Cioccolato!

Cause, you know, Giada says everything with an exclamation point! So I should, too! Right?

Right, but first. First I have a bit of a confession to make. Remember back in the day (way back to like, 2006)? When Facebook was still sort of like MySpace and there were all of those quizzes floating around? Quizzes that answered your most gut wrenching questions... like:

"Which Dave Matthews Band song are you?" Gray Street
"Which Sex and the City character are you?" Miranda
and "Which Food Network Star are you?" Erm. Yeah...

I got Giada. But I kind of cheated because the questions were things like, "Which ingredient do you use most?"

a. The good vanilla
b. Mozzarella
c. A stick of butter
d. A can of condensed soup

It was totally skewed, and you guys can easily identify each of the ladies they were hinting at. A monkey could. A monkey that watches lots of Food Network, that is. And I do use mozzarella more than those other things. Plus, I'd have died if I ended up being matched with Sandra the Antichrist, died.

Meanwhile, it's Chocolate week at IHCC, (how'd that for a transition, teach?) which had me hunting for recipes to satisfy my constant craving for chocolate (shit, now I'm singing K.D. Lang. WTF.)  I found this chocolate rice pudding recipe and had just enough Arborio rice left for two servings. It calls for zest of course, but something about orange and chocolate always makes me want coffee, which makes me think of Zoolander, Orange Mocha Frappucinos, and poor Rufus,  Brint, and Meekus dying in a freak gasoline fight accident. I'm sorry if you have no idea what I'm talking about.


Mocha Rice Pudding for Two
adapted from this recipe on Food Network

Ingredients:
2 1/2 c. whole milk
1/3 c. Arborio rice
1/3 c. sugar
1 tsp. espresso powder
1 tsp. orange zest
1 Tbls. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

Preparation:
Stir milk, rice, and sugar in a heavy pot, over medium heat until combined. Scrape seeds from the vanilla bean into the mixture, drop in the vanilla bean, and bring  to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to a low simmer and cook for 35-40 minutes until thickened, stirring frequently. Remove vanilla bean and discard. Stir in orange zest, espresso, and cocoa powder. Cool for ten minutes. Spoon into small bowls and serve warm or refrigerate for up to a day before serving.

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Love an empty bowl.