I once read that Montezuma would pour melted chocolate over bowls of snow brought to him from the mountain tops. The image made me swoon though it has to be boiling outside for me to give up my scorching espresso or spiced hot chocolate. This weekend we actually did reach the boiling point so I decided to try it the Emperor’s way. Continue reading ‘Chocolate Covered Snow’
Archive for the 'Drinks' Category
Chocolate Covered Snow
Published 25 July 2010 Beverages , Breakfast/Brunch , Desserts , Drinks , General , Mexico 5 CommentsTags: Harold McGee, chocolate frio, iced chocolate, Mexican chocolate, On Food and Cooking, cacahuatl, Aztec drinking chocolate
Tisana
Published 17 May 2010 Breakfast/Brunch , Drinks , Venezuela 1 CommentTags: Carolina Buia, Isabel Gonzalez-Whitaker, Latin Chic: Entertaining with Style and Sass, Tisana, Venezuelan party drink
Some weekends are harder to let go than others. I was really enjoying this one when Sunday night interrupted. In the hope of letting it go just a little while longer, I decided to post the recipe for tisana, a Venezuelan party drink I mixed for my sister’s birthday brunch. I’m always a little behind so I like to have a pitcher ready when people get there to buy time. Traditionally served without wine at children’s parties, it’s light and fruity and worth taking back from the kids. I wanted to add star fruit as a garnish but there was none to be found. I’ll just have to wait till next weekend. Continue reading ‘Tisana’
Last Call
Published 16 February 2010 Beverages , Brazil , Drinks 6 CommentsTags: Brazilian drinks, Cachaça, Caipiríssima, Caipirinhas, Caipiroskas, Pitu, Rio Carnaval
Life inside the snow globe is pretty but it’s February and I’m tired of feeling (and looking) like a nesting doll. It’s the final day of Carnival in Rio and I’m not there. It’s hard to believe that there are people thinking, not about how many layers they can wear under their overcoat, but how many feathers they can get on their headdress – a headdress and little else. I looked for coverage of the parades that have been going since Saturday but haven’t found very much. While I hate to miss out, I love knowing that there are still events so wonderful, people don’t stop to upload. Hoping to bring a little bit of carnival to my site, I asked a Brazilian friend for any good recipes made for the festival. Her answer was immediate and simple – caipirinhas – the fuel behind the celebration and apparently, the unusually high November birth rate in Brazil. As she put it, it is a country of Scorpios.
A combination of limes, sugar, and cachaça, the Brazilian liquor made from fermented sugar cane, you can also use vodka to make a caipiroskas or light rum for a caipiríssima. I briefly considered holding my glass out the window for a caipisnowcone. However, you mix it, it’s worth the Fat Tuesday effort lest you wake up on Ash Wednesday all repentance and no sin. Continue reading ‘Last Call’
Making a Watermelon Blossom
Published 6 June 2009 Beverages , Drinks , General , Mexico 1 CommentTags: A Thirsty Spririt, Agua Fresca, Alexis Kahn, Watermelon
My friend Alexis who teaches beverage courses at the French Culinary Institute and writes A Thirsty Spirit can turn anything into a delicious cocktail. Click here to read what she did to the agua fresca recipe from the New York Times I’d written about in So Hot.






