I’ve decided that Hot Cocoa should make a comeback.

For too long, brothers and sisters, have the dark angels of Swiss Miss and Nestle broken down this standard of French, British, and Danube culture into chalky packets of vaguely chocolate-scented talcum powder, to be relegated only as acceptable fare for children returning home from snowman-making, or Starbucks-goers too wussy to actually drink coffee.

It’s not hard, it’s not expensive (even the nice stuff), it can be made as fancy or a simply as the occasion requires, and it makes anyone feel good–breakfast, snack, or dessert.

So what’s the big idea, people???

This week I had the lovely fortune of a few friends joining me for dinner. I hadn’t much prep-time (or energy, for that matter), and had neither time nor money to grocery shop, so I did a “fridge/freezer clean-out dinner,” which, with a little creativity, can be a really wonderful meal.

My sister’s beau is an avid duck hunter, so I still had a few gifted frozen duck breasts, and I never got around to making the cauliflower gratin for thanksgiving, so I had a few heads of cauliflower on standby.

I butchered up a pumpkin that’s been resting about since halloween and turned it into some gnocchi, and set the cauliflower to roast in the oven till it was crispy and brown. A quick pan-sear on the duck breasts and a little white wine and butter, and we joined at the table to a great improvisation–and fast too!

And then came dessert…

Now, I’m a dessert boy, myself. It’s not the sugar-factor–frankly, I don’t even like very sweet desserts. I think that the real pleasure of dessert is the act of fellowship it entails. Dinner has an inherently natural “feed the beast” quality to it–even the best dinner, eaten slowly, rarely forgets that the base cause of this gathering is hunger.

Dessert, however, happens after the hunger has subsided. Dessert is an excuse to share one more drink and relax together around a dinner table. The best stories come out, jokes, music, and all because what we’re doing we no longer “have” to do…we do it because we want to enjoy at least another 20 minutes of each other’s company.

Therefore, when I didn’t have time to assemble a “standard” dessert, I whipped up a rich and dark hot chocolate, and put out glasses for sherry to drink alongside. Simple and unadorned, but it was one of the best desserts I’ve put on the table in awhile, I’d say–and did its job of keeping the company around the table for at least another full hour.

 

My Mom’s Hot Chocolate

1/2cup GOOD cocoa powder–the best you can splurge for. (Though in a pinch, even Hersheys makes a good cup)

1/2cup granulated sugar

2cups boiling water, milk, or a combination (I like to use 1 1/2c water, then add in 1/2c heavy cream at the end)

2tsp vanilla

pinch salt

pinch cinnamon (optional)

pinch cloves (optional)

An ounce or two of a nice liquor (optional, but recommended…try a nice Irish whiskey)

 

Mix the sugar and cocoa together, and then stir in remaining ingredients. Beat with a whisk for a good long time until frothy. Drink regularly. Screw Swiss Miss.