Mexican Hot Chocolate: Spice Up Your Life

 Yes, my title is a reference to the Spice Girls' classic, Spice Up Your Life. Why? Because I used to be a bit of a Spice Girls fan.



The Spice Girls' takeover of the U.S. coincided with When I Was Eleven, and, therefore, also coincided with a really long roadtrip I had to take with my mother and stepfather, during which I pretty much just sat in my seat, blasting "Spice Up Your Life" on my Discman. That's right, my Discman. And I may or may not have written "Silence is golden, but shouting is fun!" in my pink key-lock diary a bunch of times after discovering that wise piece of...widsom in the Spice album insert. I'm an only child.

Anyway, what I'm really here to talk about is Mexican Hot Chocolate, or Hot Chocolate on Steroids. You add a bit of cinnamon and nutmeg, and you get yummy, rich, spiced hot chocolate that makes you wish you had an abuelita of your very own.

Mexican Hot Chocolate

• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup half and half or cream
• 4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cinnamon sticks for garnish

 1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine milk, cream, spices, and vanilla. Cook until the mixture has just started to bubble. Do not boil!

2. When the mixture has just started to bubble, add the chocolate and whisk continuously until combined.

3. Serve immediately, with a cinnamon stick for garnish.







This Mexican Hot Chocolate was the perfect antidote to record-setting cold temperatures (of forty...BAHAHAHA) down South yesterday. It was rich and thick, and it reminded me of drinking chocolat chaud at the Place du Capitole in Toulouse when I was a little college junior. Ahh, memories. Ahh, the Spice Girls.