Cooking with Toby: hot holiday drinks for everyone’s tastes

This archived article was written by: Toby Foster

With the end of the semester coming, most everyone is heading home for winter break. I know for more than a few people on campus that means returning to the frozen north. So to do my share in keeping everyone alive, I have put together a few drinks to warm your bellies. These will all be non-alcoholic since this is a dry campus and I have no experience mixing drinks. Also all of them can be scaled up to make for family get togethers or scaled down for just one person.
One of my favorite drinks to have in winter is hot apple cider. My brother-in-law turns his into wassail, but I have never really liked it all that much. It has pineapple juice in it and I have not liked pineapple since I was 8. I do, however, enjoy a good spiced cider. The way I make it takes some time and preparation, but is delicious none the less. To make a full batch you need two quarts of apple cider. If you want to you can make a smaller batch though just do the math to divide it down. I also prefer to make it in a crock pot, but a normal pot will work just fine. For an optional garnish, you can put a cinnamon stick in the glass just for the appearance.
This one is for the more adventurous people. When I was in southern Arizona, I went to the Farmer’s Market and found a vendor selling chili water. I know this one is not a “hot drink,” per se, but the heat feels real enough. Chili water is originally a Hawaiian drink, however the variation that I am familiar with carries a heavy Southwestern influence. Plus, it is not just for drinking; it can be used for cooking rice and pasta or added to tomato paste to make and easy enchilada sauce. If you do plan to use it for cooking, you will need to cut everything down to smaller pieces and not strain the chili water either.
Finally, I have a twist on a classic. White hot chocolate was something that I started out with no idea how I was going to get it to work, but then started my research and saw it is probably the easiest one to make out of these recipes. If you have access to a double boiler, I would recommend using it. A double boiler is used for recipes that burn easily and this one uses half and half, so it is at risk of being scorched if too high of heat is used. If you wish to garnish this one you can grate some milk chocolate on top of it or use a peppermint stick as a stirrer. These will have a small affect on the taste and will depend on the individual if they are for the better or worse.
Chili Water
Put the water a bowl and the ginger, serrano peppers, chile pequins, dried rosemary, and salt. Cover and let steep at least for eighteen hours. Add the rice vinegar then strain and refrigerate.
Spiced Apple Cider
Take a coffee filter and put the cinnamon, cloves, allspice and nutmeg into it then tie it closed with some thread. Bring the cider to a boil in a pot then reduce heat to low. Put the coffee filter into the cider and simmer for ten minutes. Turn off the heat and remove the spice filled filter and stir the honey.
White Hot Chocolate
In a small sauce pan heat the half and half over medium low heat stirring constantly with a whisk. Heat until small bubbles start to form around the edges. Stir in the white chocolate chips and continue on heat until completely melted. Remove from heat and stir in nutmeg and vanilla. Ladle into mugs and top with whipped cream.
With the end of the semester coming, most everyone is heading home for winter break. I know for more than a few people on campus that means returning to the frozen north. So to do my share in keeping everyone alive, I have put together a few drinks to warm your bellies. These will all be non-alcoholic since this is a dry campus and I have no experience mixing drinks. Also all of them can be scaled up to make for family get togethers or scaled down for just one person.
One of my favorite drinks to have in winter is hot apple cider. My brother-in-law turns his into wassail, but I have never really liked it all that much. It has pineapple juice in it and I have not liked pineapple since I was 8. I do, however, enjoy a good spiced cider. The way I make it takes some time and preparation, but is delicious none the less. To make a full batch you need two quarts of apple cider. If you want to you can make a smaller batch though just do the math to divide it down. I also prefer to make it in a crock pot, but a normal pot will work just fine. For an optional garnish, you can put a cinnamon stick in the glass just for the appearance.
This one is for the more adventurous people. When I was in southern Arizona, I went to the Farmer’s Market and found a vendor selling chili water. I know this one is not a “hot drink,” per se, but the heat feels real enough. Chili water is originally a Hawaiian drink, however the variation that I am familiar with carries a heavy Southwestern influence. Plus, it is not just for drinking; it can be used for cooking rice and pasta or added to tomato paste to make and easy enchilada sauce. If you do plan to use it for cooking, you will need to cut everything down to smaller pieces and not strain the chili water either.
Finally, I have a twist on a classic. White hot chocolate was something that I started out with no idea how I was going to get it to work, but then started my research and saw it is probably the easiest one to make out of these recipes. If you have access to a double boiler, I would recommend using it. A double boiler is used for recipes that burn easily and this one uses half and half, so it is at risk of being scorched if too high of heat is used. If you wish to garnish this one you can grate some milk chocolate on top of it or use a peppermint stick as a stirrer. These will have a small affect on the taste and will depend on the individual if they are for the better or worse.
Chili Water6 cups hot water (not quite boiling)
1 inch peeled, chopped ginger root
2 serrano peppers (stem removed & quartered
1 4 oz. package of dried chili piquin
1 1/2 tbsp dried rosemary
1 tbsp salt
2 tsp rice vinegar

Put the water a bowl and the ginger, serrano peppers, chile pequins, dried rosemary, and salt. Cover and let steep at least for eighteen hours. Add the rice vinegar then strain and refrigerate.
Spiced Apple Cider
Take a coffee filter and put the cinnamon, cloves, allspice and nutmeg into it then tie it closed with some thread. Bring the cider to a boil in a pot then reduce heat to low. Put the coffee filter into the cider and simmer for ten minutes. Turn off the heat and remove the spice filled filter and stir the honey.
White Hot Chocolate3 1/2 cups half and half
11 oz. white chocolate chips
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp vanilla
whipped cream

In a small sauce pan heat the half and half over medium low heat stirring constantly with a whisk. Heat until small bubbles start to form around the edges. Stir in the white chocolate chips and continue on heat until completely melted. Remove from heat and stir in nutmeg and vanilla. Ladle into mugs and top with whipped cream.With the end of the semester coming, most everyone is heading home for winter break. I know for more than a few people on campus that means returning to the frozen north. So to do my share in keeping everyone alive, I have put together a few drinks to warm your bellies. These will all be non-alcoholic since this is a dry campus and I have no experience mixing drinks. Also all of them can be scaled up to make for family get togethers or scaled down for just one person.
One of my favorite drinks to have in winter is hot apple cider. My brother-in-law turns his into wassail, but I have never really liked it all that much. It has pineapple juice in it and I have not liked pineapple since I was 8. I do, however, enjoy a good spiced cider. The way I make it takes some time and preparation, but is delicious none the less. To make a full batch you need two quarts of apple cider. If you want to you can make a smaller batch though just do the math to divide it down. I also prefer to make it in a crock pot, but a normal pot will work just fine. For an optional garnish, you can put a cinnamon stick in the glass just for the appearance.
This one is for the more adventurous people. When I was in southern Arizona, I went to the Farmer’s Market and found a vendor selling chili water. I know this one is not a “hot drink,” per se, but the heat feels real enough. Chili water is originally a Hawaiian drink, however the variation that I am familiar with carries a heavy Southwestern influence. Plus, it is not just for drinking; it can be used for cooking rice and pasta or added to tomato paste to make and easy enchilada sauce. If you do plan to use it for cooking, you will need to cut everything down to smaller pieces and not strain the chili water either.
Finally, I have a twist on a classic. White hot chocolate was something that I started out with no idea how I was going to get it to work, but then started my research and saw it is probably the easiest one to make out of these recipes. If you have access to a double boiler, I would recommend using it. A double boiler is used for recipes that burn easily and this one uses half and half, so it is at risk of being scorched if too high of heat is used. If you wish to garnish this one you can grate some milk chocolate on top of it or use a peppermint stick as a stirrer. These will have a small affect on the taste and will depend on the individual if they are for the better or worse.
Chili Water
Put the water a bowl and the ginger, serrano peppers, chile pequins, dried rosemary, and salt. Cover and let steep at least for eighteen hours. Add the rice vinegar then strain and refrigerate.
Spiced Apple Cider
Take a coffee filter and put the cinnamon, cloves, allspice and nutmeg into it then tie it closed with some thread. Bring the cider to a boil in a pot then reduce heat to low. Put the coffee filter into the cider and simmer for ten minutes. Turn off the heat and remove the spice filled filter and stir the honey.
White Hot Chocolate
In a small sauce pan heat the half and half over medium low heat stirring constantly with a whisk. Heat until small bubbles start to form around the edges. Stir in the white chocolate chips and continue on heat until completely melted. Remove from heat and stir in nutmeg and vanilla. Ladle into mugs and top with whipped cream.With the end of the semester coming, most everyone is heading home for winter break. I know for more than a few people on campus that means returning to the frozen north. So to do my share in keeping everyone alive, I have put together a few drinks to warm your bellies. These will all be non-alcoholic since this is a dry campus and I have no experience mixing drinks. Also all of them can be scaled up to make for family get togethers or scaled down for just one person.
Spiced Apple Cider:
2 quarts of apple cider
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp allspice
3 tsbp honey
Take a coffee filter and put the cinnamon, cloves, allspice and nutmeg into it then tie it closed with some thread. Bring the cider to a boil in a pot then reduce heat to low. Put the coffee filter into the cider and simmer for ten minutes. Turn off the heat and remove the spice filled filter and stir in the honey.
Hot White Chocolate