Lundi: Recipes

I'm seeing a lot of “March means spring!” mentality on the great big Internet and it’s making me chuckle. And I’m not the only one who lives in a place where it will continue to be winter right through March and into April with potential for snow as late as mid-May. Spring indeed.

So, in that grumbling sort of spirit and with my teeth set on edge at the mention of anything related to “spring”, I defiantly offer up my absolute favorite hot chocolate. This is a French Creole recipe that can’t miss on a cold day and is a family favorite after work or play in the chilly Alaskan outdoors this time of year.

Whole milk
Cocoa powder (Ghirardelli and Hershey both make excellent cocoa powder but if you want to splurge try Valrhona or, my personal favorite, Frontier which is available at Amazon)
Sugar
Powdered cinnamon

Using the mugs that will ultimately serve the hot chocolate, measure enough milk into a saucepan and let it come to a boil over medium high heat. Keep an eye on it; scorched milk is just awful and boiled over milk is a real pain to clean up.

Meanwhile, place two teaspoons of cocoa powder, ½ teaspoon of cinnamon and sugar to taste in each mug. When the milk is just bubbly, pour a little bit into the bottom of the mugs and mix this until it makes a smooth paste. Now call in the family and slowly top off each mug with milk. The kids can stir away the lumps of cocoa, which also helps to cool the milk, and enjoy.

You can add more cinnamon for an extra bite, or omit it all together if it doesn’t strike your fancy. A dash of pepper sauce is good too if you like it spicy. Bon appétit~

Header: La Famille du duc de Penthièvre c 1768 by Jean-Baptiste Charpentier This painting is also known as “La Tasse de Chocolat” - The Cup of Chocolate.