Back to Basics: Hot Chocolate

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It is just one of those days today. I am sad, life is a bit too hard and the world outside is definitely too cold. I got a chill walking to the library and grocery store. Came home craving real homemade hot chocolate. It is just one of those days.

When I was a kid, I grew up drinking tea. Hot chocolate was something we would have once a year when we went to see the Santa Claus parade in Toronto or watch it at home with popcorn. When I wanted it again as a kid, I used to make it from scratch. I do not remember how I found the recipe but I do remember making it on the stovetop before I was 10 years old with zero supervision. I knew that "real" hot chocolate tasted so much better than the powdered mix and I was going to have that, damn it! I would make it but there would still be something missing until I remembered to sprinkle some ground nutmeg on top and that was it, suddenly I had my version of real hot chocolate to make me feel better.

Here is just one of many different ways to make hot chocolate/hot cocoa at home without a mix. I came up with this technique and recipe myself!

This recipe is for one since I am all on my own today. I got a mug of skim milk, about 2 tbsp of chocolate chips and put 2 tbsp of water with 1 tsp of cocoa and 1 tsp of sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat.

When the cocoa dissolved I added the 2 tbsp of mini chocolate chips and whisked together.

When the chocolate melted I added the skim milk and heated up, whisking the entire time.

And of course, I grated some freshly ground nutmeg on top. It was delicious. Yes, homemade hot chocolate will separate and the chocolate will fall to the bottom and it is messy but it also tastes real. There is love in this cup and with good quality cocoa and chocolate you are actually ingesting healing properties with this drink.

There are so many recipes out there for specialty hot chocolates with chili powder, mint extract, booze... Me, I want the classic hot chocolate flavour that appeals to the sad little girl inside me who just wants to feel better. I hope it makes you feel better too.

Back to Basics: Tips & Tricks

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My house is always cold so getting anything up to room temperature during the winter is practically impossible. I saw Ricardo on The Food Network once put a dough into a microwave with a hot glass of water to help it rise. Just left in there with the microwave off so that it would have a small but warm place to rise. Genius!

With all the Christmas baking I did I would wake up and know that it would take all day and even then my butter and cream cheese might not be soft so I tried this technique with a giant bowl of hot water and it worked! It still took about an hour but I prefer to do this than take the risk of actually using my microwave on my butter and cream cheese.

Back to Basics: Easiest & Tastiest Curry Chicken

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There are not many recipes I make over and over again but this chicken is something I make at least once a week. Why? It is super tasty and super easy. People love it! I have made this for numerous people now and it has always been a hit. It is a little dry for me but the mega flavour makes up for it.

All you need is some curry paste (I use mild) and unflavoured yogurt for the marinade.

I put about a cup of yogurt in a bowl, add at least a tbsp of curry paste and stir, then add the chicken:

Refrigerate and marinate for a few hours. The yogurt naturally tenderizes the chicken and the curry paste flavours it at the same time.

It is very important to remember to season the chicken with salt and pepper on both sides before cooking. When it comes to cooking, yes, it is messy. You should see how mess it gets with my cast iron grill! So I used my grill press which successfully cooked the chicken and contained the splatter. You could remove a lot of the marinade if you do not like mess but I do not mind cleaning up if it means there is more flavour.

You could also cook the chicken in a frying pan, either way, you want a nice high heat and the cooking times will vary depending on the size of the chicken breasts. These ones were small but I put them in the press for 10 minutes. If I was frying them I would do so for 5 minutes on each side which is a little long for small pieces but I am very safety conscious.

I like to serve this dish with with either mashed potatoes or a rice pilaf made with chicken stock, dried cranberries and toasted almonds. Throw in some steamed vegetables and a slice of homemade bread and you have a feast! Easy, yummy and fast, this is definitely a back to basics classic for me. It is one of the easiest ways to bring a smile to my husband's face as he digs into one of his favourite dinners.

Back to Basics: Pancakes

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Once again I turn to the Joy of Cooking for guidance on how to make a basic recipe. This time, pancakes. Although this is the much easier version. They recommend separating egg yolks and whites and whipping the whites and folding them in to the batter which is an excellent idea but is not necessary. They also suggest letting the batter sit for three to six hours but when you want pancakes now, you can have them now.

This is not my personal recipe which my husband picked up on right away but they are still very good pancakes: whisk 1 1/2 cup of flour, 1 tsp of salt, 3 tbsp of sugar, 1 tsp of cinnamon (my addition) 3/4 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp baking soda.

In a separate bowl combine the wet ingredients: 1 beaten egg, 3 tbsp of oil, 1 tsp vanilla and 1 to 1 1/4 cup of milk.

Combine but do not overmix! You want the batter to be lumpy and my batter is always pretty thick.

I prefer blueberry pancakes so at this point I fold in frozen blueberries very carefully.

On a buttered griddle or frying pan set to medium high heat, add the batter. I prefer to use an ice cream scoop but you can use a 1/4 cup measuring cup or just eyeball it. Wait until little bubbles appear on the top then flip and cook through.

Once nice and golden, transfer to a 200F oven to keep warm. If they are going to be in there a while you may want to cover with a damp towel.

Is there anything better than homemade pancakes made from scratch? I seriously doubt it! Once again it takes very little time, effort or ingredients. Want banana pancakes instead? Click here! I made them for my Mom when she was visiting.

Pancakes are one of the first things I ever cook when I moved out on my own and if you have not made them before, I do hope you try making them. They truly taste like home.

Back to Basics: French Toast

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It is the new year, we have our first giant snowstorm that is supposed to last three days and we are on holidays. That means brunch to me! One of my favourite brunch treats that I believe everyone should know how to make is French Toast. So let's go over the basics! I turn to the Joy of Cooking for the basics and then add my own personal touch to update this recipe for French Toast.

In a wide shallow bowl beat an egg and then add 1 cup of milk, I used skim.

Then add your flavourings. I added a touch of salt, about 1/2 tsp of cinnamon, 1/2 tsp of sugar and 1 tsp of vanilla.

I made a stuffed French toast by putting Nutella in between two slices but woah, this was too much Nutella! Too sweet. Next time I will just put 1 tbsp in the centre. You could put jam, peanut butter with bananas... anything you want. Peaches? Strawberries? You get the idea. Or you could just leave it classic and not stuff it at all.

Put the bread in the mixture for just a second, flip and then put it on a either a lightly buttered griddle or frying pan:

You want it to be on medium heat so you get that golden crust! If you do stuffed French Toast I recommend using a spatula to push it down like a panini so it heats and cooks all the way through. Cook for a couple of minutes on each side.

Serve with either maple syrup or jam.

Easy! This recipe calls for few ingredients and if you are having a morning like we are the last thing you want to do is leave the house or stay home and eat the same old boring bowl of cereal. I hope you enjoyed my easy back to basics French Toast tutorial.

For only about a buck you can have a $10 restaurant breakfast in the comfort of your home!

Happy Foodie New Year!

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Oh yes, the last of sweet and savory indulgences of the year. The final night of reckless eating, swearing off all high caloric treats for another year. Wonderful isn't it?

On New Year's Eve my husband and I bravely went to the grocery store in the early part of the afternoon. It was sheer madness! Others too were in the same situation. Cupboards were bare, food had to be made and bought for the evening festivities and those like myself who even under those circumstances would have preferred to stay home could not because a big storm would be coming for the next three days. That is a recipe for shopping madness and luckily, we survived. Sadly, they ran out of chickens so my roasted chicken will have to wait!

We went to a potluck at our friends' apartment and I was in charge of the desserts. I had picked up a giant bag of MacIntosh apples and peeled while still frazzled from the shopping chaos for The Barefoot Contessa Ina Garten's Old Fashion Apple Crisp which was a huge hit. I wanted to make some brownies and cookies but there was no time. Thankfully, President's Choice saved my baking butt!

Neal Anderson contacted me via Twitter sent me some President Choice treats to review on my blog and I had been saving them for the right moment. It is always good to listen to your foodie instincts. Mine said, wait and share. Even though I had a homemade dessert all ready to go for the party I wanted to try out these treats with my friends and get their reviews too.

We started with the Double Chocolate Covered Almonds with Peppermint and were already blown away. I do not like peppermint, usually there is too much and it is overwhelming but these were just right. First you enjoy the crunch of the almonds with the smooth layers of chocolate and then the peppermint essence follows, which made us all feel very, very Christmasy.

Then we moved on to the Truffles Dusted with Cocoa Powder and as soon as you had them in your little naughty fingers they started to melt! We were so beautifully surprised at how rich yet not super sweet they were. The cocoa must have been a good quality because it did not bite back at you like some cheaper cocoas can do. This truly was a dream of a dessert although technically I do not think they are actually truffles. According to Larousse Gastronomique a chocolate truffle is "made of chocolate, melted with butter or cream, sugar and some eggs then flavoured... and shaped into balls". These are made with mostly coconut oil which is probably why they tasted like a high-end, grown-up version of one of my personal favourites, Icy Squares. Perhaps they are healthier for you because some kinds of coconut oil is better for you than cream? That is what I am going to keep telling myself considering I ate at least three truffles last night.

Lastly we tried the Maple Flavour Butter Fudge, "A crumbly, old-fashioned delight, made with real butter and Quebec maple syrup". Sadly, I think the old-fashioned crumbly texture is what made this our least favourite of the three desserts, although my husband did like the texture. I found it was too dry and as a result hindered my maple experience which others could definitely taste but not me. We all liked it, there was nothing wrong with it but it was too sweet and dry for many of us. We kept going back to the almonds and the truffles but only had one piece of the fudge the entire night. It was just too crazy sweet after all the other desserts we had eaten but still delicious, just not our favourite.

It was so fantastic to be the bringer of sweets and not have to make everything from scratch! We inhaled the apple crisp and snacked on the President's Choice treats the rest of the evening. It is nice for me to know I do not have to do make myself and still wow people with fantastic desserts.