Salted Hot Chocolate for One

If you wanted to make it for more than one,just multiply the recipe as needed.

You'll need:
Milk (and cream if you wish)
Chocolate Chips
Kosher or Sea Salt
Vanilla (optional)
Whipped cream (optional)
A whisk

Fill the mug you plan on using up, most of the way, with milk (or a mixture of 75% milk and 25% cream if you want it really rich).
Pour measured milk into a small sauce pan, over medium heat.
Measure out a handful of chocolate chips (about 1/4 cup).
Place chocolate chips into heating milk.
Add a large pinch of kosher salt and whisk.
If you have vanilla powder handy, add a pinch and continue to whisk until the milk just begins to boil, turn off the heat.
Pour into cup, garnish with whipped cream, and an additional sprinkle of salt.
Enjoy, but don't burn your mouth (Sorry, I always need this advice because I always do!).

Chocolate Covered Salted Toffee Almond Matzo

I was looking for matzo cookie recipes and came across this recipe from about.com and adapted it to create a super delicious treat.  I'm even posting it early to give you a chance to make it before Passover is over, because it is really amazing.  It tastes very much like a Skor bar, which is one of my favorite candies ever. It is relatively easy to make and I hope you will!

Matzo Brie

It's Passover and that means there is a bounty of yeast-free products to be bought.  Passover lasts for a week, so after it is over, you can buy discounted Matzo (a big cracker made of just flour and water) and use it throughout the rest of the year (as long as it lasts) to make all sorts of safe goodies including thin-crust pizzas, stuffing, and Matzo brie, which is the Passover equivalence of French toast, only it can be made sweet or savory, and it is one of my favorite applications for Matzo. 

Although the pancake shape of this is easier, as pictured, it can also be agitated like scrambled eggs for a loose brie (pronounced so it rhymes with try).

Cream Puffs

Pate a Choux (pronounced patty-shoo) is the French name for cream puff dough. Cream puffs are one of the quintessential French desserts.  Using this recipe you can make eclairs and cream puffs, as well as funnel cakes (by simply deep frying the piped batter in hot oil).  Fillings can vary from sweet, like the banana foster variation in the picture, made by mixing mashed banana and caramel syrup with whipped topping and freezing, and covering with a caramel sauce thickened with powdered sugar or a traditional ice cream and chocolate topping, to savory, by filling with cream cheese mixtures or even chicken or tuna salad.   Whatever, they are delicious and a great bread-like option.


Should your puffed shells have a habit of falling, poke the side of them with a tooth pick as they are removed from the oven to allow the air inside to cool more quickly.

Kinda Mom's Thai Noodles

This is my version of my mom’s Thai Noodles.  They are a favorite of mine.  I always make more than I need because the leftovers make a great lunch.  Wonderful with grilled shrimp or chicken satay.

Meringue Cookies

The are great for holidays and are perfectly suited for Passover, which comes up in mid-April because it is mostly egg whites and sugar and love.  You can always add in extras.  The ones above have crushed peppermint sticks sprinkled over before baking, but you can add chocolate chips, cocoa, flavorings... anything you fancy, just add them in after all the sugar has been added.

One word of advice though, since you are not using cream of tartar which stabilizes egg whites (because it is made of grape skins a.k.a yeast central) make these on a day with low humidity (rainy days and meringues don't mix) and make sure your mixing bowl is absolutely free of all grease, or the egg whites won't inflate.