Hot Chocolate and Chocolate Dessert Bar

Our dear friends came to visit for the weekend—the perfect opportunity to spoil them a little.  We texted them while they were en route:  “Arrive hungry…we have LOTS of goodies for dinner and dessert!”

For dessert we had a HOT CHOCOLATE BAR set up.

I used our sons’ baby cups for the mini marshmallows and tiny chocolate chips.

Vintage napkins I turn to often, because they are so sweet.  They were a gift from my dear MIL from their years when they lived in Mexico, where my FIL was sent by General Tire. 

My iSi cream whipper was at the ready, of course, (you can read about this wonderful kitchen tool HERE), and the vintage silver cocktail shaker my mother gave me was perfect for the hot chocolate…LOVE this piece.

    Gifts from my SIL, I use these spoons often too, because I think they’re so pretty.

These sweet little sugar tongs now repurposed to serve the mini marshmallows.

And yes, we also had fruit on hand, in case we wanted to add something healthy to our dessert. :)

A not-so-mini chocolate-chocolate Bundt cake, garnished with peanut butter fudge curls and bite-size pieces for walking by and grabbing one or two, plus dark-chocolate on butter cookies, and of course, kisses.

My husband’s favorite aunt used to make peanut butter fudge for us, but now that she’s gone he’s happy to have found an excellent substitute at Krema.  Krema is local, but they ship everywhere.  You won’t go wrong with them, I promise.

And other walk-by treats.

But this was the BEST part…our family gathered together to spend time with our friends.

Our friends are so sweet.  They love everything we do to make their visit special, and they enjoy EVERY.SINGLE.DETAIL.  That makes it so much fun! 

What do you do when you have guests?  I’d love to hear your idea of pampering guests for our future visitors. 

I’ll be posting the recipe for my Espresso Hot Chocolate soon. ~~

Cake stand – Crate and Barrel, several years ago, a gift from my cousin

Mugs – House Beautiful, Marshall Field’s, years ago

Spoons – 1847 Rogers Bros., Columbia

Sugar tongs – Vintage Forbes Silver Co.

Cake plate – gift from my MIL many years ago; Dome – Bombay Company

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Best Whipped Cream--Ever!

My favorite holiday secret weapon in the kitchen?  My iSi Cream Whipper!  It never fails that when I serve this whipped cream my "taste testers" R-A-V-E about it! 

Plus it's a cool, cool gadget (pardon the pun :) ).

I have the Mini Whip, which holds 1/2 pint of cream.  Don't be misled by the "mini"--according to the iSi website, it makes
about 2 1/2 cups of whipped cream.  I'll trust the folks at iSi on how much it makes, because I've never run short.
 2 1/2 cups of whipped cream is a lot of {DELICIOUS} whipped cream.

With these yummy ingredients, how can it not be DELISH???

Here's the "recipe":
1 pint whipping cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Add all ingredients to the container.

If you would rather serve CHOCOLATE WHIPPED CREAM (!!!)
simply add 2 tablespoons Hershey's Cocoa Powder to the recipe above,
and you have a delicious mousse!



The secret is in the "chargers"--that give the cream its volume.
(And I DO mean secret--I don't know what the chargers contain, but they surely do the trick!)



And it really IS this easy...
1 - Add your ingredients
2 - Attach the charger (and the spout)
Well...there is one more step--shake a few times, and...
3 - ...Serve!

Serve and impress!

Now, wouldn't you just LOOOVVVE to find one of these under the Christmas tree this year?
Or better yet, why not gift it to yourself before the holidays, so you can use it at every party?

Thanks for stopping by.  Please leave me a comment to let me know you were here—I read every single one of them!  They encourage me and inspire me.  And if you like what you see a lot J, maybe you’d like to +1 this post too!  Thank you!

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and

 StoneGable for On the Menu Monday

 Designs by Gollum for Foodie Friday

Sweets for a Saturday at Sweet as Sugar Cookies

Mandy’s Recipe Box

The Shabby Creek Cottage

Chocolate/Peanut Butter Chex Party Mix

Our baby granddaughter, Ava, turned 4 on Saturday.  To celebrate (and help Mom out), I offered to make a Chex Mix for her kiddie party.  I saw Mary's recipe for a Halloween version of Chex Party Mix HERE, and that started me thinking...

But first things first.  I'm her grandmama, so I HAVE to  share a picture of the party girl first.

Now do you understand why we're crazy nuts in love with her?  :)

Okay, on to the recipe...

So while at the store I decided that chocolate and peanut butter would be yummy, so I ended up making my own recipe based on Mary's as a guide, and it was a hit!

Ingredients:


6 cups Rice Chex cereal
1 cup Toll House/Nestle dark chocolate morsels
1 cup Reese's peanut butter chips
1 cup Reese's Pieces
(You could use M&Ms in the "right" color for the given holiday, but Reese's was perfect for a fall party.)
1 can mixed nuts
2 cups mini pretzels, broken in half



• Line 2 cookie sheets with foil or wax paper
• In a bowl large enough to hold 3 cups of the Rice Chex melt the chocolate morsels in the microwave for about 1 1/2 minutes on High.
• Stir the chocolate to make sure it's completely melted.  Microwave in 15-second increments if it's not.
• Add 3 cups of the Rice Chex to the melted chocolate, and mix carefully, using a spatula until the cereal is well covered.
• Spread chocolate-covered cereal in a single layer on one of the cookie sheets, and refrigerate for at least 5 minutes, or until well set.

• Follow the same steps with the peanut butter chips, using the remaining 3 cups of Rice Chex.



It was cold enough out that I was able to set them out on the screened porch, instead of
shuffling things around the refrigerator.

• When the chocolate and peanut butter are well chilled, break them up into bite-size pieces into a large bowl.
• Add the Reese's pieces, nuts, and pretzels to taste.  Mix well.
• Serve or store in airtight container.

¡Buen provecho! (that's bon appétit in Spanish, which is what we say at our house before every meal.) 

Tell me, do you follow recipes to the letter, or do you use them as a guide and let your imagination (or what’s in your pantry) run free?

Thanks for stopping by.  Please leave me a comment to let me know you were here—I read every single one of them, and they encourage and inspire me.  And if you like what you see a lot J, maybe you’d like to +1 this post too!  Thank you!

I’m joining the following parties; please visit them.

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Naptime Creations

The Shabby Creek Cottage