KCRW's Good Eats: Chocolate and Tabacco

The benefit of a lot of travel is catching up on listening to your favorite podcasts. On my trip to Chicago I had the chance to enjoy a much loved podcaster, Evan Klienman of KCRW's Good Eats. One of the standout podcasts during my plan ride was on the history of chocolate and tobacco with Marcy Norton, the author of Sacred Gifts, Profane Pleasures: A History of Tobacco and Chocolate in the Atlantic World. This 11 minute interview with Marcy Norton is mixed in with a story of an artist that creates cupcake art in northern California, Secret Supper Clubs and more.

Take a listen to this podcast:

Chuao Abuela Hot Chocolate

During our rain-filled Saturday night, the other half and I enjoyed Chuao’s Abuela Hot Chocolate. Since this was the first time trying this hot chocolate, I wasn’t sure what to expect. The Abuela recipe consists of 73.5% and 58.5% cacao dark chocolate (cacao liquor, sugar, cacao butter, soy lecithin as an emulsifier, natural vanilla), non-fat dehydrated milk and sugar. For those with various allergies, the recipe does contain milk, soy and may have traces of nuts.


Very simple to make, the recipe requires you to heat water and blend in 3 tablespoon of Chuao Abuela Hot Chocolate. I was impressed how quickly the chocolate granules melted. Upon stirring the mixture, a velvety hot chocolate was formed. Overall, I was truly impressed. Abuela is easy to make, exceptionally creamy with a nice balance of dark chocolate to sweetness.


Unfortunately, we do not carry the Abuela recipe at our store (which will most likely change in the future). We have the Spicy Maya Hot Chocolate, which has a nice following.

Based in San Diego, California (go Cali!), Chuao Chocolatier is the creation of two Venezuelan born brothers that sought to introduce the wonders of Venezuelan chocolate to America and the rest of the world. Chuao, named after the well-known cacao producing region in central Venezuela, was founded in 2002 by Master Chef Michael Antonorsi and his brother Richard.

Two attempts at Blackberry Hot Chocolate & Hot Cocoa

Inspired by a Martha Stewart podcast, I felt it was time to return to the kitchen. Since I had blackberries leftover from our luscious breakfast last week, it was time to create a fruit inspired hot chocolate. Bitter 100% Chocolate by Luker, a Colombian favorite used to make hot chocolate, Mexican Vanilla, cane sugar and heavy cream were the items identified for this recipe.

After the chocolate was melted in my double boiler, I added the heavy cream and vanilla. As the ingredients meshed together it was time to introduce 8 blackberries to the mix. Since my husband stripped the blending mechanism on our blender during a smoothie making trip, I could not properly blend the cream and berries together separately. So, I opted to do it the old fashion way. Once the berries heated up, I gently pressed them against the side of the boiler to release the flavors. Next, I added the cane sugar to taste and a little more milk to achieve a smoother texture. A strainer was used to separate the berries from the hot chocolate mixture. However, little chunks of chocolate were separated also since this chocolate is pure it doesn't melt so well.

Upon tasting the hot chocolate, I felt something was missing. I added a little orange extract which gave the drink a wonderful aroma. Now it was time for a taste from the other half. First he said, “its different” with a pause. Then came,“it needs to be sweeter”. Blah! I cannot stand sugary sweet hot chocolates. Nonetheless, here is the recipe of my 1st attempt at Blackberry Hot Chocolate:

1 square Luker Bitter Chocolate or Unsweetened Chocolate
¾ cup Heavy Cream
¼ cup Milk
½ tsp Mexican Vanilla or Vanilla
1 tbls Cane Sugar or Sugar
8 each Small Blackberries
¼ tsp Orange Extract

Since I personally didn’t care for the consistency of the final product, I decided to try it again with cocoa powder and 1% milk. With the cocoa powder, the mixture blended completely and the flavors came together much better. If I had oranges available, I would have used a real orange vs. the orange extract. The orange extract provided like a metallic taste to the recipe although it smelled quite flavorful. Sounds like a strange description, but that is what came to mind. I asked him to rate the recipe from a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being excellent, he scored the recipe a “3”.

Determined to make a better recipe, I tried the recipe again with a few modifications. On my 2nd attempt I decided to add cinnamon sticks and more sugar to the mix. The two cinnamon sticks and vanilla were added to the warming milk and stirred. Next came the Nomu cocoa powder and berries. Just like in my 1st attempt, I gently smashed the berries on the side of the basin to release the flavors. Sugar was added, but no orange extract.


Blackberry Hot Cocoa:
1 tbls Cocoa Powder
1 cup Milk
½ tsp Mexican Vanilla or Vanilla
8 each Blackberries
1 tbls + 2 tsp Cane Sugar or Sugar

The verdict on this one was a smile and “4”. Ahhh! Redemption.

Hot Chocolate Express

Trying to find something good on television has become exceptionally difficult. If it isn't the doom and gloom of the global economy, it is a stupid realty TV show. However, we were adamant about finding an enjoyable movie to watch.

We regressed to our child-like personas and watched The Polar Express on Netflix. For those who have never seen The Polar Express, the best part of the movie is the musical Hot Chocolate scene. It is a sure way to get you moving in your seat!

The Polar Express - Hot Chocolate | Movies & TV | SPIKE.com

How do you do it?

Since my last recipe was a HOT mess and feel I've lost a little of my hot chocolate creating mojo, I am wondering what everyone else uses to make their own hot chocolate? Soy Milk? Water? Organic Milk? So, I posted a survey to find out what liquid you use to create your own hot chocolate? I would love to hear from you all!

Coconut Catastrophe

I became inspired to create a hot chocolate infused with the flavors of the Asian Indian culture. The foundation of this hot chocolate is Scharffen Berger Unsweetened 99% Cacao and coconut milk. After researching the mostly frequently used spices and herbs in Asian Indian cuisine, I selected the following ingredients: Palm Sugar, Cinnamon, Cardamom, Chili Peppers and Mandarin Oranges.

The spices were roughly measured, added to the coconut milk along with a few mandarin oranges and a touch of the orange's juice. The liquid was placed back into the refrigerator to infuse the milk with their flavors. After a few hours, I melted the 99% cacao in a glass bowl sitting above pot of boiling water. This is to avoid scorching the milk and/or chocolate. Once the cacao was melted, I poured the milk base through a strainer in to the melted chocolate. I continued stirring and heating. The hot chocolate blend looked beautiful and I personally felt another fantastic recipe was forming.

Palm Sugar was blended into the heated mixture and now it was time to try it. Can you say..."blah!" I do know what the deal is with this recipe, but I surely went south somewhere down the line. Chalk this one up to another hot chocolate mess! As usual, I can always say..."at least the pictures came out nice".