish
Shaved semisweet chocolate, for garnish
In a large mug, mix the coffee flavored liqueur and peppermint schnapps. Pour in the hot chocolate mix, and stir in the hot water until well blended. Top with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.
Now, that Paula Deen woman makes a white hot chocolate with about a gallon of heavy cream in it. She’s a good kind of crazy!
WHITE HOT CHOCOLATE
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup heavy cream
4 cups half-and-half
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Vanilla whipped topping, for garnish
Mint leaf, for garnish
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine white chocolate chips and heavy cream. Stir continuously until white chocolate chips have completely melted. Stir in the half-and-half and vanilla extract. Stir occasionally until heated through. Pour into mugs and top with a dollop of vanilla whipped topping and garnish with a mint sprig.
I’ve been trying to plan a hot chocolate party as a “Girl’s Night Out” event, and here is a bit of my research in case you’d like to do the same.
Serve small dishes of “mix-ins”. Pastel-colored mints melt fast, taste good and look pretty. Crushed peppermints work, too, and also as a sprinkle on top of whipped cream. Caramel squares and miniature baking chips (chocolate-caramel or -raspberry swirls, toffee, peanut butter) are tasty additions.
Orange-flavored liqueurs such as Grand Marnier complement chocolate. Coffee-flavored cordials such as Kahlua, the hazelnut Frangelico and chocolate liqueurs by Godiva also taste great in hot chocolate. And don’t forget the Amaretto!
You must have marshmallows and whipped cream. Top that with chocolate shavings, cocoa powder, fresh mint leaves, grated nutmeg or a light sprinkling of cayenne pepper. I’ve seen marshmallows in local stores in regular, chocolate and strawberry flavors.
You can use a spoon to stir your cocoa, but why not make it a candy-dipped spoon embedded with crushed hard candies (butterscotch, anyone?). Or use rock-candy swizzles, candy canes, cinnamon sticks or pretzel rods (which can also be dipped and coated).
With all that sweetness, it’s good to serve salty snacks such as popcorn, nuts and crackers. Dippables such as shortbread, pirolines, lady fingers or minty cookies are just as fun as an Oreo in milk. A cherry cheesecake wouldn’t hurt.
I think I gained five pounds just writing about all that! Next week I’ll have some great snack ideas I picked up from Nancy Garcia at Country Mart North. Your challenge for recipes is this: Popcorn! It’s more than just salt and butter. What do you make with fabulous, fun popcorn?
Send your recipe to murphysmenu@yahoo.com or 517 Merchant St. Let’s Get Cooking!