Chile-Cinnamon Hot Chocolate

Happy New Year!  Well, technically it’s January 4^th, so allow me to wish you a Happy 1/4/14!  I really like the symmetry of that number and I’ve been writing it all day in as many forms as I can. I’m happy to be home at Kitchen Fiddler again, as it’s been an extremely eventful three months since my last entry here, but that will be for another post. I’ve just come off an intense round of CocoaRoar truffles so you’d think I’d be sick of chocolate by now, but astonishingly, I’m not.  In fact, I’m here to talk about hot chocolate—Chile-Cinnamon Hot Chocolate, to be exact.

The new year promptly started off with several inches of snow, and I was glad to hibernate at home those two days.  There is nothing more comforting than being safely tucked inside during a snowstorm, wrapped in a blanket while watching favorite movies and drinking huge mugs of steaming hot chocolate topped with floating islands of whipped cream.  When that hot chocolate has an extra kick from the spicy addition of chile powder and the whipped cream is flecked with cinnamon, so much the better.

I rarely find myself making regular B-flat hot chocolate.  I almost always doctor it up in some way, either by spiking it with various liqueurs or infusing the whipped cream with flavors beyond the norm.  Sometimes I transpose my favorite truffle flavors to hot chocolate form, as in my Cardamom Hot Chocolate with Rose-infused Whipped Cream.  Tonight’s chile-cinnamon hot chocolate is also a riff on my popular spicy truffle, one I haven’t made in a while but have been craving recently.

Lavender Shortbread Cookies

Much has happened since my last post!  I played a monster solo recital last week, featuring a program that was the musical equivalent of an ironman triathlon.  My wonderful mother flew into town for the occasion, and I was delighted that she could share in the big night and visit with all of my friends. Mom made the most delectable Lavender Shortbread Cookies for the post-recital reception, and it is my pleasure to share these little beauties with you today.

My post-recital parties are usually fairly simple affairs, usually with a few beautiful cheeses, olives and grapes set out alongside some wine.  But Mom wanted to make these lavender cookies that my Aunt Barbara had baked on a recent visit, and I certainly wasn’t going to say no.

Mom and I have a long history of planning post-recital parties together.  In fact, I got my start in the kitchen because of the parties Mom threw for her piano students after their monthly class recitals.  I remember marching into the kitchen during one of her pre-recital baking flurries when I was six years old, announcing that I needed to learn how to bake and that I would help her get ready for her party the next day.  

Roasted Carrot and Avocado Salad (a la ABC Kitchen)

I am totally obsessed with this Roasted Carrot and Avocado Salad from ABC Kitchen. In fact, this post should really be entitled “Go Make This NOW!”  I haven’t actually been to ABC Kitchen myself, but if the rest of their food is anything like this brilliant carrot concoction, I want to have lunch there as soon as possible. 

It’s been a while since a dish grabbed my attention so insistently.  Ever since finding this recipe two weeks ago in the New York Times, I’ve made this salad nine times and for five different friends. Everyone flips when they taste it, and I think you will too.

At first glance the roasted carrots, avocado slices and sprouts seemed a slightly incongruous combination, or at least something reminiscent of my ultra-healthy 1970s California childhood.   However, I was intrigued enough to try it immediately, making the whole recipe so that I’d have leftovers for the next day or two. It turns out that the combination of the fragrant roasted carrots with velvety avocado slices is an inspired one, and I’m not ashamed to admit that I ate the entire thing in one sitting.

These are no ordinary roasted carrots. Normally I’d be happy drizzling a bunch of carrots (or almost any vegetable) with a liberal dose of olive oil, salt and pepper before popping them in the oven.  But these carrots go to a whole new level when covered with a garlicky paste, enlivened with cumin and fresh thyme as well as lots of salt, pepper and hot chile flakes. 

Kitchen Fiddler Turns Five

Today is Kitchen Fiddler’s 5^th birthday!  If I could make one giant birthday cake to share with you all, it would be this Black Pearl Cake.

 

Five years ago I had no idea what I was getting myself into, only that I knew a blog would provide a way to share recipes and stories beyond my immediate circle.  I couldn’t have imagined how much joy I would find knowing that family, friends, friends-of-friends, and even strangers truly enjoy the recipes they find here.

 

I’m grateful for this little space in the cyber world, for it has challenged me in so many creative ways.  My cooking has improved over the past five years, and my writing and photography skills definitely have as well. I almost cringe at some of those earliest posts that rambled on at great length, yet as much as I’ve wanted to go back to edit them or retake the photos in natural light, I’ve left them alone.  They represent where I was at that time, and there’s something heartening about being able to trace one’s creative journey, with both stumbles and successes along the way.

Chile-Lime Popcorn

I have three words to say this evening: Chile Lime Popcorn.  You heard me.  Be prepared to be astounded. 

After a long-time addiction to Newman’s Own microwave popcorn, I’ve recently started making popcorn the old-fashioned way, on the stove in a heavy pot with a little oil.  It’s easy, inexpensive, and it tastes like the popcorn of my childhood.  Stove-popped pocorn is also a versatile canvas for letting your flavor imagination run wild.

I’ve had fun seeking out different kinds of popcorn kernels, and this organic multicolor blend from Fairway is particularly festive.

Cherry Stracciatella Ice Cream

Cherries are my favorite fruit, and I can’t eat enough of them in the summer when they’re at their peak. My neighborhood fruit stand vendors know me so well that they automatically hand me a bag of cherries before I even ask.  So you can imagine how my taste buds went into a tizzy when I saw a recipe in the latest Bon Appetit for a cherry-bourbon vanilla ice cream.  I started doing mental variations on the recipe, imagining it with brandy instead of bourbon, or plumping the cherries in amaretto and topping it with toasted almonds. But last night I started dreaming about drizzling in melted chocolate at the end of the freezing time to make a Cherry Stracciatella ice cream.  And that version galvanized me into ice cream-making action this afternoon. 

You know you want this.  Think of it as a sophisticated riff on the popular B&J’s Cherry Garcia flavor.  However, it is so much more than Ben or Jerry could have ever dreamed.

The ice cream custard base is a straightforward vanilla one, an excellent backdrop for wherever your culinary imagination leads you. I like the roundness of flavor that vanilla bean specks add, but you can flavor your ice cream simply with pure vanilla extract if you don’t feel like splurging for the vanilla bean.

Shaved Zucchini Ribbon Salad with Pine Nuts and Parmesan

After my wordy protestations this past month about wanting to be back in my kitchen after weeks away, I haven’t actually turned on the stove very much.  When I’m not making vast quantities of green juice, I’m content to find whatever produce looks freshest and assemble a simple huge salad with it.  If I add fresh herbs, some toasted nuts, a few shavings of a pungent cheese and a drizzle of great olive oil, I'll call it a meal.  This Shaved Zucchini Ribbon Salad with Pine Nuts and Parmesan definitely follows that formula with very happy results.

This is the time of year when zucchini is growing out of control, overflowing in the gardens and in the markets. When I walk by the farmer’s market stands in my neighborhood and see these perfect specimens at the peak of their season, it’s very hard for me to pass them up. Not to be confused with much paler yellow summer squash, I love the robust yellow variety as well as their darker green counterparts too.

Zucchini is very versatile, lending itself well to being steamed, sautéed, grilled, roasted, baked into quick breads or cakes, or simply eaten raw. I can happily eat my Quick Sauté with Mint and Almonds on a daily basis without growing tired of it, but lately I don’t feel like turning on my stove even for the 60 seconds required for this recipe.  Instead, it’s been fun to put my vegetable peeler to work and make this raw salad on a regular basis.