Category General

Parties That Cook’s Winter Weather Must-Have: Mexican Hot Chocolate Recipe

Winter weather has finally hit the San Francisco Bay Area. Rain and scarily strong winds have folks in hiding this week. Make hibernation more enjoyable with this Parties That Cook Winter Recipe for rich and delicious Mexican Hot Chocolate! If you like, you can make it a party (or fiesta!) with these beer & pretzel marshmallows – a great way to participate in San Francisco’s Beer Week without even leaving your house!

*No need to feel left out: For the few cities (ahem, Chicago) experiencing oddly warm weather for this time of year, a previous blog entry is NOW applicable!*

Mexican Hot Chocolate
This recipe can also be found in our Holiday Recipes Section!

Ingredients
8 cups milk
3 disks of Mexican chocolate
3 oz of Scharffen Berger dark chocolate
1 vanilla bean pod, split lengthwise

Methods/Steps
Prep: Chop the chocolates coarsely. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and add the seeds and bean to the milk.
Heat: Warm the milk, chopped chocolate, vanilla bean seeds and pod in a pot over medium heat.
Execute: While warming, constantly whisk the milk. Do not let it boil over. Keep whisking until the chocolate is melted and the mixture begins to produce steam. Remove vanilla bean pod and serve in mugs.

Serves/Makes
Makes 8 drinks

Join In This Year’s Chinese New Year Celebration!

Have you ever celebrated ANYthing for fifteen days in a row? Maybe it’s time to join in the Chinese New Year Celebration! The celebration starts with the New Moon on the first day of the new year and ends on the full moon (15 days later). According to the Chinese calendar, this year, the year of the rabbit, begins on February 3, 2011 and ends on January 22, 2012.

Close out this marathon celebration at the San Francisco Chinese New Year Festival and Parade this Saturday, February 19 5:15pm-8:00pm. Started in the 1860s, the San Francisco Chinese New Year Festival and Parade is now the largest celebration of its kind in the world! What would such a celebration be without food? Answer: Hungry. 7×7 SF gives you your complete itinerary for where to eat and what to order on the day of the parade! Take advantage of this tool to avoid crowds and long lines (for food).  For more options, check out this list of places to eat on the parade route!

If you’re feeling particularly inspired, you should DEFINITELY TRY Mission Chinese Food! Known for its amazingly delicious creations, Mission Chinese Food also donates $0.75 from each entrée to the San Francisco Food Bank! Check out the exotic menu before you go, and let us at Parties That Cook know how it goes!