Castilian Hot Chocolate

I vote we get a snow day after every Christmas weekend...five days off is definitely the way to make merry :). The wind is howling like mad out...which means it's time for Castilian Hot Chocolate :

This is my favorite way to hot chocolate bliss...those Spanish know a thing or two about hot chocolate, let me tell you. None of this powdery mix junk, this is the real deal : chocolate, sugar, milk, simmered together until it's super thick and rich and luscious...almost pudding-like, but still drinkable. Trust me on this one, once you try it you'll never settle for Swiss Miss again.

The recipe is from "The Vegetarian Epicure (Book Two)", by Anna Thomas. I've mentioned Book One in a previous blog...my very first cookbook of my very own, given to me when I was just a little girl and giving me a huge start in my quest for culinary greatness. Book Two explores more "foreign" dishes, well at least "foreign" for the time... Spanish, Italian, Mexican, Indian...definitely all with a 70's bent, complete with when to pass around the joint :). Okay, so maybe the books are a little dated now...but both will always hold a special place in my heart. And both still have some damn fine recipes.

The only update I make to this one is to use the darkest cocoa powder I can find...Hershey's makes a Special Dark version which works perfectly.

simmering away

dark and delicious

screaming for whipped cream !!

Castilian Hot Chocolate

1/2 cup cocoa powder (darker the better)
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch 

1/2 cup water
1 quart milk 

whipped cream (optional)

Whisk the cocoa and sugar together into a medium-sized saucepan. Dissolve the cornstarch in the water, and stir into the cocoa and sugar until it is a smooth paste.

Begin heating the mixture, stirring it with a whisk, and gradually pour in the milk. Continue stirring with the whisk as you bring the liquid to a simmer.

Allow the chocolate to simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring often, until it is thick, glossy and completely smooth.

Serve steaming hot, topped with whipped cream if desired.

Holiday Baking



Sugar Cookies

Oh, how I love my holiday baking :) I think I was about 10 when my grandmother gave me her Christmas cookie cutters...and I think I've made sugar cookies every year since then. It just doesn't seem like Christmas until I'm creaming shortening and sugar, smelling orange peel and vanilla, and getting colored sugar everywhere.

As the years have gone by, of course, I've expanded...Pfefferneusse were added first - a traditional German cookie, the name translates to "pepper nuts" - and yes, there is pepper in the dough ! The smell of these...molasses, butter, cloves...is another of my Christmas must-haves.

Pepper Nuts, anyone ?

Viennese Christmas Snowflakes were added a few years ago - Mark is nuts about anything raspberry, and these nutty, buttery cookies are the perfect vehicle for raspberry nirvana

A much-requested guest the past few years is the Godiva Tiramisu - or, as one of my favorite foodie friends calls it, the Goddamn Godiva Tiramisu. What makes it "Godiva" is that I use Godiva liqueur instead of the traditional Marsala or rum...and boy, does that make it. This, really, is a culinary orgasm.

will post a pic tomorrow after we cut into it...

If I have time, I try and make homemade truffles as well...and I did this year. Flavored with The Knot (a delicious caramel sort of whiskey liqueur....makes the best Irish Coffee ever !), these truffles are definitely a win :

mmm...boozy

And finally, a newcomer to the Christmas Eve festivities...this year I decided to make a Buche de Noel. (the traditional French "Yule Log"). After the rousing success of Michelle's Mousse Cake, I really wanted to make something similar for Christmas, and I knew the Buche was made of similar stuffs. Didn't fool around - went straight to Martha Stewart  - but made marzipan mushrooms instead of the traditional meringue (I am not a meringue fan), and used bittersweet chocolate instead of semisweet (we love dark chocolate around these parts).  I also didn't cut off the ends to make knots - didn't really see the point, and mine came out plenty log-like as you can see :







really, it's marzipan !

The components of this recipe all taste fantastic...but I don't know that the cake "rolled" as well as it should have. Maybe I just need to practice more....I like the idea of that :).

Here are the rest of the recipes and/or links....Happy Holidays everyone !!

Sugar Cookies

2/3 c shortening

3/4 c sugar

1 egg

1/2 t vanilla

1/2 t orange peel

2 c flour

1 1/2 t baking powder

1/4 t salt

2 -4 t milk

With an electric beater, cream together shortening and sugar. Add egg, vanilla and orange peel, and mix until well combined.

In a separate bowl, sift together dry ingredients. Add to shortening mixture, and add milk as needed to make a workable dough. Chill for one hour.

Roll out 1/8 inch thick, cut out and place on cookie sheets and decorate as desired. Bake in a 375 oven for 8 - 10 minutes, or until just starting to brown the tiniest bit on the edges. Cool on racks.

Pfefferneusse

1/2 c (1 stick) butter

3/4 c molasses

2 eggs, beaten

4 c flour

1/2 c sugar

1 1/4 t baking soda

1 1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg
1/2 t cloves
1/8 t ground black pepper

Combine molasses and butter in a small saucepan, and heat until butter melts. Let cool a bit, then add eggs and mix well.

Sift together remaining ingredients, and stir in molasses mixture - will make a fairly stiff dough. Let the dough chill at least two hours.

Roll into 1 inch balls and place on cookie sheets. Bake in a 350 oven 12 - 14 minutes, until starting to brown. Roll immediately in powdered sugar, and cool on racks. These actually improve after a day or two, though they're great anytime !

Viennese Snowflakes

These are a Silver Palate recipe, which you can find here. The only changes I make are to cut them into the shapes you see in the picture, which is (I think) a flower shaped cutter. The dough falls apart really easily, and I kept losing points off the tree branches - rounder works better. I also use jam with seeds, as that's Mark's preferred type.

Irish Knot Truffles

This was a great find from Canadian Living, of all places...though they called them "Scotch on the Rocks Truffle Cups". I had to use my beloved Knot, of course :) They are much easier than the rolled truffles and just as good !

Godiva Tiramisu

7 oz Godiva Liqueur, divided
3/4 c strong black coffee or espresso
24 - 30 ladyfingers (depends on size - the crunchy ones, not soft)
1 1/2 lbs mascarpone cheese
3 eggs, separated
2/3 cup plus 2 T confectioner's sugar
4 oz dark chocolate, grated

Mix 4 oz of the Godiva with the coffee. Dip ladyfingers quickly into this mixture, and lay in baking or casserole dish. Beat together the mascarpone, egg yolks, 2/3 cup of sugar and remaining Godiva until smooth. Whip egg whites (with clean beaters) and remaining sugar until stiff, and fold into the cheese mixture. Spread cheese mixture over the ladyfingers, sprinkle with chocolate and refrigerate overnight.



Pasta Bolognese

I really need some new dishes :)

*this post made possible by the Dutiful Dish Slave, aka the best son in the world. He's been a trooper during the evolution of this blog, doing stacks and stacks of dishes with nary a complaint. Thank you, Alex :) *


Busy times here at Chez C.O. ...we just love Christmas around these parts. Decorating, present shopping, caroling...and, of course, fun in the kitchen. Preliminary baking has been completed, with much much more to happen this week. My actual dinnertime cooking has been suffering a bit as a result...which is good news for Mark, as he's been able to get into the kitchen unhindered

We've both been craving Bolognese sauce for a while...not that we've ever made it, mind, but we wanted it all the same. Bolognese is a rich, meaty sauce...a combination of beef and pork, with ingredients such as chicken livers and milk or heavy cream often added to enhance that rich, luscious taste and feel. Traditionally there is not lot of tomato going on - the focus is the rich meaty flavor.

Other than coming out strongly in favor of chicken livers, I really left Mark alone on this one...and, as usual, he has come up with a winner here :

Mark's Pasta Bolognese

1/4 c olive oil
1 T butter
5 oz Canadian Bacon
1 good sized yellow onion, chopped
2 carrots, minced
2 celery stalks, minced
3/4 cup tiny mushrooms
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb ground beef
1 pound sweet Italian sausage (casings removed)
6 chicken livers
1/2 cup veal or beef stock
1/4 cup red wine
1/2 cup Marsala
1 28 oz can whole Italian plum tomatoes
3 oz tomato paste
1 t salt
1/2 t thyme
1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg
1 t smoked paprika
1/4 cup heavy cream
fresh chopped parsley

1 to 2 pounds mafaldine pasta , cooked according to package directions

Melt the butter in a heavy saute pan and add half the olive oil. Saute the onions, carrot and celery for about five minutes, then add the mushrooms and garlic and saute another 5 - 10 minutes (until soft, not brown) . Transfer to a heavy stockpot or Dutch oven.

Heat the remaining oil to brown the meats, and let the meat mixture cook a bit - until almost dry. Transfer the meat to the pot, and deglaze the pan with the red wine. Add the wine, Marsala, and stock to the pot.

Drain the liquid from the tomatoes into the pot, then crush the tomatoes themselves with your hands and add them as well. Add the tomato paste and spices, mix well, and let simmer 1 1/2 to 2 hours, uncovered. Stir in the heavy cream at the end, and sprinkle with the parsley.

*Mafaldine pasta is not super easy to find....other pastas would work as well; tagliatelle, fusilli, fettuccine, or whatever you like. Amount to make depends on your personal pasta-sauce ratio preference. We cooked two pounds and had about half a pound left over.