Chocolate Cafe Au Lait
Showing posts with label Drinks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Drinks. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Frozen Cocktails
A frozen chocolate cocktail.
When I saw it at ValSoCal I knew I would be making this for New Year's Eve. I need more practice with the sugar on the glass but otherwise these were a big hit! I added a little chocolate syrup to make it more chocolatey, some silver sugar to make it a little more festive and it was a delicious way to celebrate the New Year!
Frozen Hot Cocoa Cocktail
Source: ValSoCal
4 ounces of hot cocoa mix
3 cups of milk
3/4 cup vanilla vodka
4 to 5 cups ice
chocolate syrup, for garnish
chocolate syrup, for garnish
mini marshmallows, for garnish
chocolate shavings, for garnish
sugar, for the rim
hot cocoa mix, for the rim
sugar, for the rim
hot cocoa mix, for the rim
Put some water into a saucer. Dip the rims of the martini glasses into the water and shake off any excess. Dip them in the sugar to rim the glass. You can also rim the glass in hot cocoa instead of the sugar.
In a blender, combine cocoa mix, milk, vodka and 6 cups of ice and blend until smooth. Serve in martini glasses and garnish with the mini marshmallows, chocolate syrup and some chocolate shavings!
AND
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Cinnamon Horchata
There's a party going on at I Heart Cooking Clubs and this time they are bringing Jamie Oliver drinks. The problem for me was I couldn't find that many to choose from that I wanted to make. I know, I know, so I'm a little picky about my beverage of choice. I prefer vodka on the rocks. Not that I'd ever turn down a pina colada or some pretty, fruity drink, I just didn't feel like it. It's too hot. Actually I didn't feel like anything during this heat wave except a little air conditioning. Make that a lot of air conditioning.
But then I found it. Looking through the books, imagine rice pudding you can drink? It sounded pretty good, we love rice pudding so why not give it a try? Jamie calls it Orchata in the book, I always thought it was Horchata. But spell it any way you like, but spell it GOOD! If you like strawberries, omit the cinnamon and sub the berries.
Miss Picky and her friends thought it was ok. Interesting. But not bad. Different. But not bad. They each drank the whole glass. The Griller also thought it was different, but not bad. I thought it was ok, it was nice and refreshing on a really hot day. And it was interesting. And it did remind me of rice pudding flavor. Next time I'd try it with the berries. I like berries with my rice pudding.
Cinnamon Horchata
Printable Recipe
3/4 cup long-grain rice
1 quart whole milk (I used 1% low-fat milk)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup light brown sugar (more or less to taste!)
1 or 2 cinnamon sticks
Prepare the rice according to the package instructions, then strain and run under cold water so it cools down quickly. Put the cooled rice into a blender with the milk, ground cinnamon, and sugar. Blend until smooth, then taste and add more sugar, if it needs it.
Strain rice mixture into a pitcher with ice. Discard the rice from the sieve. Snap cinnamon sticks in half and place into pitcher with the horchata. Pour into glasses. Sprinkle over a little more ground cinnamon and serve.
But then I found it. Looking through the books, imagine rice pudding you can drink? It sounded pretty good, we love rice pudding so why not give it a try? Jamie calls it Orchata in the book, I always thought it was Horchata. But spell it any way you like, but spell it GOOD! If you like strawberries, omit the cinnamon and sub the berries.
Miss Picky and her friends thought it was ok. Interesting. But not bad. Different. But not bad. They each drank the whole glass. The Griller also thought it was different, but not bad. I thought it was ok, it was nice and refreshing on a really hot day. And it was interesting. And it did remind me of rice pudding flavor. Next time I'd try it with the berries. I like berries with my rice pudding.
So it is Horchata or Orchata? Jamie left out the H. I put it back in :)
Cinnamon Horchata
Source: original recipe from Jamie's
America by Jamie Oliver
adapted by There's Always Thyme to CookPrintable Recipe
3/4 cup long-grain rice
1 quart whole milk (I used 1% low-fat milk)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup light brown sugar (more or less to taste!)
1 or 2 cinnamon sticks
Prepare the rice according to the package instructions, then strain and run under cold water so it cools down quickly. Put the cooled rice into a blender with the milk, ground cinnamon, and sugar. Blend until smooth, then taste and add more sugar, if it needs it.
Strain rice mixture into a pitcher with ice. Discard the rice from the sieve. Snap cinnamon sticks in half and place into pitcher with the horchata. Pour into glasses. Sprinkle over a little more ground cinnamon and serve.
Joining
I Heart Cooking Clubs to Bevvies Week with Jamie Oliver!
also joining
Beth at Beth Fish Reads for her fun Weekend Cooking Party. Every weekend. It's open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share! Go on over and see some fun posts.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Fizzies!
Have you ever heard of Fizzies? They were a fad years ago and now they're back. So being somewhat of a kid at heart, when I saw them at Dylan's Candy Bar, I had to pick up a pack to try. For my kids. Yeah right. For them.
Just add a tablet to a small glass of water. Comes in a few flavors, I got orange. Sugar free, made with Splenda. Not bad actually. The Picky Kid at first thought it was candy and popped it in her mouth, minus the water and the glass. Her expression made laugh. Then we tried it the right way and they didn't love it, except for waiting and watching it fizz up. I thought it was good, would taste better with ice cold water. But it was fun. Once.
It would be nice if they brought back Marathon Bars or Willy Wonka's Oompa Loompah Candies, they were half chocolate half peanut butter in a candy shell, and nothing like M&M's peanut butter, which are also pretty good. What were your favorites from way back when?
The Fizzies were fun. Now on to the next fad...
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Joining Mary at The Little Red House for Mosaic Monday!
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
The Winter White Event!
Perfect timing! Long Island got the white stuff just in time for Kathleen's Winter White White Event! How did she manage that?
I am joining Kathleen at Cuisine Kathleen for her annual Winter White Event! I don't really do tables, we eat at them, yes, but I don't dress them up too well :) I'm more everyday dishes and sometimes even disposable! Kathleen is friends with me anyway! I like thick heavy paper napkins. I'm all about getting away with whatever is easy! I have kids, they like sauce and they like ketchup. My linens have seen better days! Although most of my dishes and accessories are white, so I could fit right in with Kathleen's theme! But since I walk to the beat of a different drum, instead of a tablesetting, I am joining in with a nice mug of WHITE Hot Chocolate!
but nah! I'll stick with the White Hot Chocolate! A gift from another very dear friend, and I loved it so much, I wanted more, so I found a recipe online at Martha Stewart! Love the White Hot Chocolate, nice change from Chocolate Hot Chocolate. That was a great surprise!
White Hot Chocolate
Source: Martha Stewart
adapted There's Always Thyme to Cook
Printable Recipe
Makes 8 cups
2 ounces milk chocolate, for garnish
12 ounces good-quality white chocolate, coarsely chopped
6 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Peppermint sticks, for garnish
Whipped cream, for garnish
Using a vegetable peeler, shave milk chocolate into curls; set aside.
Place white chocolate in a medium heat-proof bowl; set aside. Place milk and cream in a medium saucepan set over medium heat until bubbles begin to form around edges of pan, about 4 minutes. Immediately pour mixture over white chocolate. When chocolate begins to melt, stir to combine. Whisk in vanilla. Continue whisking until a light foam forms. **Instead of using a bowl I just added the white chocolate to the pot, off heat, and whisked it in! One less bowl to clean!
Serve immediately garnished with peppermint sticks, whipped cream, and chocolate curls.
I am joining Kathleen at Cuisine Kathleen for her annual Winter White Event! I don't really do tables, we eat at them, yes, but I don't dress them up too well :) I'm more everyday dishes and sometimes even disposable! Kathleen is friends with me anyway! I like thick heavy paper napkins. I'm all about getting away with whatever is easy! I have kids, they like sauce and they like ketchup. My linens have seen better days! Although most of my dishes and accessories are white, so I could fit right in with Kathleen's theme! But since I walk to the beat of a different drum, instead of a tablesetting, I am joining in with a nice mug of WHITE Hot Chocolate!
In honor of my friend, Kathleen, I'll use a mug of WHITE Hot Chocolate and raise it to her!
Cheers to Kathleen!
but I could have done a table setting with my good Chinette...
but nah! I'll stick with the White Hot Chocolate! A gift from another very dear friend, and I loved it so much, I wanted more, so I found a recipe online at Martha Stewart! Love the White Hot Chocolate, nice change from Chocolate Hot Chocolate. That was a great surprise!
White Hot Chocolate
Source: Martha Stewart
adapted There's Always Thyme to Cook
Printable Recipe
Makes 8 cups
2 ounces milk chocolate, for garnish
12 ounces good-quality white chocolate, coarsely chopped
6 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Peppermint sticks, for garnish
Whipped cream, for garnish
Using a vegetable peeler, shave milk chocolate into curls; set aside.
Place white chocolate in a medium heat-proof bowl; set aside. Place milk and cream in a medium saucepan set over medium heat until bubbles begin to form around edges of pan, about 4 minutes. Immediately pour mixture over white chocolate. When chocolate begins to melt, stir to combine. Whisk in vanilla. Continue whisking until a light foam forms. **Instead of using a bowl I just added the white chocolate to the pot, off heat, and whisked it in! One less bowl to clean!
Serve immediately garnished with peppermint sticks, whipped cream, and chocolate curls.
To see more Winter White Event Celebrations, stop by Cuisine Kathleen, everyone's invited to join in and link up! Thanks Kathleen, it's always a fun party with you!
Monday, July 26, 2010
Pretzels and Smoothies!
Oh how I love to bake. NOT! and the last attempt at baking was interesting. Two loaves, same recipe, same oven, same time. One was somewhat perfect. The other inedible. and so goes the history of my baking. Hit or miss. Mostly miss. But when my daughter, Miss Picky, went with me to Crate and Barrel and said let's buy this pretzel mix, we can do it together. Who could resist?
Actually Miss Picky turned out to be a very good, and very patient baker. Unlike her mother :) The pretzels came out really good. Better than good. They were fantastic. The mix was good, just pre-measured flour with salt and sugar, yeast and pretzel salt! I could probably measure it out myself. Maybe. We just added melted butter and water! Miss Picky kneaded it by hand. and we rolled them out. Pain in the neck. That dough is elastic and no matter how much we rolled, they shrunk went back to being small! So we dropped them in the boiling water anyway and then baked them! For 12 minutes and they ended up being the best pretzels we've had! A very big hit. So I looked for a recipe online for next time, because these were so good, there has to be a next time. and I found this one by Alton Brown. It looks extremely close to the mix we used!
We started with fruit smoothies. Frozen strawberries, bananas and some strawberry sorbet! A little cup of berry yogurt, a fresh apricot and some granola. A little bit of apple juice to thin it out. Whizzed in the blender, it's really good with a side of pretzel!
So off we went with our packages, me with lots of fun gadgets for the kitchen and Miss Picky, who stopped at a few, or what seemed liked hundreds, of clothing stores all along the way! When we got home, I put the package of pretzel mix way in the back of the pantry, hoping she'd forget! I was so wrong. She didn't forget and today on a beautiful, sunny morning, Miss Picky said, let's bake the pretzels together. and so we did. And we lived happily ever after.
The end.
Actually Miss Picky turned out to be a very good, and very patient baker. Unlike her mother :) The pretzels came out really good. Better than good. They were fantastic. The mix was good, just pre-measured flour with salt and sugar, yeast and pretzel salt! I could probably measure it out myself. Maybe. We just added melted butter and water! Miss Picky kneaded it by hand. and we rolled them out. Pain in the neck. That dough is elastic and no matter how much we rolled, they shrunk went back to being small! So we dropped them in the boiling water anyway and then baked them! For 12 minutes and they ended up being the best pretzels we've had! A very big hit. So I looked for a recipe online for next time, because these were so good, there has to be a next time. and I found this one by Alton Brown. It looks extremely close to the mix we used!
We started with fruit smoothies. Frozen strawberries, bananas and some strawberry sorbet! A little cup of berry yogurt, a fresh apricot and some granola. A little bit of apple juice to thin it out. Whizzed in the blender, it's really good with a side of pretzel!
It took a couple of tries, but we finally got the hang of rolling out the dough!
Some ended up as pretzel sticks!
Not too bad. A little crusty crunchy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside. They were great, better than the ones from the mall!
This is our finished product!
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Mosaic Monday: What a melon...
I got my first watermelon of the season the other day. Couldn't resist with weather in the 80's! and it was surprisingly sweet and very juicy! I have no watermelon recipes, I like mine as is! but you can always spike it with the beverage of your choice, which is nice for barbecues and block parties!
Or you can check out the watermelon website for tips and recipes, if you are a watermelon lover! Watermelon is just so perfect with wings, burgers and dogs! It's what my mom requested for her day today, so that's what we're having! All I have left to do is find fresh corn on the cob! It may be too early.
Spiked Watermelon! Haven't done this yet because I usually go for Sangria, but it's on my "to do" list, looks great for block parties and BBQ's!
How to spike a watermelon...
Take a whole watermelon and cut a circle on top, make the hole deep enough for you to push the end of the vodka bottle through and then poke a skewer or a knife and jab a little bit at the inside of the watermelon. Pour vodka or your beverage of choice in the hole and let the vodka soak in, it may take a while. You can also make another hole or two on top to saturate it pretty good. Put it in the refrigerator to get cold. You could probably inject it, too with one of those meat marinade injector's! It's impressive, but if you want that same taste with less work, just cut the watermelon and drizzle it with whatever you like, let it sit for a bit in the frig until ready to serve!
Joining Mary from The Little Red House for another Mosaic Monday! Stop by the Little Red House to see lots of fantastic Mosaics every week!
Or you can check out the watermelon website for tips and recipes, if you are a watermelon lover! Watermelon is just so perfect with wings, burgers and dogs! It's what my mom requested for her day today, so that's what we're having! All I have left to do is find fresh corn on the cob! It may be too early.
I cut into the melon and couldn't resist that first bite...
Spiked Watermelon! Haven't done this yet because I usually go for Sangria, but it's on my "to do" list, looks great for block parties and BBQ's!
How to spike a watermelon...
Take a whole watermelon and cut a circle on top, make the hole deep enough for you to push the end of the vodka bottle through and then poke a skewer or a knife and jab a little bit at the inside of the watermelon. Pour vodka or your beverage of choice in the hole and let the vodka soak in, it may take a while. You can also make another hole or two on top to saturate it pretty good. Put it in the refrigerator to get cold. You could probably inject it, too with one of those meat marinade injector's! It's impressive, but if you want that same taste with less work, just cut the watermelon and drizzle it with whatever you like, let it sit for a bit in the frig until ready to serve!
Joining Mary from The Little Red House for another Mosaic Monday! Stop by the Little Red House to see lots of fantastic Mosaics every week!
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Happy Mother's Day!
My mother loves geraniums, but all I can give her at this point is a lot of my thyme :)
Hope you all enjoy the day!
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