How To Make Hot Chocolate Pods

Have you ever had Ibarra? Or maybe some of you know it as Abuelita. It is a Mexican Hot Chocolate Drink made by blending the chocolate tablet, I call them pods, into four cups of hot milk for a delicious hot chocolate with a hint of cinnamon. Not too sweet or overly chocolate, we have really come to like drinking this treat during the colder months. One day while making it, I wondered to myself if I could possibly make my own Ibarra pods. Right then I had remembered that in my last Baker's Catalogue was a recipe for Cocoa Blocks- individual blocks of fudgie chocolate to melt into hot milk. I took their idea but poured them into cupcake liners to make the equivalent of the Ibarra pods. I got perfection.


Then I took it a step further and created other flavors like White Chocolate Spice...



and Traditional Hot Chocolate with Marshmallows...


and White Chocolate Peppermint.


Every flavor turned out wonderfully and my homemade version of Ibarra was spot on- not too sweet, with a perfect touch of cinnamon. These have been handy to pop into a pot of hot milk on chilly mornings to accompany my family's breakfast and get them off to a warm start of their day.

Homemade Ibarra-Like Pods- Adapted from Baker's Catalogue
1- 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
18 ounce semi-sweet chocolate
4 ounces un-sweetened baker's chocolate
1/4+1/8 tsp. cinnamon oil, not extract
red sugar and cinnamon hearts for decoration, optional

In a medium size saucepan, over medium heat, stir and heat cream and milk until just starting to bubble. Remove from heat and pour over both chocolates that are in a large bowl. Let sit 30 seconds then stir until smooth and all the chocolate is melted. Stir in the cinnamon oil. Divide evenly among 9 standard-sized paper cupcake liners. Sprinkle with red sugar and top with a cinnamon heart. Store pods in a sealed container in the refrigerator or freezer.

Making the drink, heat 4 cups of milk to a scald and add one pod. Whisk gently until pod is melted through and drink is hot. If desired add a pinch of cayenne pepper to each mug, stir and enjoy. Serves 4.

For Traditional Hot Chocolate: do not add the cinnamon oil but add 1 tablespoon vanilla extract instead. Top each pod with mini marshmallows. Store and make as above. Top each drink with more marshmallows if desired.

For White Chocolate Spice: Pour hot sweetened condensed milk and cream mixture over 22 ounces white chocolate chips. Let sit 30 seconds then stir until smooth. Add 4 tsp pumpkin spice, 1 tsp. allspice, 1 tsp. fresh ground nutmeg. Pour into twelve (12) cupcake liners and sprinkle with cinnamon and top with white chocolate chips. Since white chocolate is sweeter I chose to pour it into 12 liners as opposed to 9. Store and make as above. Top each drink with whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon if desired. A splash of rum may be nice too.

For White Chocolate Peppermint: Make as you would the White Chocolate Spice but leave out the spices and add 3 tsp. peppermint extract (not oil). Top with Smooth&Melty Mints if desired or sprinkle with red and green sprinkles. Make and store the same as above.

These would be perfect for hostess gifts during the holidays and a really nice addition to Bake Sales.

More Beverage Recipes:
Hot Cocoa Mix
Mexican Chocolate
Sipping Chocolate

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Have a great weekend!

Robin Sue

Cooking Light's New Layout

A representative from Cooking Light magazine contacted me to see if I would be interested in exploring their new magazine layout starting in the September issue. Once I confirmed that I did not have to subscribe- always suspicious am I- I agreed.

I do not subscribe to magazines. I used to but I find I do not have the time for them anymore. My CL and Southern Living newsstand purchases, wonderful indulgences that they are, only happen when I have a flight to catch, which is rare these days. As a former subscriber and knowing Cooking Light's excellent reputation for quality and charm, I kind of looked forward to getting my hands on an issue again. Here are my thoughts.

Likes:
1. Beautiful photos of the finished recipes.
2. Easy to find table of contents highlighting the features.
3. Excellent recipe index in the FRONT of the magazine organized according to course and includes a key for "Quick and Easy," "Make Ahead," "Freezable," and "Kid Friendly" Recipes.
4. Easy to navigate. Contained only 3 card stock type inserts making flipping through a breeze. A pet peeve of mine is a magazine full of inserts, making flipping through impossible.
5. New binding. Not stapled anymore so when I rip out a page the whole thing does not fall apart.
6. I liked the new segment "New Uses for Everyday Ingredients"- great ideas.

Dislikes:
1. The new color scheme. The colors are cool and stark. I loved the old CL's color scheme of sages, orange and rusts, taupe's and beige's, and deep reds, so much more cozy.
2. Years ago when I subscribed to CL, I could not wait to see what new food trend they would highlight. Now CL seems to be following the trend instead of setting the trend that they once did. A wise man once said there is nothing new under the sun leaving all of us food writers clamoring for a revelation, sometimes even inspiration.
3. Maybe it is called clip art, I don't know, but the little stop watches letting me know a recipe is quick and pages to look like notebook pages for the "Cooking Class" feature are things in which I am not interested. Sophistication has be lost in the revamp.
4. It felt as though the magazine was trying too hard, the warmth was lost, seeming more geared toward attracting cooks who do not have the time for the CL recipes of old. I guess that was the point, they didn't. I felt the old CL slowed things down for me, making me want to linger over their dishes, while I cooked and ate them. The new layout made me feel rushed in an already rushed world.

With the recent demise of Gourmet, I am sure all the food magazines have scrambled back to the think tank, they are competing with something of a giant- the internet. I used to rely heavily on CL when cooking for my clients back in my catering days and to me CL wasn't broke so it was too bad Ms. Culpepper sought to fix it, although she did give her readers what they wanted- more quick and easy recipes- trading warmth and grace for stark and rushed. My only hope is that Time Inc. does not "fix" Southern Living.

What do you think of the new design?

Robin Sue

Soft Pretzel Samoas

My sister-in-law Donna emailed me last week telling me to try out her new pretzel snack. She melted caramels, dipped one side of a soft pretzel in it and then dipped the caramel side into a plate of mini chocolate chips, craisens, and nuts. Sounded great to me, but I did not have any caramels in the house to melt so I cheated using these...


I also went for the chocolate-coconut-caramel combination in place of the fruit and nuts. Here is what I did...


On a well greased foil-lined pan, I topped each frozen soft pretzel with one sheet of Caramel Apple Wraps (found at my local grocery store) and then sprinkled them with with a generous amount of sweetened, shredded coconut. I baked these in a 400 degree oven for 5 minutes. Once out of the oven I drizzled them with melted chocolate.


Wonderful, warm, gooey. I loved this treat and enjoyed having to lick my sticky, chocolately fingers. And for the caramel and coconut that melted down in the holes of the pretzel, I mopped it all up with the pretzel of course. We preferred these without the salt. Although salt and caramel are a great combination, it was too rich for this dessert.


You will want to eat these within a couple of hours of making, because like all soft pretzels they will get chewier with age.

More Pretzel Recipes:
Cheese Pretzels
RPM's


Hey have you signed up for my newsletter yet? I have my Fall issue coming soon!

Robin Sue

Carb Loading: Noodles and Eggs

A very long time ago I used to run. I had the nice shoes, the cool tights, and people to run with me. One day while running a 5 mile route we had mapped out around my college campus, I stopped at about the 2 mile mark, told my running buddy that I was done -really DONE, and then walked the rest of the way home. Just like that it had occurred to me that I hated running and never wanted to do it again.

While in college, long before I had axed running and ran for leisure or sport, I often dined on Noodle and Eggs before a race to carb up. This recipe is from an old boyfriend who loved to run. He taught me how to make this dish so that I too could load up on carbs for some extra energy during a race. I was the worst runner ever and needed more that just a plate full of noodles to get me across the finish line. Gumption would have been nice. Although the relationship did not last, I acquired a few good recipes from him and his mom. I bet we could all write a cookbook called Recipes From My Ex or a country song called Our Love Died But I Got His Momma's Secret Biscuit Recipe.

Noodles and Eggs
Per person:
1 1/2 T. olive oil- I used to use butter!
1 1/2 cups egg noodles or bow tie pasta, cooked
1 egg, beaten
2 T. Italian bread crumbs

In a large skillet over medium high heat, stir fry noodles in oil until golden. Working quickly, pour the egg over the noodles and toss to coat the noodles. Quickly sprinkle with bread crumbs and cook stirring constantly until eggs are cooked through. Eat immediately and go running or take a nap like me.

Although I do not run anymore, I still crave this dish on cold, rainy days when there is a big bowl of leftover noodles in my refrigerator.

How do you Carb Load?

Robin Sue

Baked Apples

Recently I have discovered the delicacy of Honeycrisp Apples. Super crispy and sweet these apples are the perfect eating apple and have satisfactory results once baked. I called a gal I know who runs her own farmers market and had her order me a half bushel of honeycrisps from her farmer. She warned me that they would be pricey but I figured the one time a year they come out here locally is truly a treat that we would enjoy each year. You folks in Washington state are blessed to have these apples at $0.99-$1.99 per pound. My apples came to $1.18 a piece. They have been treated like royalty in my home!


I have this little collection of Polish Pottery apple bakers I had purchased while in Poland. The one on the left is my favorite as it was a gift to me from Himself and the first in my collection. I can usually get about 4 gala apples in my apple baker but was only able to get in two honeycrisps they were so big!


There is no real recipe to baking apples. Simply fill your greased baker or casserole with fitted lid to the tippy top and then some with sliced apples that have been layered with a sprinkle of cinnamon and sugar as well as some orange rind if you like. Dot the top with butter, cover and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 40 minutes or until the apples are tender. We like to eat ours with a drizzle of cream and honey but this last time we had them over French Toast. Delicious.

Robin Sue

Happy Family Cacciatore

Everytime I eat at a Chinese restaurant, I spy the Happy Family Platter on the menu. A conglomeration of chicken, beef, pork, and shrimp. See everyone is happy. This past week we had out of town guests stay with us and I needed to be sure that every meal was a "Happy Family" meal. I was feeding four adults and five children, all with different likes and dislikes. I have a little motto here in my home- go with what you know, and I know Italian food, at least the dishes I grew up enjoying. So I created an Italian version of the Happy Family.

Cacciatora means hunter so this is a hunter-style stew of not only the traditional chicken but meatballs and Italian sausage too. Simmered in a savory sauce of tomatoes, onions, peppers, red wine, and fresh herbs, my guests each found a little something they loved. The children enjoyed meatballs subs, while we adults enjoyed the chicken, which was fall-apart-tender, along with a link of sausage. A pound of sauteed spinach with garlic and fresh nutmeg accompanied the meal as well as a sour cream cucumber salad. Also for the kids, macaroni and cheese and some rice for the adults to help absorb that delicious sauce.

Happy Family Cacciatore
6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, most fat removed
10 links Sweet Italian sausage
20 meatballs-homemade or purchased
1- 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 sweet onion, sliced
2 red peppers, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 T. sugar
1 tsp. Kosher salt or to taste
fresh cracked black pepper to taste
8 fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 cup good red wine

Place all ingredients in a large crock pot and cook on high for 6 hours or low for 8 hours. Or in a large Dutch oven bring to a simmer and simmer covered for 3 hours, stirring occasionally. Prior to serving, readjust seasonings. Serve with rolls to make sausage or meatballs subs. Also serve with a side of basmati rice for topping with meats and sauce. Serves about 15.

Note: You may want to provide your guests with mozzarella cheese to melt on subs, Romano cheese for sprinkling, peperoncini peppers, maybe pasta instead of rice. Provide a large salad as well. I think a pound of shrimp thrown in at the very last would have been fantastic as well. Be creative and everyone is happy.

Robin Sue

I'm Tired and Don't Feel Like Cookin'- Meatballs

This title tells exactly how I feel on some nights when it comes time to cook dinner. I am sure you have had nights like that too, right? I have a few tricks up my sleeve to get a tasty, sort of home-cooked dinner on the table lickity-split. It is called cheating. I usually make my own meatballs and in my family it is always a good discussion about who makes the best- my Ma, my brother Rob, or me. Now on nights when I am pooped and don't have a pint of energy to whip up my own meatballs, I have found that Costco carries "good enough" prepared Italian meatballs in the freezer section. I add this ridiculous but yummy sauce, simmer, and serve this meatball recipe over rice. Done. Add a little green salad and some fresh fruit and I have a complete meal. My children- at least two of them- love to take the leftovers in their lunch box because they enjoy telling their classmates that grape jelly and ketchup make the sauce. They love to see the other kids' confused faces.

I'm Tired and Don't Feel Like Cookin'- Meatballs
1 cup ketchup
1 cup grape jelly
1/4- 1/2 t. allspice
2-3 pounds prepared frozen meatballs- depends on family size
Cooked Jasmine or Basmati rice

Place all ingredients, except rice, in a large sauce pan and cover. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer about 15 minutes or until nice and hot. Serve over cooked basmati or jasmine rice.

*For those of you who cook for large crowds, big batches of this recipe can be made in crockpots. Fairly cheap too.

I am sure there are other variations of this sauce. Share yours.

Robin Sue

Making Apple Sauce

I haven't used my Apple-Peeler-Corer-Slicer in ages. A few weeks ago I went apple picking with my folks and kiddies and decided to make Apple Sauce with my half of the bushel of apples we had picked. I was mostly interested in the Gala trees since those yielded the sweetest apples in the orchard. I threw in a few Granny Smith for good measure but it was mostly the Gala to get the job done right.


After peeling/coring/slicing what seemed to be about 25 apples, I piled them high in my crock pot, sprinkled them with about 2/3 cup of sugar, 1 T. cinnamon, and about 2-3 T. lemon juice. I cooked the batch on low for 6 hours then took my immersion blender to the entire batch. I completely pureed the apple sauce into a fine textured, smooth and creamy batch of comfort food love. This is German style Apple Sauce since it is so smooth. We tend to eat it chunkier here in the US but give me the smooth stuff any day. Try a dab on a potato cake. Sigh. Oh, I got about 10 or so cups of Apple Sauce when it was all said and done.


While at the orchard, I had purchased a few items that looked unique to me such as Sweet Potato Butter and Kickles- Pickles with a Kick. Cute. But that Sweet Potato butter was delicious, and I must figure out how to make it someday.

Robin Sue

Cannoli Bites

I was craving cannolis for a few days now and spotted these mini fillo cups in my pantry and had wondered if they would do in place of the traditional cannoli shell. They do. I love a good vanilla ricotta cannoli from Mike's Pastry in the North End but sometimes I like my canollis jazzed up with a smidgen of orange, cinnamon, and chocolate. I whipped up some filling and filled these mini cups then proceeded to eat five all by myself. Does that make me bad? So when you need to impress a crowd, make these little bites then lead everyone to believe that you spent all day making them.

Cannoli Bites
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 t vanilla extract
4 T. powdered sugar
1 T. heavy cream
1/8 t. cinnamon
1 t. fresh orange zest
2 T. mini chocolate chips
30 mini fillo cups (2 boxes)

In a small food processor or blender, blend the first 5 ingredients until smooth. Remove to a bowl and fold in orange zest and chips. Using a baby spoon, spoon filling evenly into 30 fillo cups. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, cocoa, or both. Chopped pistachios may be nice too. Serve immediately. Makes 30 pieces.

Note- Only put the cream filling into the cups just before serving so the cups do not get soggy. Thank you.

Another Mini Fillo Recipe: Mini Baked Brie Cups

Have a grand weekend!

Robin Sue

Thai Shrimp Bisque

I have teamed up with One2One Network in getting the word out that Carnation Evaporated Milk is "The Cooking Milk." With the holidays quickly approaching, I find it important to stock my pantry with ingredients that I will need for making all of my Christmas goodies and one of those ingredients is always Carnation Evaporated Milk, especially for my fudge and pumpkin pie recipes. But what Carnation wants us to realize is that their canned milk can be used in other recipes in place of regular milk. By replacing regular milk with canned milk, you will be adding extra protein and calcium to each and every dish-according to the information on their website.

One2One Network sent me a packet complete with $50, a Holiday Recipe Book, and coupons for two free cans of Carnation Evaporated Milk. I willingly agreed to make one of the recipes provided in the book and create a recipe highlighting the star ingredient- Evaporated Milk.


I must say my Thai Shrimp Bisque will make you weep like a baby. It is that good. The bisque is rich, creamy, and so very different than any soup I am used too. While eating it, I felt millions of miles away in some exotic land, without a care in the world. Nice.

Thai Shrimp Bisque
1 T. olive oil
1 large stalk celery, finely diced
1/2 sweet onion, finely diced
1 t. sugar
2 T. tomato paste
2 t. garlic paste
1 t. ginger paste
1/4 t. cayenne pepper
1/4 cup flour
1- 12 ounce can Carnation Evaporated Milk
1- 14 ounce can light coconut milk
Kosher salt to taste
1 1/2 pounds raw, peeled, deveined, and tail-off med. shrimp
zest and juice of 3 small limes
1 1/2 T. Cognac
1/4 cup ginger ale

chopped salted peanuts
one bunch cilantro, chopped

In a large skillet having a fitted lid, saute over medium heat celery, onion, and sugar in olive oil until the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes. Add tomato paste, garlic, and ginger and saute 1 minute. Add cayenne and flour, stirring well to coat the vegetables. Briskly whisk in both cans of milk, breaking up any clumps of vegetables. Cover and let simmer for about 7-10 minutes, stirring occasionally until thickened. At this point add Kosher salt to taste. Once the sauce is thickened, add the shrimp, zest and juice from the limes, Cognac, and ginger ale. Stir well, cover and let simmer rapidly for 6 minutes or until shrimp are pink and in a tight curl. Adjust salt. Remove from heat and serve immediately topped with chopped peanuts and cilantro. Serves 6.


Carnation Famous Fudge was my recipe of choice from the Holiday Recipe Guide because I wanted fudge right now without waiting for Christmas! It came together quickly and easily. The trick to making good fudge is cooking it in an iron skillet for even heat distribution. It will come out smooth and creamy every time. I am pretty much a dunce in the candy making department but this fudge came out perfectly for me.

Go stock your pantry with Carnation Evaporated Milk and make that soup, especially that soup!

Robin Sue