Julia over at Relookage has asked for everyone's favorite hot chocolate stories, after regaling us with a tale of how she valiantly sipped one down in the summer heat on the terrace of the Cafe de Flore, then chased it with kir and coffee, all to continue participate in that time-honored Parisian sport of people-watching in the place in Paris to watch the people, Saint Germain-des-Pres.
I've had some great hot chocolate in my day, and much of it has been consumed here in Paris-- most recently at Angelina's with my friend Wendy, visiting from New York; then there was another hot chocolate where I remember actually contemplating licking the inside of the porcelain pitcher when the chocolate ran out. Unfortunately I've forgotten which cafe that near-lapse of etiquette transpired in, maybe Les Editeurs.
But the most memorable cups of hot chocolate of my life had to be the ones my mom would make during the winters when I was growing up on Long Island. My parents would take my sister and I sledding on the hills at Indian Hollow, my elementary school, and after we tired ourselves out with scooting down what seemed to be the most enormous inclines in our green plastic sleds, they'd take us home, get us out of our ski suits, and my mom would make hot chocolate and put the big marshmallows in it, the kind that get all melty and fuzzy on the outside and lend a marshmallow aura to the top of the cocoa.
I believe my mom's method was to heat the milk on the stove and add Nestle Quick, the powdered kind, not the syrup. It was the best thing ever, and all the gourmet chocolat à l'ancienne I'll drink in Paris will never top it.
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6 comments:
Absolutely!
Lovely story - thank you :-)
1. All three of the hot chocolate brews at Vosges on Spring. One is spicy with chiles, one is lavender and white chocolate, and one is basic delicious milky chocolate. When I was excruciatingly poor, so poor I often was down to my last fifty cents, I would occasionally treat myself to one Vosges truffle (fleur du sel caramel, black pepper, etc.) and a slim glass of outrageously expensive hot chocolate, just to remind myself that I was not a second-rate citizen.
2. Ibarra Mexican chocolate, melted into warm milk. I've gotten my bf's kids hooked on it, and, since I have a secret stash, I make regular deliveries.
3. My own private blend: 2T finest-quality cocoa powder and 2T sugar melted into 3 T water over low heat. When totally melted, I add 2c. milk, a pinch of sel guerande, a flick of cayenne pepper, and two flicks of extra-fancy Vietnamese Cassia cinnamon. The salt makes the chocolate flavor even more delightful. Story? I used to live with a hot chocoholic for whom I cooked. I loved making her happy.
Whenever I'm in my family's crumbling country home in the South of france, I seek the comfort of hot chocolate. I make giant mugs of dark hot chocolate, made with hot water and lots of sugar. I purposely leave big chunks of dark cocoa powder mixed with sugar floating around for me to eat. My French friends oven shake their head at my choice of heated water over heated milk.
If you ever want to meet up for hot chocolate in Paris, I'd love to go on a hunt for the best.
oh definitely Gill, let's make that happen!
I don't know how good it is, but my wife has me make her hot chocolate almost every night. It's just warmed fresh milk and swiss miss mix, but she seems to enjoy it.
The best hot chocolate in Paris, in my humble opinion, is to be found at Le Flore de l'Isle (?) on Ile St Louis, accross the bridge from Ile de la Cite. The chocolate comes in a small porcelain jug, and then you get a tall silver jug of frothy hot milk to mix it with. It makes about 3 cups and is utterly delicious!
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