Soul Warming Spicy Hot Chocolate – 5:00 Fridays

 

It’s been a frosty week here, and we are ending it with an ice storm. The neighborhood was a veritable skating rink when we walked the dog this afternoon. There are icicles hanging from the patio table umbrella, and my Southern sons are fascinated by them. Their Midwestern cousins would get a hoot out of the display of excitement these tiny icicles conjure up. We are all hunkered down knowing that everything will be cancelled for tomorrow. Everyone is home safely. Chili’s cooking on the stove with moussaka to follow. We have movies lined up, popcorn ready to pop (the old school way!), and hot chocolate ready to dole out in generous portions. Since it’s an icy Friday, I figured it would be a great time to re-share my friend’s hot chocolate recipe from a while back.

Allow me to introduce the amazing Devra, half of the awesomeness that is Parentopia (waving to the other half, Aviva!). I first fell in love with Devra on Twitter, when she told me that she is even shorter than I am. It was love at first short joke.

Here’s Devra:

My grandfather was a doctor in Denver. On any one day he could be found delivering babies at one hospital and taking out an appendix at another. He also made house calls. Yes, house calls! Back in the day he would fill up his huge green thermos with black coffee and head out to visit patients, day or night. But no matter the time of day, he was never without his thermos. During my childhood, we visited my grandparents at least twice a year, but it was the winters I remembered most because that’s when I would accompany my grandfather on rounds at the hospital. He would fill his big green thermos with hot chocolate for the two of us to share. Hot chocolate at my grandparents’ house was never of the “instant” variety, it was always made from scratch, and always with whole milk with good quality chocolate. Almost always a dark chocolate from Ghirardelli Square since San Francisco was often the locale selected for the annual meeting of the American Medical Association. My grandfather would attend the sessions, my grandmother would go shopping. Made perfect sense, and even better hot chocolate. When my grandfather died in 1986, I helped my grandmother sort through their closet. I knew it might be difficult for her, so I offered to come up to Phoenix from Tucson where I was attending college. As she and I went through his clothing, some laughing (like remembering his extra wide ties and the fact that he never seemed to know how to coordinate them with a shirt) I noticed his thermos up high on a shelf. I asked my grandmother if I could have it. She said, as she often did, “Of course, dear.
Take it.” And I did.

Now I fill it with hot chocolate and share with my kids. But sometimes I make my own very special hot chocolate which I share with almost no one, unless maybe I’m sitting around a backyard firepit with Ilina, her husband, and a few friends. Such was the case the night after Thanksgiving last year. I brought my special hot chocolate along in my grandfather’s thermos. So without further ado, here is the recipe I make for these special firepit gatherings of friends and/or family:

Soul Warming Spicy Hot Chocolate

1 cup Half-N- Half *
2 cups milk
1/2 cup orange juice
6 oz 70% or greater good quality bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped. (I use a food processor)
1/3 cup Grand Marnier liquor (Cointreau is another good option)
1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Preparation:
Heat half -n- Half, milk, orange juice and cayenne pepper until almost boiling. Whisk in chocolate.
Simmer for around 2 minutes to reheat through.
Add Grand Marnier and serve. (or pour into a really big green thermos!)

* If you want to reduce the calories you can use 3 cups 2% milk, it won’ t be as “ rich” but the taste will still be superb!