It's raining it's pouring...

The weather in Portugal has been terrible!!! we had a big storm over the weekend (lots of trees fell and many things were damaged) and it was not fun having to move around to get to work!

Although it seemed like it was going to get better, it hasn't... still a lot of rain and wind to mess up my new hair do :P

But you have to look on the positive side of things, always. So this weather always makes me think of cozy fireplaces, watching TV all day and the best part... HOT CHOCOLATE! when it's done properly it is so smooth, dense and delicious. To me the gooeyness of the drink is what makes it so appealing. Also I prefer the dark chocolate ones but through my research I've seen there is a recipe for every taste.

If you live in Porto and can't be bothered to make your own you should definitely try a hot chocolate from Casa Grande Chocolatier in Matosinhos (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pot-Bar/257946557552552?fref=ts#!/CGmatosinhos?fref=ts). It is delicious and the fact that the shop is covered in chocolate, leaving that wonderful cocoa aroma in the air, is an added bonus!

If you are feeling adventurous, and don't feel like venturing the inclement weather, why not try to make it yourself? Jamie Oliver says he as an 'Epic hot chocolate'(jamieoliver.com). With that name i would be up for trying it.

Here is his recipe:

Ingredients

• 2 pints semi-skimmed milk

• For the epic hot chocolate mix

• 2 tablespoons Horlicks
• 2 tablespoons cornflour
• 3 tablespoons icing sugar
• 4 tablespoons quality organic cocoa
• 100 g good-quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), finely grated
• 1 pinch ground cinnamon
• 1 pinch sea salt

Method

Pour the milk into a large pan, and bring almost to the boil over a medium heat.

Meanwhile, add all the chocolate mix ingredients to a large jar and give it a good shake to combine. You need around 10 heaped tablespoons of the chocolate mix for this amount of milk. Simply spoon the chocolate mix into the hot milk, give it a good whisk and leave to bubble away for a few minutes before serving. You're looking for that gorgeous, thick, almost claggy, knockout texture.

You can also find a variety of recipes on Martha Stewart's wonderful site :

http://www.marthastewart.com/874616/hot-chocolate-recipes/@center/874882/chocolate-recipes  

There is a recipe on here that caught my eye... Peppermint Hot chocolate... yummy

 source: www.marthastewart.com

Happy New Year!!!!!

I think I'm still in time to wish you all a Happy 2013!!! may the best of 2012 be the worst of 2013!

My apologies for such a big break on my posts but all the xmas work and preparation wore me off!! I hope you partied your to 2013 and that you made New Year resolutions. I made one... the only one I feel I need to follow and accomplish... To start taking risks again. Since I broke my arm I became afraid to take risks and to follow my dreams. So with all that has been going on with my life I need to change and fight for what I want!

So I will definitely keep baking and making sweet goodies for all :D

To help me grow as a baker I have started doing a cross-training in the bakery of the hotel I work for and I have been having fun and learning a lot. It's interesting to see how different professional baking is from home baking. The things you have to consider from taste, presentation and most of all how to make it easy to assemble the dessert before service. It's so different from baking a cake at home!

Well I hope I learn lots of new things so that I can apply it to my home baking.

This week I saw a photo from a good friend of mine (on facebook), who is also a home baker, and I can tell you I was very very jealous of her!!!! She has received and gorgeous pink... very pink KitchenAid!!!! one day... one day :P

source: www.google.com

And now I ask... KitchenAid or Kenwood?!