Friday, March 23, 2012

Adult Hot Chocolate and the Open North American Dog Races


Last weekend Fairbanks hosted the Open North American Dog Races.  Those races happen here every year and are a sure sign of Spring.  The days are usually bright, and the sun is up a lot longer than just a month ago, but the temperatures are often really cold.  This year is no exception.
My husband was volunteering at one of the check points on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  I went out on Sunday to take a couple of pictures, it was bright, but cold.  All 17 teams passed our check point in about 30 minutes, but that was long enough to get pretty cold.  I went home and made some rich, delicious, adult-only hot chocolate.  You can make this kid friendly by leaving out the peppermint schnapps and adding some peppermint extract.

This weekend we are going to go to the ice park and see the ice carvings, I see more adult hot chocolate in my future!
My husband Dave, in the fox hat, and Smitty, in the red coat, keeping track of the mushers.

 Adult Hot Chocolate

Food Network Magazine, March 2012, Anne Burrell's version
  • 3 cups whole milk
  • 1 cup evaporated milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • Pinch of ground cinnamon
  • 4 shots peppermint schnapps

Directions

In a saucepan, combine the whole milk, evaporated milk and vanilla and warm up over low heat.
Combine the cocoa powder, sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon in a bowl. Whisk the cocoa mixture into the warm milk mixture until smooth. Bring to a boil, whisking frequently to prevent it from scorching.
Remove the hot chocolate from the heat just after it has come to a boil. The mixture should be super rich and thick.  Pour into 4 mugs, add 1 shot peppermint schnapps to each mug, stir. 


March 23, 2012     Daylight  12 hours,  37 minutes,  37 seconds     Current Temp. -5 ºF

1 comment:

  1. What a great event to be able to participate in! Everybody lives in interesting places, (although its true that some places take a little more work that others) and we are lucky enough to live in a spectacular environment, but to our imaginations you life in Alaska looks so cool - no pun intended! Love the adult take on the hot chocolate, and with what we understand Alaska cold to be, the Schnapps is probably a survival tool! With or without it though, this is quite delicious!

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