Not too long ago, a good friend was kind enough to give us a bottle of Bacardi Oakheart Spiced Rum. One evening, I decided to play bartender. It was like playing with a new ingredient in the kitchen! And the rum was fantastic! My favourite drink that night was a Mexican hot chocolate that really blew me away. I sent a message to an old friend, who works for Bacardi in the U.K. and told her about my discovery.
This morning, that same friend sent me a message that today is National Hot Chocolate Day. (Not sure where, but who cares!!) So Jazzer...this one's for you!!!
The ingredients are really simple. You need 1 block(about 90 grams) of Mexican chocolate(my fave is Abuelita), 2 cups milk and 3 ounces of Bacardi Oakheart Spiced Rum. (You could use another spiced rum, but I can't say how it will turn out. The Oakheart is amazing!!) That's it. Nothing else.
One word of advice. Don't try this with regular chocolate. It's gotta be the Mexican stuff. It has a great cinnamony flavour and is totally unlike any other chocolate out there. Soooo good!
Put the milk in a pot and place over medium heat. Add the chocolate and stir until the milk is hot and the chocolate has almost completely melted.
At this point you need to grab an immersion blender. (AKA The Stick) Start whipping the mixture over the heat until it becomes rich and foamy, Stir in the rum and whip for a little longer, until steaming hot.
Ladle into mugs and you're ready to serve. It's hot, spicy and definitely sure to curl your toes on a cold winter's night. And if you feel the need you could always gild the lily a little with a touch of vanilla ice cream on top.
So, enjoy National Hot Chocolate Day, wherever you happen to be!!!
Like I've said before, my favourite thing to crochet is something that someone dear to me (or with lots of money :P) has seen/thought of/wants/needs. A high school friend dinged me on Facebook a few weeks ago and asked if I could look at some pictures and come up with an idea that would suit her needs. C wanted a papoose or a hat or a combination of the two that depicted a bear. Made out of Teddy Bear-like yarn. Seems her little (I use this term very loosely here because I have met him and he is NOT small) brother and his wife (with the coolest name ever), who live in Ireland, are expecting their first baby. They affectionately call Junior "little bear". Oh, and really? It needed to be done within two weeks. Creative juices flowed.
This is what I came up with:
(pardon Grover)
(notice the Canadian content)
When I sent C the pictures of the finished project, she seemed pleased. But, as is usually the case, her daughter's eagle eye spotted a glaring omission. I made the appropriate change:
I hope the little Irish/Canadian bear loves his/her little cocoon of fuzzy.
For as long as I can remember, I have been one of those annoying night people. No, I'm not talking about some freaky vampire crap. I'll leave that for the cheesy movies with their disco-ball night creatures. I'm that annoying person who is just getting fired up as everyone else is ready to fall asleep.
As a chef, this nocturnal nature has been a great help. (As long as I wasn't working the early morning breakfast shift!!) Finishing a busy night, riding the adrenalin buzz could often take me to 2 or 3 in the morning without any trouble. It made for a great many memorable nights, most of which would not be appropriate to discuss here.
Last night, I headed out to walk the dog around 11:30. I put on the I-pod and headed out, leash in hand. It was an amazingly still night, and there was not a soul to be seen anywhere. I settled the headphones on my ears, pressed shuffle and headed off. At times like this, I just let my mind wander. I feel that I get some of my most creative ideas that way. Within 20 minutes, I had 3 dishes bubbling through my brain, that if no-one had been at home I probably would have stayed up until morning cooking. They will come to life over the next few days, to be sure. But then, a song came on that stopped me dead in my tracks.
"You're The Boss" Brian Setzer and Gwen Stefani. Such a cool track. And before I knew it, I was singing along with the song and dancing. Yes, for those of you who know me and are now staring dumbly, I said dancing. It was amazing. The moonlight shining down. The gentle glow of the street lamps. The dog staring at me like I'd lost my mind. I was in the middle of hundreds of houses, most quiet and dark. And unlike all those people, I was alive and just buzzing. It was incredible. As though I was the only person on Earth. The song ended. I straightened my coat and set off on my way, both dog and I perfectly happy to pretend the impromptu dance session had never happened. But it wasn't over.
Marc Cohn, "Walking in Memphis" This song has always had the ability to grab a hold of me, but last night was something different. Within a few bars, I was singing at the top of my lungs. And I don't sing, at least not when people can hear me. It's not that I'm embarrassed by my voice. I just have too much respect for other people's eardrums to subject them to my caterwauling. But it didn't matter. The music just flowed through me. And on that quiet, still winter's night, I sang so freely that I cried. It was incredibly liberating and freeing. Luckily, I had a Milk-Bone or two for Drako. He really didn't know what to make of these strange noises. Hopefully, he's not too traumatized.
When I got home, I sat down and wrote out half a menu worth of recipe ideas. The power of the night had lifted me up and energized me beyond belief. When I finally lay down to sleep, I was just vibrating with that energy. It took a half hour for me to finally fall asleep. And as I dozed off, a lyric came floating through my brain that summed it up so perfectly.
"Working late night, not that we hate light Just feels right, that's when tracks come out tight Thoughts start creeping, people are sleeping Pull words out of the dreams, it's the deep end It's the deep end, people are sleeping Pull words out of the dreams, it's the deep end Keep in mind, it's not that we hate light Just feels right, that's when tracks come out tight" "Deep End" - Swollen Members
I f someone asks me this question, I generally take a deep breath.
I raise kids. In my opinion, that alone earns me a medal since none of them are felons and they all still love their Momma. I keep them clean and healthy, happy (weeeeell, mostly) and amused. I don't feed them. They'll thank me for that one day as the chef is much better qualified to do this (and my time is best spent NOT smashing kitchen appliances in frustration).
I raise pets. Since I am responsible for their numbers I find it only fair I do most of the work. Flea, a 14 year old beige tabby cat is the regent supreme. He has been with me since the first day of his life and I raised him by bottle. This resulted in a cat who thinks he is human. Most people agree with him. If they don't, he persuades them.
Drako is a GSD from a breeder in North Bay http://shepherdpups4sale.gotpetsonline.com/ , beautiful to behold, comical to watch once you know him. He has come a long way in a short time and is an integral part of this wacky family.
PJ and Chocolate, the two guinea pigs. I love guinea pigs, I think it's their lips. I also enjoy rustling bags and opening the fridge...the resulting cacophony of fweeps never fails to amuse me.
I keep the house and yard. Some say I'm a wee bit obsessed with order and cleanliness. They have been silenced and no one will find them. I'm a great gardener, ever wonder why the plants grow so well and I keep adding beds?
I am a warrior. Can't help it, must be the fact that my Grandma's maiden name was Krieger. (German for ...you guessed it) I declare war on incompetence, stupidity and ignorance. Chef has a small fortune saved in case he needs bail for my release. Most importantly, I am a warrior in my son's stead. I fight Prader-Willi Syndrome every day of his life. T was diagnosed 20 months after his birth and his struggles are only outweighed by his successes. He is brave, persistent and my lil hero. Go T! Down with PWS!! If you don't know it, look it up. http://www.fpwr.ca/about-foundation-prader-willi-research-canada/ You'll come across it again. Kick it for me, will ya?
I crochet. LOTS. I have a bigger stash (of yarn) than anyone I know (outside of the yarn stores). I sometimes get paid to create specific projects, and that's my favourite part. It seems to make itself and gives me great satisfaction.
Often my own designs haunt me until I have to make them. I love the design part, frequently falter on the completion of said design. *sigh* In the next few days I will post some pictures of what I do with (or to?) yarn. People seem pleased when they buy stuff, or I give them stuff...or they can talk me out of stuff because I have been drinking red wine. The red wine part is a rare occurrence, I swear! No one around to contradict, cuz that's how I roll. And I have a wonderful garden.
Lastly, I help out with the care of my Oma (grandmother), who will turn 93 on Valentine's Day. My Oma is the epitome of who I want to be. She raised a bunch of us, had her hand in the development of several generations. Can always count on her. For wacky advice. Sayings. Predictions. Home remedies. Support. A wooden spoon on the heinie. Every day she slips away a little more. Mentally - that's the hardest. Physically - that I can help with. It's why our family moved only 10 mins away from my parents' house. I want to be her rock, like she was mine, for however long she needs me. I also like helping my parents. With the house. With the property and gardens. With their sanity. Sometimes, due to this, my sanity suffers.
Horrible, nasty, mushy, smelly mutant children of the cabbage world.
Growing up, there was no food I feared more than the dreaded brussels sprouts. Dessert was always conditional in our house. Finish your dinner and dessert was your reward. If I came home from school and saw a cheesecake or bag of Oreos on the kitchen counter, I knew that my mom had pulled out the big guns. And that meant there was something nasty coming for dinner. And the king of nasty....was brussels sprouts.
Then, a few years ago I came across the technique of separating brussels sprouts into individual leaves before cooking. It was in a cookbook by Alfred Portale from his New York restaurant, Gotham Bar and Grill. All of a sudden, brussels sprouts were a revelation!! A quick blanch and chill and next thing you know, you have an amazing ingredient.
Tonight, it was time to try something new. A quick hash of fingerling potatoes, onions and celery made a great start. A couple of slices of left-over roast beef were diced up and set the stage for adding the final ingredient; those beautiful brussels sprout leaves!
Last but not least, a couple of over-easy eggs to finish the dish. It looks good, but believe me....it tasted so much better!!!
One word of advice. Don't try this with regular chocolate. It's gotta be the Mexican stuff. It has a great cinnamony flavour and is totally unlike any other chocolate out there. Soooo good!
