Parisan Warm Chocolate

I made hot chocolate last night. It was amazing. It walked that line between drinking melted chocolate and drinking milk with chocolate flavoring beautifully. Yes, it might shorten your heart's lifespan by a few months, but it's totally worth it.

1 cup whole milk (starts off well...)
1/3 cup cream (getting even better...)
1/4 cup sugar
5 oz. semisweet chocolate

Simmer the milk, cream and sugar until just boiling (scalded). Stir in the chocolate until melted. Don't let it boil.

I made adjustments to it for my taste as follows:
*I didn't have whole milk, so I used a variety of 2%, half and half and cream to get the desired amount of dairy product... you can vary it if you're being health conscientious, but as the recipe said, "No need for spices or other flavors when you have real chocolate and cream."
*I also lessened the sugar by about one third. Jon thought it needed more; I thought it was perfect.
*For the chocolate, I used about half 60% cacao Ghirardelli chocolate chips and half semisweet chocolate chips. It gave it more of a dark chocolate flavor.
*I added extra milk to the mug as I served it to thin it out a bit.
It even tasted good reheated this morning for breakfast.

I know you people are baking. Now start posting...

Cranberry Mousse

We did the Thanksgiving spread pour deux this year, and Jon wanted to try a new dessert. I usually eat pumpkin pie in an obligatory holiday gesture (a carryover from my "squash should stay out of dessert" days), so I agreed. I didn't do anything for this but whip the cream that went on top, but it was pretty good. I'd serve it in small portions and sweeten the whipped cream quite a bit because this mousse is true to its tart, cranberry flavor.



1/2 lb. fresh cranberries, washed and picked over

1/2 cup sugar, divided

1/4 cup orange juice (about 1 orange)

1 T orange zest

2 T orange liqueur (we used Grand Marnier)

1/2 T unflavored gelatin (half an envelope)

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1 cup whipping cream

Whipped cream and cranberries for garnish

Put the cranberries in a small saucepan with 1/4 cup sugar, oj, zest and liqueur over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and continue cooking, stirring frequently, until the cranberries break down -- about 15 minutes.

Remove from heat, sprinkle with gelatin, and allow gelatin to bloom. Transfer to a blender or food processor and process until smooth.

Force cranberries through a sieve, discarding solids. Cool, then refrigerate until it just begins to thicken.

In a bowl, whip the cream to soft peaks. Add the sugar and beat to stiff peaks. Gently fold in cranberry mixture. Spoon into small dishes and chill for 3 hours. Serve with more whipped cream and cranberries. (I had to get my chocolate in the dessert somehow, so I added mini chips.)