(continued)

Hot Chocolate

• Scant pint of milk
• 1 3-ounce bar imported chocolate (either milk chocolate or semisweet)

Pour 1/4 cup of the milk into a small, thick-bottomed pot. Break the chocolate into small bits and add to the milk in the pot. Over very low heat, let the chocolate melt, then pour in the rest of milk, bit by bit, whisking well with each addition. When the chocolate is melted and the milk faintly steaming, remove from the heat, beat vigorously with a whisk until frothy, and serve. (Variations: A small amount of chocolate-based liqueur, such as Cheri-Suisse, Vandermint, or Droste Bittersweet is liked by some. Of course, unsweetened baking chocolate can be used instead. Use the same proportion: 11/2 ounces of chocolate per cup of milk and sweeten to taste.)

Swiss Hot Chocolate

0. This recipe cannot be given exactly, but it is simple enough to make if you have the required paraphernalia. Although the Swiss treat it more familiarly, you will probably want to reserve this for a very special breakfast treat.

1. Set 2 or 3 small heat-resistant pitchers on a rack in a pot and pour water around. Break a different 3-ounce chocolate bar into each of the pitchers, using one milk chocolate, one semisweet, and (if a third pitcher is used) some other solid, flavored bar, such as mocha, nut, or even white chocolate. Gently heat the water but do not let it boil, stirring the chocolate in each pitcher with a small spoon to help it melt. Heat milk in another pot and pour into a larger pitcher. Each person makes a personal cup of hot chocolate (in demitasse cups) by mixing the different chocolates together to taste and stirring in the hot milk.

From Simple Cooking, by John Thorne. North Point Press: New York, 1980. Hey....Why not buy the book right now..it's great!