Hot Chocolate

It's been a rough week at work, and the weather has been cold and clammy. We put our fleece sheets back on the bed and turned on the heat. I wore tights in April. A situation like this requires a nice warm comforting mug of hot chocolate in my freckle teacups and saucers. I use a variation of the Joy of Cooking recipe for Italian Hot Chocolate as it is the closest flavour I can find that resembles the hot chocolate I drank for breakfast at the Gran Orly Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Made with whole milk and local cocoa, it was rich and creamy and had its own unique taste.

Hot Chocolate
1/2 C cocoa
1/3 C brown sugar
1 tsp cornstarch
1 C water
1 C milk
1/8 tsp vanilla extract
ground nutmeg

1. Sift the cocoa, brown sugar and cornstarch together in a saucepan.
2. Gradually add the water, mixing it into a smooth paste.
3. Add the milk and stir.
4. Stir over medium-low heat until it coats the side of a spoon.
5. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla and nutmeg. If decadence is an option, serve with cream.