It doesn't have to be Valentine's Day to drink a chocolate cocktail. And you definitely don't need to drink it out of a heart shaped glass. Kind of impractical anyway because there's no way to drink it without a straw. But all that being said, it's totally fun and so delicious.
This is definitely one of those drinks that looks harmless but is actually quite potent because almost every ingredient is alcoholic. That's also part of the fun, though, depending on who you're drinking it with. Unlike typical chocolate martinis, this one has a good amount of cherry flavor from the Luxardo, a wonderful maraschino cherry liquor. If you're a fan of chocolate covered cherries then you'll be a fan of this drink.
Do you have to serve it with a chocolate covered cherry garnish? No but, also, yes because it's both beautiful and tasty. So snuggle up with someone you love, or like a lot, and make a couple of these. Cheers!
Chocolate Covered Cherry Martini
Yield: 2
Author: Anita Schecter
Prep time: 12 MinTotal time: 12 Min
A vodka cocktail recipe that includes chocolate liqueur, creme de cacao and maraschino cherry liqueur, garnished with with a chocolate covered cherry.
Ingredients
4 oz. Vodka
2 oz. Chocolate liqueur
2 oz. Creme de cacao
2 oz. Cherry liqueur
4 oz. Half and half
Cherries for garnish
Melted chocolate for garnish
Instructions
Add the vodka, chocolate liqueur, creme de cacao, cherry liqueur and half and half to a cocktail shaker. Fill with ice, shake well and pour into two chilled cocktail glasses.
Melt chocolate chips in the microwave, dip maraschino cherries into the chocolate and refrigerate for a couple of minutes to set. Use to garnish the glasses.
Do we need a holiday excuse to make a sweet chocolate treat? No, but, also, yes because then we can use all the fun holiday candy to decorate it. This Easter bark combines milk chocolate, white chocolate, chocolate Easter egg candies and springtime sprinkles along with some flaky sea salt to cut the sweetness. And yes, I did color some of the white chocolate pink!
Chocolate bark is one of the quickest and easiest treats to make but also looks like you fussed over it. No cooking needed and it's fully customizable. You can use dark or semi-sweet chocolate instead of milk. Change up the sprinkles, add other salty elements like crushed up pretzels or nuts and whatever candy you like best.
Because the chocolate is the star, I'm going to strongly urge you to resist inexpensive chocolate chips. Those are fine for cookies but here you need either a good quality bar chocolate or high end chips. I tend to use either Ghirardelli or Guittard and both taste great and melt much better than other brands. The same goes for the white chocolate.
And while it's fine to melt the chocolate in the microwave, I always find the smoothest consistency comes from doing it over a double boiler. Just fill a pot with a couple of inches of water, place a bowl over the pot, making sure it doesn't touch the water and add the chips. Keep the heat on medium low and stir often. You'll have perfectly smooth chocolate. I divided the white chocolate into two bowls and added a couple of drops of red food color to one of them for a spring pink color. Use a butter knife to swirl all the chocolates together on a baking sheet, top with whatever goodies you're using and let it sit to harden. Then enjoy your treat.
Yield: 8
Author: Anita Schecter
Easter Bunny Bark
Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 10 MinTotal time: 25 Min
Easter chocolate bark made with milk and white chocolates, sprinkles, Easter candies and sea salt.
Ingredients
1 Bag (approximately 12 oz.) milk chocolate chips
1 Bag (approximately 12 oz.) white chocolate chips
2 - 3 Drops red food color
1 Cup crushed candy coated chocolate candy and Easter sprinkles
Sea salt
Instructions
Melt the milk chocolate chips by placing them in a bowl set over a pot filled with a couple of inches of simmering water. Make sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Stir until melted and pour into a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Spread out the chocolate and set aside for about 20 minutes to begin to harden.
Add the white chocolate chips to a separate bowl and melt over the pot of simmering water. Move half the melted white chocolate to a different bowl and add the food color until you have a light pink shade.
Pour the white chocolate over the milk chocolate and swirl with a skewer or butter knife. Pour the pink chocolate over that and swirl again.
Top with the crushed candy, sprinkles and a sprinkling of sea salt. Set aside to harden and break into chunks.
Note that you can use the refrigerator to cool the chocolate either in between steps or at the end. However, I find that condensation forms and the chocolate melts quickly when removed from the fridge so I prefer to let it harden at room temperature.
If you know me, or if you pay weirdly close attention to my blog (tell me if you do because I love you!) then you know that banana cream is my favorite pie and has been all my life. Banoffee pie (a combo word of banana and toffee) is kind of the British version of it. I'd heard of it, both in England and at home in the U.S. but didn't actually taste it until a few years ago. After all, nothing could be better than my beloved original, right?
I am a sucker for interesting citrus fruit so, when I see it, I need to try it. That's how I first experienced Meyer lemons, years ago and they immediately became a favorite ingredient.
I know I'm not alone in my obsession with Cadbury Crème Eggs, right? While I can resist most Easter candy, these eggs have had a hold on me forever. I watch the store shelves as spring arrives, waiting for the first batch to show up. And we won't discuss how many I've bought and eaten.
For years I would say that carrot cake was not my first choice for dessert. I never ordered it at a restaurant and would be disappointed if that was the only sweet treat on a table. Clearly I just never had good carrot cake. Until now.
Do we need another chocolate chip cookie recipe? Yes, of course we do. Because this one includes some nutty sesame paste both in the batter and swirled on top of the cookies while they bake.
I decided a while back that I loved soda bread way too much to wait for St. Patrick's Day to make it. Because it has no yeast and requires no kneading or rising time, it's as fast and easy to make as a sweet quick bread.
There's so much I love about this drink. The pink grapefruit that I can never resist. The thick sugared rim of the glass. The well balanced flavors of this variation on an old cocktail.
Spring may be just a few weeks away but I'm still bundled up in layers and living that all soup, all the time lifestyle. I actually love soup year round but diving into a hot bowl of it when I get home from the cold is just pure comfort.
I take issue with most cupcake sizing. Yes, mini cupcakes or even regular small ones are much better for me but they are not satisfying. They don't feel like a whole dessert but I don't want to take a second one. If I'm going to indulge, I want a large cupcake! And so that's what I made.
One beautiful April day, we drove upstate to meet our puppy and then had lunch at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park. Our meal was insanely good, filled with memorable dishes of the tenderest short ribs and fried yucca balls. It was my first time tasting yuca (cassava root) and it was love at first bite.
For all the delicious holiday cookies out there, sometimes you just need to make a batch of good vanilla sugar cookies, grab a cute cookie cutter and a bag of icing. Solo project, family activity, friend get-together or kid project, these cookies are an annual favorite.
I wonder who the first person was that looked at this hairy, spiny, choking hazard of a fruit and thought it might be good to eat. That if you slice open the sea urchin-like shell, you'd find soft, sweet, juicy flesh.
For cold weather comfort food, meat and potatoes usually satisfy all my cravings. The classic baked potato is always welcome but, let's face it, it needs some help. We can slather it with butter and sour cream but, this recipe covers those potatoes with creamy, cheesy ground beef.
When my European mother came to the U.S. she did her best to understand American holidays and customs. The idea of Thanksgiving appealed to her but some of the traditional foods did not. So she gave them her own spin.
Is it called stuffing or dressing? The answer is that it depends on how it's cooked. It is stuffing if it's cooked inside the bird but dressing if it's cooked on the side. So now you just have to decide which way you want to make it.
I know that many of you grew up in places where brisket came off a smoker with meltingly tender meat and that characteristic smoke ring at the top. But I grew up with brisket that was cooked in an oven, submerged in beef stock and red wine, accompanied by herbs, onions and carrots. That came out meltingly tender as well and you also got gravy.
I'm not even going to pretend I don't love Halloween candy but I also want a grownup treat. Cool weather and fall flavors mean a combination of warming bourbon, pumpkin and spices.
Is my house in full pumpkin mode all through autumn? Yup, it sure is. Not only do I love decorating with them but it's a full pumpkin-fest of cooking as well. I love it both sweet and savory and there's no end to my desire for a loaf of pumpkin bread as a snack.
Happy first day of autumn! It's my favorite season and I wish I could say the weather was autumnal but, if we bake like it is then perhaps it will come.
Sometimes a single ingredient in my fridge or pantry inspires an entire meal. And that's exactly how this dinner of Mediterranean flavors came together. What was the ingredient this time? Some leftover feta cheese from another recipe.
You can eat honey cake to celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year. Or you can eat it just because it's delicious. I vote for doing both. and definitely doing the latter often.
This is my summer of awesome sandwiches. It started with a new gourmet sandwich place in my neighborhood and now I'm addicted to creating fun sammies of my own.
I got my love of scones from my mom, back when they were not nearly as popular. These days they're a staple offering at fancy coffee shops but they're also one of the easiest pastries to make at home.
Normally when we think about grapes and alcohol, we think wine. But fresh grapes taste completely different than fermented ones and actually make a great fruity addition to cocktails.
It's hot and I want ice cream. Sometimes in a dish, sometimes in a waffle cone and sometimes in the form of an easy to grab popsicle. I don't discriminate when it comes to ice cream.
There's a fairly new gourmet market in my neighborhood and they specialize in beautiful, over-stuffed sandwiches. The menu is long and it's so hard to choose. But, you actually have plenty of time to make your choice because the line snakes around the block. Sigh.
It's the middle of June and, shockingly, these were the first cherries of the season that I bought. Normally I scoop them up the second I see them but somehow I didn't get to it the past couple of weeks. But, they're here now!
There's a new French bakery in my neighborhood. In addition to croissants and delicate fruit tarts, they also sell slices of their fresh baked quiche. It's hard to walk past the place without immediately getting hungry. So far the only thing that's saved me from buying them out has been the fact that the line to get in goes around the block.
Last week we had our first mini heatwave. It's not usually in the 90's in New York in May but it happened and we all got an unexpected chance to see if our air conditioners were still working. Apart from being in need of a cleaning, mine seem to be OK.
I have a hard time resisting anything in a crust, sweet or savory. So, when I'm developing recipes, I frequently ask myself - would this be good inside a crust of some kind? Truth.
Do you have a "buy nothing" group in your neighborhood? They've become super popular around here and I love my local one. Lots of generous folks and community spirit. So much so that a lovely woman was giving away slices of her homemade banana bread. I didn't have time to grab one but it did start a wicked craving.
A couple of weeks ago I had a wicked craving for a cupcake. Sadly the best cupcake bakery (cupcakery?) in my neighborhood is closed for renovation. So I bought one at another place, not really known for them but, hey, you never know. Yes, yes you do. It did not hit the spot.
We're kind of in that shoulder season between all the good winter citrus and all spring fruit. Coming home from the market with a load of beautiful pink grapefruit, I stopped to admire the first flowering tree on my block. A perfect example of where we are right now.
We may call them turnovers here but, in the Middle East, these filled puffs of dough are called bourekas. Popular in Israel, they usually contain a savory filling stuffed inside puff pastry.
Starting a home bar doesn't have to be fussy or expensive if you begin with some basics and then add to your collection over time. Unlike some guides that feel strongly about spirits brands, appropriate glassware and what type of shaker you use, this is going to be a judgement-free zone. Because making cocktails at home should be fun! Below is a guide for building your home bar including items I think you should buy now, items you don't need immediately but are fun and inexpensive and those things you will add over time. Even a small collection will allow you to make a great many types of cocktails. Once you have the basics, it's fun to add a specialty liquor from time to time. And because those tend to be used more sparingly than the base spirit, they'll last much longer.
The Cosmo cocktail came into fashion when Sex and the City was airing but it's never left. For that matter, Sex and the City never really left because I'm sure I can find reruns of it daily. But that combination of vodka, cranberry, orange liqueur and lime definitely has staying power.
March is acting true to form - coming in like a lion with snow and freezing temperatures but quickly becoming a lamb. We'll still have some very cold days before spring but we're starting to get a taste of warmth and sunshine.
OK, I seem to be a little obsessed and can't stop creating hot cocoa bombs. It can appear a little daunting at first. You have to buy a mold and make a chocolate sphere and that seems like fancy chocolate shop work. Fortunately, it's really easy. And once you make your first batch, you'll find yourself wanting to make more.
Is there anything more comforting than tucking into a warm skillet cookie with ice cream melting into the gooey chocolate? Yes, when you add a swirl of peanut butter or, in this case, a dollop of sweet tahini. The nutty taste of the sesame seeds blends with the sweetness of the cookie but adds an additional layer of flavor.
The first time I tried cooking these puffy pancakes, I was not expecting them to rise as much as they did. Some kind of photography/food styling trick, I thought. Nope. I've made them several times since that first time and they puff big!
You've probably been seeing hot cocoa bombs everywhere on the internet for the past few months. Costco now makes them and sells them in multi-flavor packs. Even smaller producers are offering them on Etsy. And while I don't normally jump on trends, I've made a few of these for clients and, well, they're just so cute and fun.