Door County in the fall; perfect for hot chocolate*

This recipe for hot chocolate is so good it calls for an extra T (and it is a little ’80s with that extra T, so it has that going for it as well). This is the splendid union of the hot chocolate a la Chocolat my lovely man has made me on occasion and the cinnamon-spiced Mexican hot chocolate you can make with Ibarra chocolate and milk. A happy marriage, indeed.

This hot chocolate is rich and decadent enough to end a meal (as I did for my bookclub dinner), although you would be mighty popular if you brought a thermos of this with you ice skating come winter. You can make the “base” ahead of time and then just add the remaining milk and bring up to heat.

Whipped cream is a must to both cut the richness and gild the lily.

Hott chocolate
Serves 8 adults or 10 hungry bambinos

Ingredients
Two whole rounds of Ibarra chocolate; I smack the rounds on the counter while still in the package to break them up into pieces
6 oz. Scharffen Berger bittersweet chocolate, chopped roughly
A tiny pinch of kosher salt
6 cups whole milk

lily-gilding accompaniments
½ pint whipping cream
2 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar

Directions
Heat two cups of milk until really hot, but not simmering. In the jar of a blender, add the chocolate and salt. Pour the hot milk over the chocolate and blend it until smooth and frothy. Note: Always use caution when blending hot liquids.

If making ahead, place the chocolate “base” in a sealed container and chill until ready to serve (can be made up to a day ahead of time).

When ready to serve, place the base and the remaining milk in a saucepan and bring to just shy of a simmer. While the hot chocolate is heating up, whip the cream with a mixer, adding the sugar when the cream reaches soft peaks. Whip until stiff – you don’t want soft cream here as it will dissolve when it hits the heat.

Pour hot chocolate into cups, crown with the whipped cream. Enjoy.

*I forgot to take a photo of my cup, because honestly I couldn't wait to drink it!

Happy eating (and drinking), -s.

Happy 4th of July. Pickle has been sicker than a dog (such a strange expression; what does that mean, exactly?) and this weekend has been all about taking care of him and his poor, afflicted GI track until today: today he is finally feeling better and acting a little bit more like himself. Hurrah! That means he's taking a good nap and I am cooking up a storm. But first, here's what was in our CSA box this time:

In our CSA box:
all-red potatoes – red on the outside and pink on the inside (how cool!)
broccoli
chard
cilantro
flat-leaf parsley
garlic scapes
romaine lettuce
snow peas
strawberries
sugar-snap peas
yellow summer squash
zucchini

Menu: week of 4 July 2009
Saturday: 7-hour roasted pulled pork sandwiches with creamy cole slaw and corn bread
Sunday: burgers on the grill with quick zucchini pickles and roasted all-red potatoes
Monday: shredded pork tacos with avocado and green salsa with a cumin black-bean salad
Tuesday: beef and snow peas with steamed rice
Wednesday: roasted veggie pasta with cilantro-pumpkin seed pesto
Thursday: sesame soba noodles with steamed broccoli
Friday: day of rest

So, here's what I've been cooking this morning (when you're up at 5 a.m. you can get a lot done by 9:30):

Cream crackers with garlic and parsley – I really loathe giving Pickle things chocked full of preservatives, especially when I can make them at home. Store-bought crackers are culprits of the high-fructose corn syrup, calcium propionate, disodium EDTA preservative craze. I know that preservatives keep things fresh and I know that I've eaten my fair share of preservatives, but when you can easily avoid them, why not?

Chris was craving a donut this morning (I made him get some yesterday when he ran out for coffee filters; I know, bad), but instead of running out for more, I opted to make some buttermilk biscuits with fresh ricotta and a quick strawberry "jam." How good does that sound? Better than a donut!

The buttermilk biscuits are from Marc Bittman's How to Cook Everything, the ricotta is Grande Ricotta Del Pastaio (Wisconsin-made) and the jam is something I made up.

The jam utilizes some gnarly strawberries that we got in our CSA box last week. While they taste good, they weren't so pretty so I blitzed them in the mini food processor and cooked them down until they were thick and shiny.

Quick Strawberry Jam
Ingredients
1 cup stemmed and halved strawberries
2 tablespoons sugar
a pinch of salt

Directions

In the bowl of a food processor, place berries and sugar. Pulse until nice and chunky (about 5, 1-second pulses). Scrape contents into a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until reduced and thick and glossy.

Cool slightly. Spoon onto biscuits, ice cream, pound cake, yogurt ... yum.