Winter has made a comeback in the Northeast today. We're supposed to get 8 to 10 inches in my area, so I'm in one of those "hot chocolate, read a book, watch some DVDs on the couch" sort of moods, so I thought I'd post a hot chocolate recipe.

But this isn't just for one cup of hot chocolate, it's a mix you can store so you don't have to keep making one cup at a time. I've been meaning to try the recipe that Tyler Florence made on one of his holiday shows on Food Network a while back but I haven't. This one comes from Epicurious.com and it has a hint of vanilla (or maybe it's more than a hint, who knows). It makes 24 servings.

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).

Hot Drinks for Cold Nights: Great Hot Chocolates, Tasty Teas & Cozy Coffee Drinks is all about finding the perfect drink to keep you warm when the weather is somewhat less than temperate. The book covers recipes that are both classic and unusual, alcholic and non-alcoholic, and a selection of treats to serve with the drinks as after-dinner noshes. Orange-Scented hot Chocolate and Green Tea Cappuccinos are just two of the many options in this volume. Just about every recipe can be prepared in quantities to serve to guests or just by one cup at a time to indulge yourself.

Although this book is titled specifically mentions night as being the best time for hot drinks, there is nothing with having a few of the (non alcoholic, preferably) drinks to get your day started in the morning, either. Tea is at least as good with breakfast as coffee, and hot chocolate is good any time.

So today is not only Valentine's Day, it's also a great day for hot chocolate (for much of the country, anyway...you stay classy San Diego). So let's combine the two and see what we get.

And that would be Hot Chocolate Cones! They're cocoa, mini marshmallows, mini chocolate chips, and a red gum drop placed inside cone-shaped cellophane wrappers. Makes a cool gift:

3/4 cup cocoa mix
two 6" x 12" cone-shaped cellophane bags
2 clear rubberbands
scissors
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
3/4 cup mini marshmallows
1 large red gumdrop

All sorts of safety issue plague parents and children these days. Playground equipment and activities are carefully monitored and toys are painstakingly screened, especially if, unlike video games, they involve movable parts that the kids might play with too vigorously, thus injuring themselves, or eat, injuring themselves further. When it comes to food, most safety issues have to do with concerns about food allergies, but perhaps in light of the burns allegedly caused by Starbucks hot chocolate in the hands of a very small child, some groups are looking to ban hot drinks altogether, rather than supervise their consumption.

The Pat-a-Cake Playgroup, which meets at a library in Rawmarsh, South Yorkshire in England, has been "banned from serving tea and toast on health and safety grounds." The risk for burns is, apparently, far to high for the city council's liking, so the parents running the group have been told that they cannot boil water in the room where children are present, and that adults must drink their hot drinks in a separate area, far from the children, if not a separate room entirely.

As you can imagine, the parents are considering disbanding the group to escape from the oversight of the council before they demand that children be outfitted in protective gear at all times to avoid papercuts.

Fall and winter are my favorite seasons, and one of the reasons is because I love the idea of sitting on my couch, in front of a roaring fire, reading, while cupping a hot drink in my hand. OK, so I don't have a fireplace, so it's usually the television. But still, a cold night and a warm drink is something I cherish.

That drink is usually a hot cup of tea. I've never been big on hot alcoholic drinks. Not because I don't like them, but because I can't be bothered with making something hot. But with the weather turning cold (finally!), the recipe after the jump, The Kathy Madison, is something I'll try, even though I'm not a big bourbon fan. Maybe the apple cider and ginger will overpower it enough for me.

Burning your tongue on a hot drink is no picnic, but burning it while drinking from an insulated commuter mug is worse. Not only does the cup disguise the temperature of the beverage it contains, making you more likely to subject your tongue to overly-hot drinks in the first place, but they do not allow drink not cool down fast enough to prevent repeat burns. Combine that with a morning commute in rush hour traffic and you will probably discover the source of many cases of "road rage."

Fortunately, there is a cup that offers a solution. The Tip and Sip Cup keeps coffee hot at up to 205 degrees, which is the temperature that most coffee is brewed at. When it is tipped (for a sip), the coffee passes into a patented Temperature Control Chamber, which lowers the temperature of the coffee to the "Perfect Zone" of 150-170F, leaving you with a satisfying swig of coffee and no burns. The triple function lid has a spill-proof lock setting and a regular "sip" setting that bypasses the temperature control chamber, in addition to the cooling function.

It is available in raspberry, lime, orange, forest, black, or blue and is priced at $19.95. The cost of never burning your tongue again? Priceless.

[via book of joe]

Hot cocoa (or hot chocolate) has to be one of those drinks (or food recipes in general) that everyone does a little differently. Some people just buy the packages at the supermarket and just add some hot water. Some make those brands with milk. Some make it with milk and add their own special touch, like adding bits of real chocolate or a pinch of cinnamon. Some add marshmallows, some don't. I don't think any two people make it the same exact way.

I'll admit that I don't go overboard in my hot cocoa-making. I usually use Swiss Miss or Ghirardelli and add it to some milk that I have in a pan (make sure you stir it a lot so it doesn't burn, and don't bring it to a boil!). But Tyler Florence has his own hot cocoa recipe that I'm going to have to try. I've been looking for a more creative way to make it, and this seems interesting.

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.

Here in Southern California, the days are still quite warm, but the nights are certainly getting chilly and there are few things that will warm you up - whether it is 50F or -5F - like a piping hot drink. Some Like It Hot: 50 Drinks to Warm Your Spirits is a book of nothing but drinks that will keep you feeling good no matter what the weather is like. It has recipes for both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, and the selections range from classics like Hot Buttered Rum and Eggnog, to Swedish Glogg and sleep-inducing Malted Milk. Since it's not quite time for snowy weather, it's great that the book includes a whole section on fall drinks. They really embrace the spirit -and flavors - of autumn. The fall drinks include Pumpkin Portion No. 9, S'more Meltaways and Witches Brew, which sounds like a must for Halloween.

With only 50 recipes, this book isn't a long one, but the pictures will get you craving the drinks and you might just find yourself whipping up a drink or two after dinner, rather than going for a full dessert.

I am addicted to tea, but I don't drink it during the summer. I know, I know, there are many that will tell you - particularly in England, I bet - that drinking tea year round is not only the right way to do it, but really the only civilzed thing to do. I hear that, but it's just too hot and humid for me here in Massachusetts during the months of June, July, and August to drink anything hot. I also think it's a bit of defiance: I truly hate summer (no joke), and when fall rolls around I truly get a lot happier, so I think that I stop drinking tea not just because it's too hot to drink it in the summer, but also because I want to have something that, for me, marks the beginning of cooler temps.

And now that week has come! Starting September 1, I'm going to start drinking tea again. Sure, summer is not "officially" over yet, but Labor Day always marks the end of the summer for me. Besides, while it's not cold yet, there's been a definite shift in the temperature here. Not nearly as humid. You can feel it in the air. So, tea is back for me.

I know, this isn't exactly the type of news you'd see on the news crawl on CNN, but I thought I'd share.