Santa Fe Cooking Recipe For Chili Cinnamon Hot Chocolate

Although, not originally from Santa Fe, I have lived here long enough to have assimilated completely into the culture of this mystical magical city. Santa Fe is truly unique. The community is eclectic and cosmopolitan, yet retains a small town feeling. Everybody knows everybody or know somebody who does. It's a sleepy town where almost everything closes around 9:00 pm. Because of this a culture of private get-togethers and dinners at friends homes is the main source of social interaction.

Cooking is really important. And if you don't cook, you need to know the best caterers or private chefs. For most of us, cooking for our friends is the only way to go. It kind of establishes who you are by the quality, variety and excellence of the food. So, needless to say, cooking is something to strive for. I am a natural born cook and after almost 30 years in Santa Fe believe I have created and compiled some of the best recipes.

Another oddity of Santa Fe cuisine is that the meals don't consist of one or two things. They are basically a large assortment of "Tapas" or appetizers. Variety is a premium.

True Santa Fe cuisine, although based on the following, isn't Mexican, Hispanic, Spanish, American Indian or Southwest. The cuisine belongs in it's own category which is truly Santa Fe. 

Because of the uniqueness of Santa Fe recipes, I couldn't resist writing a real Santa Fe Cookbook. The following recipe is from my cookbook. I hope you enjoy it as much as my family and friends do.

 

Chili Cinnamon Hot Chocolate

 The following is the old fashioned and best way to prepare Chili Cinnamon Hot Chocolate. 

 

1 cup milk

2/3 cup cream (Half and Half or Whipping cream)

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

1 red chili pepper, split in half lengthwise or ground cayenne pepper to your taste

1 cinnamon stick

1 1/2 oz. bittersweet chocolate, grated 

Put milk and cream in a saucepan with vanilla bean, cinnamon stick and chili. Heat until medium warm. Stir in grated chocolate, and continue to simmer until melted. Remove from heat and let 'steep' for another 10 minutes. Strain out the spices. Reheat to a comfortable drinking temperature and serve. (Serves 2)

And for those of us who like a good short cut... you can simply purchase a hot chocolate mix and add cinnamon and a dash of red chili powder. Instant gratification at it's best!

For more recipes visit me on the web. 

Your Film Guide to Healthy Relationships - Want a Recipe For Great Cooking and Loving?

Want real health care reform? Start cooking real food and making real love. That's a healthy love tip I've often told our online community. Now you have a film guide to reveal recipes for hearty meals and happy marriages. You'll be craving both as you experience the delicious film, Julie and Julia.

It's the story of two lost women who find their professional purpose through food and passionate fulfillment in marriage. This film celebrates the best in happy marriages with lasting love. It's inspired by true love stories of two couples.

The best known couple, based on Chef Julia Child and her diplomat husband, Paul Child, had enjoyed five decades of great cooking and loving in France and America until death parted them in their 90s. They are brought to life with endearing wit and charm by Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci.

The second couple is based on a young newlywed (Amy Adams) in New York who blogs her way through the preparation of 524 of Julia's French recipes in 365 days and through common hurdles of making an emotional home in a new marriage to a supportive husband.

These two love stories are interwoven into a graceful tapestry by the film's writer and director, Nora Ephron. She's reported to be enjoying a second marriage of 22 years, after suffering through a betrayal while she was pregnant by her first husband, the journalist Carl Bernstein of Watergate fame.

Ms. Ephron has survived and thrived after that marriage melodrama, and there's no hint of it in her film portrait of these two marriages. She gives us an authentic portrayal of pleasures and passion in a mid-life marriage. A delightful example is when Julia and Paul Childs sneak home from cooking school and the American Embassy in Paris for a little lunch and some afternoon delight.

When Julia learns her newly-married sister is pregnant with her first baby in her 40s, we sense sadness that the Childs weren't able to have children in an era before infertility intervention.

When we learn that Julia was a 40 year old virgin when she married Paul, it tugs at your heart when she asks him, "What if you didn't fall in love with me?"

"But I did," Paul said tenderly. And then he showed his love in wonderful ways -- as they stood by each other, handled challenges and sparked chemistry as a couple. Not in a sappy, trite way. But with savvy joy that can be experienced in any mutually-supportive marriage. If you seek a role model, Julia and Paul can be your love guide.

What about the blogger and her husband?

Julie Powell's blogging adventure had connected her to online readers (including her mother) while she reported on the results of a preparing a Julia Child recipe each day.

At one point, Julie asked her readers if anyone's out there paying attention to her. Having blogged for a year, I've often wondered that myself. This is a tender nudge for you to start a dialogue and make a meaningful connection with people you're getting to know online.

After month's of Julie's blogging had stolen her focus and energy from her husband, she had to decide whether to change her priorities to save their relationship. It's an authentic love test that most couples face in an enduring relationship. The love lessons they learn from this experience will make you question how your choices and priorities affect your relationship.

Can you recall any recent Hollywood films that portray the emotional depth and enduring passion in a happy marriage?

I can't. So there's another reason I'm recommending that you go to the theater and savor this tasty treat. You'll also send Hollywood a message of support to keep making glorious, grownup love stories.

I hope you'll see this film as a love guide to spark up your relationship.

Copper Cookware Bowls - Make the Highest, Fluffiest Egg Whites Ever! You Won't Believe Your Eyes!

Copper cookware bowls are rumoured, if used properly, to produce the highest, and most fluffy, whipped egg whites the world over. In fact, the type of cookware bowl that you use does indeed make a huge difference to the results of your whipping frenzy. Less known is the fact that different copper cookware vendors put out different quality bowls. Even lesser known, however, is that it's not just the bowl, but how you whip it, what you are whipping, and just what you whip it with, that produces that amazing result we all yearn for: that mountainous, super fluffy white mass of egg whites that looks like delicate floating clouds all stuffed together in your little whipping bowl.

To get the highest quality results, you will need the following:

1. Recipe ingredients

2. A quality whipping tool

3. A quality copper cookware container, like a copper bakeware bowl, from a reputable company

4. Whipping technique

That's a lot of things just for whipping egg whites (or whatever it is you are whipping). But each one is essential to get the best possible result.

Obviously, if you have cheap ingredients to begin with, you're not going to be producing the best result. You will need fresh eggs or egg whites, that are have been removed from the fridge and allowed to settle to room temperature.

For your whipping tool, you just need to be sure you have the right tool for the job. Obviously you'll likely choose a whisk, but note that there are different whisks for whipping different things. Get a balloon whisk if it's just pure egg whites.