Cooking for Seven

Yesterday, I had a completely new experience: homemade hot chocolate. Not the kind made with cocoa powder and sugar. No. The Kind made with REAL chocolate.

Oh my. It was like drinking chocolate pudding; it was so rich I couldn’t finish it in one sitting!

Notes: I used maple syrup for the added sweetener and bittersweet chocolate chips for the chocolate. I also added a bit of cream to the milk. Perhaps next time I will use only milk as it was so rich.
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Homemade Hot Chocolate

Adapted from Elise Bauer

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 3 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 8 ounces chocolate, preferably dark
• 3 teaspoons maple syrup or natural sweetener of choice
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1) Chop the chocolate very finely.

2) In a medium saucepan, bring the milk and cream to a low simmer over medium heat, whisking occasionally.

3) Add the chocolate, maple syrup, vanilla, and salt. Whisk vigorously until all of the chocolate has melted. Cook for an additional 4 minutes, whisking constantly.

4) Serve with maple whipped cream (recipe follows) if desired.

Serves 4 generously

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Maple Whipped Cream

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 teaspoons maple syrup (more if you like your whipped cream very sweet)
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a large bowl and beat until stiff.

And now for the Frigidaire Accessories winner:

Commenter #90: Diana!

Congratulations!

I have contacted Diana and sent her the coupon code.

Thank you all for participating in the giveaway!

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Scroll to the bottom to see the giveaway winner…

Our family has always enjoyed a good cup of eggnog at Christmastime. Mom would carefully pour out a small portion and add a bit of milk to make it less rich. We kids would savor the little we got and agree that any more would be too much.

These days I prefer to make my own eggnog. I know exactly which ingredients go into it. And it is such fun to make.

Homemade Eggnog

Adapted from a recipe from a friend.

Printable Page

Ingredients:

• 12 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups maple syrup (or granulated sugar)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 quarts (8 cups) whole milk
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg + more for garnish
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream

Directions:

1) In heavy 4 quart saucepan, off heat, whisk the eggs, maple syrup, and salt until well blended. Gradually stir in half of the milk.

2) Cook over low hear, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon, about 25 minutes

(mixture should be about 170 - 175 degrees F). Do not boil.

3) Pour custard in a large bowl. Stir in vanilla extract, 1 Tsp. ground nutmeg and remaining milk. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled, about 3 hours.

4) Just before serving, in a medium bowl, beat whipping cream until soft peaks form. With wire whisk, gently fold whipped cream into custard mixture. Serve with extra whipped cream on top and a sprinkle of freshly grated nutmeg.

Store in the refrigerator up to 3 days.

Makes about 16 cups or 32 - 1/2 cup servings

And now for the giveaway results!

Using random.org I selected a winner:

Commenter #156 Marty Rummel, who said: “CCC’s are hard to beat! Give me chocolate chips with walnuts, please!”

Congratulations, Marty! I will contact you with further information.

Thank you all for entering my contest. May you have a Merry Christmas!

In case you have never heard of it, Rooibos (pronounced “roy-boss”) is a tisane (herbal tea) made from the needle-like leaves of a bush which is native to Africa. It contains antioxidants, and is caffeine free. It became popular in the West during World War II when black tea from Asia was difficult to get.

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The little Tea & Gift Shoppe in town sells many varieties of this delicious tea. Yesterday, I braved the below-zero temperature to obtain two varieties of Rooibos - Caramel Creme and Vanilla. Today, I would like to share some Vanilla Rooibos with you!

Here’s How to Enter:

Leave a comment on this post telling me which hot drink you like best: tea, hot chocolate, coffee, hot cider, etc. Make sure to correctly fill out your email address in the comment form.

For another chance to win, blog about my giveaway. Come back and leave another comment on this post with a link to your post.

For another chance, twitter about my giveaway. Come back and leave another comment on this post.

For another chance to win, post about my giveaway on Facebook. Come back and leave another comment on this post.

No entries after 10 p.m. CST next Wednesday will be considered.

Next Thursday, using random.org, I will select one winner.

Good luck!

This contest has now ended.