Hot Chocolate for a Crowd.JPG
This recipe for Hot Chocolate for a Crowd from Hershey's makes 22 servings.
(Courtesy photo)
You don't have to check the temperature outside to know that hot chocolate weather has arrived.
January may mean dieting for those who overindulged over the holidays, but it also means hot chocolate as a favorite comfort food after spending time outside.
We don't just drink hot chocolate to warm up after a cold or snowy day. We also drink it because it tastes good and it makes us feel good. It should; it contains tryptophan, which releases the feel-good neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain and theobromine, which enhances mood, dilates blood vessels and can lower blood pressure. And it's good for you; it contains flavonoids, which are antioxidants.
Hot chocolate is the granddaddy of today's more familiar ways of enjoying chocolate. It was prepared as a beverage for thousands of years before the first chocolate bar was made in 1839.
Whether you call it hot chocolate or hot cocoa, this is its time of year. It's a small, sweet consolation for enduring the rigors of winter. So drink up!
Here are two hot chocolate recipes, beginning with one from the Hershey's website (hersheys.com) to make hot chocolate for a crowd. You can keep it warm for hours in a thermos or in your slow cooker with the setting on warm. Next is a Paula Deen recipe from foodnetwork.com. Rich and creamy, it features white chocolate.
Hot Cocoa for a Crowd
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cup cocoa
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup hot water
1 gallon milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Combine sugar, cocoa and salt in a 6-quart saucepan; gradually add hot water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture boils. Boil and stir for 2 minutes. Add milk.
Heat to serving temperature, stirring frequently. Do not boil. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Serve hot. Makes about 22 6-ounce servings.
White Hot Chocolate
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup heavy cream
4 cups half-and-half
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Vanilla whipped topping
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine white chocolate chips and heavy cream. Stir continuously until white chocolate chips have completely melted. Stir in the half-and-half, and vanilla extract. Stir occasionally until heated through. Pour into mugs and top with a dollop of vanilla whipped topping and garnish with mint leaf, if desired.
Calendar for locavores
If you are among those who wait patiently throughout the harvest season for your favorite crops to arrive, there is a calendar for you.
Zone 7, the Ringoes wholesaler that provides local produce to area stores and restaurants, has created a 2016 calendar with a month-by-month listing of crops as they are available from local farms.
Zone 7 is donating all proceeds from the calendar to Edible Jersey's School Garden of the Year Award. You can find the calendars at Whole Earth Center in Princeton.
Sea salt and hazelnuts
Recently Food Notes reported on Barnegat Light Sea Salt, an artisanal sea salt harvested from the waters near Barnegat Light, and New Jersey's own hazelnuts, created by a Rutgers University breeding program.
Now you don't have to travel far distances to find them; Whole Earth Center in Princeton has both in stock in limited quantities.
Ink & Drink
Do you like to draw and enjoy a little wine or beer while you are doing it?
On the second Friday each month, including this Friday, Jan. 8, Artworks in Trenton holds its Ink & Drink event from 7 to 9 p.m. Artworks provides the ink, and you bring your favorite drink. The Print Studio at Artworks provides materials and a studio monitor to assist in simple printmaking techniques while participants enjoy their beverages.
The cost is $15. See artworkstrenton.org to register.
NOFA conference
If you want to learn more about local farming, organic foods and how to treat medical conditions with food, you may want to check out NOFA-NJ's 26th annual Winter Conference.
Scheduled for Saturday and Sunday Jan. 30-31 at Brookdale Community College in Lincroft, you will find local farmers as well as national at a weekend of learning and sharing by the New Jersey chapter of the Northeast Organic Farming Association. See the website nofanj.com for details and registration.
In the farmers markets
The next Slow Food New Jersey monthly indoor winter market will be held Sat., Jan. 9 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Windsor Athletic Club, 99 Clarksville Road, West Windsor. Vendors will be selling meats, poultry, cheeses, produce, baked goods, mushrooms, dairy products, honey, herbs, pickles, jams and wine as well as prepared foods and flowers.
Local farmers markets still have produce including greens and lettuces, apples, onions, cranberries, cabbage, white and sweet potatoes, beets, turnips, leeks, winter squashes, kale and spinach.
Do you dip?
Basketball and hockey have moved to the forefront with the end of football season, but we can all use another good dip recipe, no matter what kind of ball or puck is in play.
This healthy one comes from Holly Clegg's cookbook, "trim&TERRIFIC KITCHEN 101: Secrets to Cooking Confidence" (hollyclegg.com). She says it's a great make-ahead recipe.
Mediterranean Layered Dip
Makes 16 (2-tablespoon) servings
1 (8-ounce) package reduced-fat cream cheese
1/2 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups roasted red pepper hummus
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1 cup chopped cucumber
1/3 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup crumbled reduced-fat feta cheese
3 tablespoons sliced Kalamata or black olives
1. In bowl, blend together cream cheese, yogurt, oregano, garlic, lemon juice and season to taste. Spread on large round serving plate.
2. Carefully spread hummus over cream cheese. Sprinkle evenly with remaining ingredients, refrigerate until serving time. Serve with pita chips or sliced vegetables.
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