Bate, Bate, Chocolate - That's "BAW-tey, BAW-tey, choe-koe-LA-tey"

I gotta new toy at the thrift store... Awesome find!   This is a Chocolatiere, or at least that is the Spanish word for it... Though I guess that would be wrong, since it has a moulinet (fr) instead of a molinillo (sp), meaning it is French and not Spanish... So let's just call it a hot chocolate pot... :)

A hem...  So I found this Hot Chocolate pot at the Thrift store and I have been dying to try it out...  Suffice it to say that the weather has been most uncooperative - Very, very unseasonably warm. Thus Hot Chocolate has not occurred at any point over the last 3 weeks. Cause lets face it, while Hot Chocolate is always delicious, it is still best when it is really cold outside.

Well, that all changed this today since the mercury finally decided to drop below 45 for a change. Ergo, NOW it's Hot Chocolate weather, Blessed Be!  And even though I already covered Hot Chocolate
around Christmas time, I decided, since I had a new toy, I would go ahead and cover it again...  :)

So this is how you use a hot chocolate pot with a "little wooden spinny thing" in it (that's moulinet/molinillo in English)  ;)  LOL

 Hot Chocolate

for every 8 oz milk
2 oz  55%-70% Eating Chocolate
a pinch of Cayenne
a pinch of Kosher Salt
A touch of Whipped Cream
A sprinkle of Cinnamon

Condition your Chocolate Pot with hot water (this will prevent it from sucking all the heat out of your hot chocolate when you dump it in for blending)

Begin heating the Milk with the Chocolate, salt and a pinch of cayenne for warmth.

Stir gently with a whisk until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is steaming lightly.

Empty the hot water from you Chocolate pot and pour in the warmed chocolate mixture.

Place the moulinet in the pot and cover with the lid. (or the molinillo, if you have one of those instead)

Place your hands on either side of the moulinet and move it back and forth between your hands to create a froth. (which is REALLY hard to take a picture of, by yourself)

(It is not necessary to sing the "Bate, Bate, Chocolate" song as you do this, unless you feel the need way down deep inside your soul... ) ;)
Pour your frothy chocolate into your favorite mug. (Mine didn't appear as frothy as I was hoping it would be, maybe a molinillo would work better)

Top with a little unsweetened whipped cream (this prevents a skin from forming on the surface as well as holding in the heat to keep your hot chocolate, well, "Hot" longer.) and a sprinkle of cinnamon; kick back and enjoy.....

 Cin, Cin!!
~~

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree... I'm Cold and Need Hot Chocolate

Ah, it's that time of year again. Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose, and time to get in touch with my inner Lumber Jack and chop down a Christmas tree. Woo Hoo!!!

I find it ironic that during the Yule festival, which celebrates the beauty and wonder of the evergreen that lives through the winter while all deciduous have lost their leaves and started hibernating. Here I go and callously mow one down in cold sap and unceremoniously plop it into the living room to watch it slowly die over the next month... But I like to believe that this tree is following it's Christmas destiny. After all, it was from a tree farm and I shall adorn it in twinkling lights and shiny baubles, and in it's demise shall it be all the more glorious. LMAO

I know, I have a warped sense of humor. ;)

Back to topic... I went and cut down a Christmas Tree today, up on the chilled slopes of Larch Mountain with the slightly frozen ground crunching beneath my feet. I could not help but try and find all the patches that has raised up slightly with crystals of ice and jump on them, just to hear the crunch sound... OK, not only do I have a warped sense of humor, but way down deep, I am still just a kid.

So... the perfect tree was eventually found and loaded into the truck where, upon returning home, the bottom branches needed trimmed and the stand needed to be mounted so it could be moved into the house and placed in the bay window, where it shall be crowned with an Angel and draped with many, many, many, many lights... Did I mention many lights?

All day today the temperature remained a balmy 30 degrees... Yeah, it's cold... So after being outside for what seemed like an eternity, it was finally time to come inside and enjoy that fresh fir tree smell that can ONLY occur when you have a fresh Christmas tree in the house... Regardless of what "Glade" and "Renuzit" try to tell you, it does not come from a candle or a cute little oil containing gizmo that occupies one of your household outlets so you have no place to plug in your vacuum cleaner, but have a handy little light so, in the dead of night, you can SEE where you cannot plug in your vacuum cleaner. :)

And what better way to enjoy that fresh evergreen smell and remove the chill from your bones than with a delicious cup of Hot Chocolate... Not Hot Cocoa mind you, but Hot Chocolate... Oh yeah baby, THAT'S the stuff. I usually use Scharffen Berger 62%,

but I just happened to have a Chocolove bar lying around and hey, any chocolate that you would eat, is gonna make GOOD Hot Chocolate... What would have really set this off, though, would have been either a candy cane or a peppermint stick to stir with. Alas, I could not find mine.

Hot Chocolate

8 oz Whole Milk (or Half & Half if you want it REALLY rich)
2 oz Chocolate at 60% - 68% Cacao Solids
a tiny pinch of Salt (Trust me, just a tiny one though)
a tiny pinch of Cayenne (unless you are using a peppermint stick)
2 oz Heavy Cream

Simply begin heating the milk in a saucepan over low heat.

Break up your Chocolate bar.

Add it to the milk along with the Salt and the Cayenne.

Use a whisk to stir the mixture until the chocolate has completely melted (this is kind of like making a runny ganache)

Whisk a little bit of Heavy Cream, just until it becomes frothy but not thick.

Pour the Hot Chocolate into a mug.

Spoon the slightly whipped cream over the top. (This acts as an insulator to keep it hot and prevent a scum from forming on the top)

Sit down on the floor, stare at your Christmas tree (which is still a little crooked), fill your lungs with the intoxicating scent...

and take a sip.... YUM!!!

Oh, I found my Peppermint Sticks, about 3 hours later... LOL
They would have made a wonderful addition (just drop the cayenne)

Cin Cin!!
~~