Italian Hot Cocoa

The snow is snowin', the wind is blowin', but I can weather the storm. What do I care if icicles form? I've got hot cocoa to keep me warm!

I took some liberties with that Christmas song. Forgive me. Don't know it? It's "I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm" by Billie Holiday and it happens to be one of my favorites this time of year.

I meant what I said though. I don't give one iota that it's dumping snow right now. You know why? Because I am home, nestled it it's warmth and love, slowly sipping thick and rich homemade cocoa topped with really sweet, softly whipped cream. How's that for adjective overload? Oh, I forgot to mention the best part, which is it's Italian. Everything is more fabulous with an accent.

Italians like a very dense cocoa and thicken it with cornstarch so that it attains an almost puddinglike or chocolate sauce consistency. More chocolate sauce than pudding, but you get the point. For a thinner version, add more milk, water, or half and half or mix in some strong brewed coffee or espresso.

Iv'e heard of the famous hot chocolate that you get in Paris. It's famous for the very same reason as the Italian, namely being thick and rich. The French hot chocolate you get is mostly milk and real chocolate that's been melted into it. The real chocolate (as opposed to a cocoa powder) makes it thick. American hot chocolate is mostly cocoa powder, some sugar and water or milk and very thin. the Italians, like I mentioned above prefer to thicken with cornstarch and it makes for a very smooth and velvety drink. Think decadent.

Italian Hot Cocoa

adapted from "The Joy Of Cooking"

Makes 2 1/2 cups. Serves 2

Stir together in a medium, heavy saucepan:

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cornstarch or arrowroot

Stir in thoroughly and slowly while whisking and set over medium low heat:

1 cup water

1 cup whole milk

Cook, stirring occasionally, over medium-low heat until the mixture is thickened and coats a spoon, about 10 minutes. Stir in:

1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

Top each serving with:

Very sweet whipped cream

VARIATION: For and Italian Mocha, prepare Italian Hot Cocoa above, substituting 1 cup strong brewed coffee, or 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup espresso, for the water.

Make sure to cook this until it thickens up properly. It should take most of the 10 minutes to do so. In-between stirrings, a"skin" might form on top but don't worry, it will mix together easily. This is not so thick that it feels wrong drinking it. I once had some "chocolate soup" and it was too thick for my liking. This is just thick enough. Bellisimo!

Grandpas Favorite Chocolate Cheesecake

This is serious adult cheesecake meant for mature palates. It's not sweet. It's got a deep complex and rich bittersweet chocolate flavor and is tangy and sour (like cheesecake is supposed to be) with a welcoming sweet cocoa crust. It's the James Bond of cheesecakes. It doesn't mess around and it just so happens to be my Grandpa Grillo's favorite. The story goes like this; One day my Grandma went over to help a neighbor out who's husband was sick. As a thank you the woman brought my Grandma this chocolate cheesecake and they both flipped over it and asked for the recipe.

I am right at the tail end of making up my menu selections for Sugar Me Sweet (my new cake and pie business...sugarmesweetcakes.com) but I still had to make this cheesecake to make sure the recipe still worked since it's been a couple years since the last time I made it. My Grandma is out of town visiting Napa Valley, CA with a friend of hers so I thought it was the perfect time to invite my Grandpa, over and to make his favorite cheesecake for dessert. He came and ended up bringing us some very nice wine and we spent a great evening out on the deck eating and talking. A win, win situation. The highlight of the night, of course was the cheesecake in all it's chocolate glory. How could it not be? Homemade cheesecake is no small feat, especially one with NO cracks, yes I said no cracks thankyouverymuch and I'll show you how to do it too. Cheesecake is very high maintenance as far a desserts go. It's not hard to make, but it gets finicky in the follow up. Turning the oven to high, turning it back down to low, cooking it for a long time, then turning the oven off, but leaving the cheesecake in there with the door ajar for exactly 30 minutes. Then theres the cooling. You leave it at room temp for a while. Then you have to refrigerate it overnight to get it to set up properly which means you have to plan in advance. Like I said...It's not hard, you just have to make sure you have most of the day at home to dedicate to it. Ohhh, but it's worth it and everybody likes cheesecake and chocolate don't they? I'm telling you even if they don't (I'm going to confess, that I don't really enjoy cheesecake too often) they will like this.

Grandpa's Favorite Chocolate Cheesecake

1 box chocolate teddy grahams (or chocolate wafers)

1 stick butter, melted

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

8 oz semi sweet chocolate

3 8-oz packages cream cheese, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 cups sour cream

3 eggs, plus 1 egg yolk

2 teaspoons cocoa powder

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup sweetened whipped cream, for serving

preheat oven to 450

Process teddy grahams is food processor until finely ground (or crush manually) Add in the butter and cinnamon and mix well (if crumbs are not wet enough, add more butter. they should stick together when squeezed in your hand) Press crumbs into the bottom and slightly up the sides of a 9" springform pan. Chill in the refrigerator, don't bake. Melt chocolate in a double broiler or in a bowl in the microwave heated in 30 second intervals until melted. In the bowl of the electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese until smooth. Beat in sugar and then add eggs and egg yolk one and a time beating well after each addition. Beat in melted chocolate, cocoa and vanilla blending thoroughly. Lastly, beat in the sour cream. Pour mixture into the crust (it will fill the pan) and place in the 450 degree oven. Bake for 15 minutes. Turn the oven temperature down to 225 degrees and bake for another 1 hour and 15 minutes. Turn the oven off and open the door wide. The cake will not be completely set in the center. Allow the cake to sit in the oven with the door open for 30 minutes. Take the cake out of the oven and allow it to sit at room temperature for another 2-3 hours, until completely cooled. Wrap and refrigerate overnight or for at least 6 hours. Remove the cake from the sprinform pan by carefully running a hot knife around the outside of the cake. Leave the cake on the bottom of the springform pan for serving.

Serve with whipped cream

Make sure to follow the cooking and cooling directions exactly for a crack free cheesecake!

Frozen Berries with Hot White Chocolate Sauce

This is the dessert I made for my Grandparents when I was out in California. It's one of my very favorites, especially in the Summertime because it's easy, light, but not too light, and satisfying. Basically, you just freeze seasonal berries (I like lots of raspberries mixed with blueberries and blackberries) on a sheet pan so they don't stick together. When they are frozen you just put them down in a pile in a pretty, shallow glass bowl and ladle a scrumptious hot white chocolate sauce over them. The hot-ness from the sauce will defrost your berries halfway making them the perfect texture for eating.

Frozen Berries with Hot White Chocolate Sauce
adapted from Ina Garten

1/2 pound plus 2 tablespoons good white chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
2 1/4 pounds mixed berries, or raspberries, frozen on a cookie sheet

Combine chocolate, heavy cream, and the vanilla in a heat proof bowl and set it over a pan of simmering water until the chocolate melts (Or just combine it in a saucepan and warm it over low heat until melted, stiring occasionally)

About 5 minutes before serving, remove the berries from the freezer and place them on individual serving plates or bowls. Ladle the warm chocolate sauce over the berries and serve immediatly.

serves 6

I usually, instead of dealing with pounds, figure a carton of berries per person and combine them all. But, you could serve more generous portions if you wish as no one will complain. I also combine the chocolate (sometimes I buy good quality chips and skip the chopping step, but don't do this with less expensive chips becuase they have too many stabilizers and it will not melt well) cream and vanilla in a small saucepan and put it over very low heat just as I am about to sit down to dinner. It is usually almost ready and melted when we are done. Also, if you don't care for white chocolate, use bittersweet instead, it would be delicious. Although, the sauce does not primarily taste of white chocolate.