I'll admit I haven't gotten into too many different brands of chocolate beyond Hershey's. Well, OK, I love Lindt and Ghiradelli, but those are the mainstream (yet terrific) gourmet chocolates. I'm talking about the more exotic chocolate pleasures that many of us don't try. Here are some gift ideas for the chocoholic on your list who might want to try something a little bit different.

Vosges has a rather intriguing selection of chocolates, brownies, cakes, and ice creams. At first I thought it was some sort of art site or perhaps a fashion site. Godiva has some nice baskets and other gifts.

It's really chilly here in the Northeast. I love the cold weather, it's just that the first big chill of the season can be shocking, especially since we had such an oddly warm October. This is the first time I had to turn on the heat this fall.

So how about some hot chocolate? Having a nice hot mug of hot chocolate on a cold evening is one of the great things in life. Here's a recipe for Easy Mexican Hot Chocolate (which includes cinnamon and chili powder) and here's one for Avenue' S Hot Chocolate (though I've never had Valrhona chocolate). Here's one that uses coffee from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, and Jamie Oliver has one he calls The Best Hot Chocolate. I wanted to try this recipe for Hot Cocoa and Homemade Marshmallows from Tyler Florence last year but didn't. I'll correct that this holiday season (though I have to admit I'll probably go with packaged marshmallows or Fluff instead of making my own).

So you have to work tomorrow, how about one more drink tonight before you go to bed?

This is the Chocolate Kiev. I'm not a big vodka drinker (ever since drinking too much in one night many years ago), so I'm not familiar with vanilla vodka, but this one sounds like it has a good kick but enough chocolate sweetness too.

Chocolate Kiev

1 oz hot cocoa mix
4 oz hot milk
1 oz vanilla vodka
3/4 oz Amaretto

Combine in a mug, and stir well.

As if anyone needs a holiday as an excuse to eat chocolate!

Today is National Chocolate Day, and I thought that instead of having one post where I mention the day and list some recipes I'd do a bunch of posts that have to do with chocolate the entire day. So expect recipes, facts about the history of chocolate, maybe even some posts on things that you can make out of chocolate. I'll let you know what I find. Tune in throughout the day for more.

Mmmm...chocolate.

So I was drinking a nice hot cup of Dunkin' Donuts hot chocolate the other day (probably one of the last of the season as the damn temps keep going up and up), and I noticed their newish logo (on the right). It needs work.

I mean, I love the slogan, "America Runs On Dunkin'." It's not only catchy, but it firmly establishes DD's national presence very quickly. And the logo is a clever idea. But let's take a look at the four panels one by one and see if we can make the logo even better.

• It's winter. Eat some stew.
• A look at five different Boston area bakeries.
• The Plonk of the Month? New wave Spanish reds.
• We've been talking a lot about hot chocolate/cocoa this week, now the Globe taste tests a bunch.
• Anthony Bourdain and Mario Batali are raving about a new book about Marco Pierre White.
• Speaking of books, how many cookbooks do you own?
• This week's recipes: Double-Vanilla Sour Cream Pound Cake; Maani Gyros; and Italian-American Meatballs.

• From three cookbooks, one each about hot chocolate, potpies, and coffee cakes: Recipe: Ancient Aztec Cacahuatl, Blueberry Streusel Coffee Cake, Italian Picnic Potpie, Extremely Flaky Sour Cream Crust, "Keep Your Heart Pumping" Hot Chocolate, and Turkish-Style Mocha.
• It seems the haute new trends for 2007 in the supermarket are all about service, local, and ethnic.
• The Taste of the Town is Italian, with a special nod to Enza Sorrentino who opened Sorrentino Trattoria and Pizzeria with her son.

We already had a brief discussion about the worst holiday foods and responses included canned cranberry sauce and fruitcake. But it's no fun to dwell on the negatives when you're supposed to be celebrating and spending time with your family, so why not think about the best holiday treats instead? What are those foods that you look forward to all year?

When it comes to store bought treats, peppermint bark and chocolate covered graham crackers always seem to be readily available, but the best holiday foods come from home. Here are some suggestions from around the blogosphere for holiday favorites that should make your menu this year:

• Jelly donuts, a.k.a. sufganiyah, are a standard for Hanukkah celebrations
• I'm partial to oven baked latkes myself, but purists will want theirs fried in oil.
• You can make homemade peppermint bark and use it (or store bought) to make Chocolate Peppermint Bark Cookies
• Fudge is an easy to make homemade candy that looks great out on the dessert table.
• Gingerbread fans can choose from regular gingerbread, chocolate gingerbread, gingerbread men or spicy ginger cookies.
• Eggnog takes many forms, as well. It can be a drink, pancakes or even cheesecake.
• The Bûche de Noël, simply known as a "yule log," is a classic, chocolatey Christmas dessert that consists of a rolled, filled cake that is covered with a chocolate frosting and shaped to look like a log.
• Last but not least, we have the crowd-pleasing homemade marshmallows. Don't forget to serve them with hot chocolate!

Starbucks is supposed to serve their kids sized drinks at about 20 degrees less than their standard temperature, putting those drinks at about 140F or so, which is hot, but not incredibly so when you consider the size of the cup and the fact that they are often topped with an inch or more of cold whipped cream, as this particular drink was. The baristas can make it at a lower temperature if requested. A high percentage of parents test the temperature of their kids' drinks by taking a sip themselves, but Ms. Brennan only subjected the drink to a visual inspection before handing it to her daughter. A small child holding a drink of any kind in the backseat of a moving car, especially if he or she is small enough to have to be confined to a car seat, sounds like a recipe for disaster, regardless of whether the drink is hot or not. The parents are, of course, seeking (unspecified) damages.

Jonathan was exactly right to point out that hot chocolate season is just picking up and, of course, there is no better way to get it started than with some new ideas for making some at home. Hot Chocolate: 50 Heavenly Cups of Comfort is a book full of indulgent renditions of a favorite treat, featuring high-quality chocolates and many twists that will keep the drink interesting night after night. At the beginning of the book there is some basic information to start you off on the right track, such as an overview of the basic types of chocolate and a reminder that cocoa is, in fact, good for you - just in case you were having any second thoughts about some of the richer recipes. The drinks include regional recipes, such as Ecuadorian Heirloom Hot Chocolate, spirited recipes that include Mint Julep Hot Chocolate and Hot Chocolate Nog, and ones that are just plain delicious, like Peanut Butter Dream Hot Chocolate, Vanilla Hot Chocolate and Classic American Hot Chocolate.

Don't forget the marshmallows!

I really like hot chocolate and cocoa, now that the weather here in the northeast has started to turn chilly I'm ready to make myself a huge steaming cup for a mid-day pick me up. I've tried all the regular powders and syrups like Swiss Miss and Hershey's and find them lacking in real flavor. Slashfood has covered some of the premium hot chocolates before and written up Real Simples best picks. I've even tried some of the high end mixes like Jacques Torres Wicked Hot Chocolate which is quite good, but at around $18 for 8 servings it's more than I like to pay, especially since my large antique cocoa mug holds three servings.

My hot chocolates of choice are the myriad of excellent and affordable Latin American products. They aren't powders or syrups but instead specially made blocks of melting chocolate with a hint of salt and sugar crystals and spices like cinnamon. They don't taste too great eaten out of hand, but when you melt them in hot milk or water they are superb. Try them both ways for a completely different experience. I heat up the milk or water and drop the chocolate into the blender and add the liquid, then blend until mixed and foamy. I also like to make them Mexican style with the addition of a dash of cayenne and maybe some Penzy's real Ceylon or Vietnamese cinnamon. (The cinnamon sold in the US is in actuality Cassia, a similar spice but with a slightly different taste than true cinnamon.) More after the jump.

When I want to keep my coffee or tea warm, I do one of three things: I drink it quickly, keep it in an insulated mug or stay reasonably close to the microwave so I can reheat it if necessary. I don't think that I would ever get to the point where I needed a drink warmer like the one pictured here. This set has two main components: a frosted glass mug and a zinc cup holder/warmer, which has a space for a tea light. It also includes the stainless steel stirring spoon/drinking straw pictured with it.

It looks a bit like a fondue set, doesn't it? Clearly, you would have to regularly stir your drink to prevent the bottom from scalding, particularly if you're drinking a dairy-based beverage.

I would rather just drink my hot cocoa quickly if the only reheating option seemed like a fire hazard.

Mariebelle's new Iced Aztec Chocolate has been getting a lot of press lately, which is not surprising given that it is a product from the chocolatier famous for their wonderfully rich Aztec Hot Chocolate. Finding a way to make hot chocolate into a summertime drink takes some ingenuity - or does it?

Apparently not.

It turns out that the new drink still has to be prepared with boiling water to fully dissolve the chocolate before being combined with ice. This is somewhat disappointing because the very name suggests that "iced chocolate" might be able to start and finish cold, with no heating required. With no further explanation on their site, this seems to indicate that it is simply a repackaging of their standard product with some new instructions. At least they didn't raise the price with the repackaging ($22/ 20-oz), but don't feel the need to rush out and try this if you already have some of the hot chocolate mix in your cupboard.