Hot Chocolate: The Mexican Way

Who doesn't love hot chocolate? I mean really, who doesn't? I dare somebody not to like hot chocolate. I would be very suspicious of someone who didn't like hot chocolate. Well, the lactose intolerant perhaps, because they might be used to the paper envelope in the boiling water type. But everyone else, I dare you.

Instead of just mixing chocolate powder in milk on the next snowy morning or blustery evening, why not make something a little more authentic and interesting, like Mexican hot chocolate?

There are many variations, but here, I will provide a simple one.

• Use two cups of milk to serve two people. Whole milk will be richer. Live life.

• For two cups of milk, use four ounces of dark bitter chocolate (better yet, if you can find it, use a four ounce disk of Mexican chocolate, such as Ibarra).

• A splash of vanilla (real vanilla if possible).

First add a little splash of vanilla to the milk. Warm up the milk and the chocolate until the chocolate is melted and the milk begins to boil. Remove it from the heat and whisk with vigor to make your hot chocolate extra frothy. Pour into nice mugs. Do not pour this beautiful chocolate into a coffee mug that you got for free from your insurance company. Respect your hot chocolate by serving it in appropriate mugs. If you're with someone special, there is enough for both of you. If you are planning to curl up alone with a good book, congratulations, you can have both mugs. If you have kids, I hope you doubled the recipe.

You can add a dash of cinnamon if you like, or even chili powder, or both. If you prefer yours a little less bitter, add a spoonful of sugar. If you have an electric mixer than you can whip up some fresh heavy whipping cream with or without a little sugar, and scoop some on top.

Move somewhere where it snows a lot, and enjoy!

(Note: I learned a trick from a friend, who learned this trick from Martha Stewart, and now I'll pass it along to you. If you whip up a big batch of whipping cream, you can put scoops of it on a sheet of wax paper and freeze them. When they're frozen, put them in a airtight container and whenever you want, you can grab a frozen ball of whipped cream and toss it into your hot chocolate. It'll keep your drink from being scalding hot, and taste great, too. It beats the aerosol stuff in a can, that's for sure.)