Deborah Harrell wrote:
Mauro "the gourmand" Diotallevi
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
My wife says that nutmeg goes with everything. But
I personally have always
enjoyed mixing sweet with hot and spicy. Think
mango and chipotle peppers
together, for an example, or papaya and cayenne. Or
the mixture of
chocolate and various peppers in mole.
<shudders> Sorry, I have tried mole several times and
found it very unpalatable; maybe it just wasn't
prepared correctly. But mango-chipotle salsa sounds
delicious!
How about salsa made with peaches? (Nicest use of peaches I can think
of -- I'm very much un-fond of them in cobbler, frex!)
If you are adventurous, try a dash of Trappey's Red
Devil Sauce in your
cocoa. Or a mixture of green chillies, ginger,
coriander, and cumin, like
you might find in an Indian curry -- I would leave
out the onions, garlic, tomato, and ghee :-)
You *are* skating on the edge of sanity, sir; I wish
to _enhance_ the flavor of cocoa, not mangle it. ;)
My years-ago trial of fresh ginger in tea with milk
was tongue-curdling; how do you mix ginger and milk
without that? Or is it a matter of amount, or using
powdered ginger instead of fresh?
Well, the thought of candied ginger plus milk is revolting. (I've eaten
a lot of candied ginger for medicinal purposes -- it can help with
morning sickness, and I had that in spades with my second pregnancy.)
Ginger snaps with milk are delightful.
I'll extrapolate that it would work better with powdered ginger. :)
If you are really
adventurous, puree some soy milk,
butternut squash, peanut butter, and curry powder
and mix a little of that in with the cocoa.
Hmm, interesting. That sounds like it would go better
with ginger instead of cocoa; perhaps I'm more of a
purist than I thought...
I'm with you on ginger vs. cocoa with all that!
Changing gears a little, if you're not planning to
go anywhere, a splash (or
more!) of a fruit-flavored mead would go nicely with
the cocoa. A
blackberry mead should work well, or a mead with a
bit of oaky flavor. You
might also want to try a good, sweet Canadian
icewine -- the ones from
Ontario are the best in the world. For an extra
warming effect, try the
mead or icewine without the cocoa!
Kahlua. Frangelica. Bailey's.... MMmmmmmm...
(But not appropriate before heading out to the barn.
Trust me.)
I like having something minty in my cocoa. :)
And of course, any sweetener added to any of these
should be pure cane sugar.
Why? Sucrose ought to be sucrose, whatever the
source.
Debbi
Apparently Less Discriminating Tastebuds Maru :)
1) Someone might [shudder] add non-sucrose sweetener.
2) Maple sugar or brown sugar is going to add flavor overtones that you
probably don't want with your cocoa. (Maple sugar in coffee is another
matter entirely. Not that I've done it, but I've read about it, and the
person who tried it liked it, at least.)
Julia
_______________________________________________
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
