Let me preface this by saying that I have a severe sweet tooth. As in, if it were socially acceptable, I would drink sweetened condensed milk straight out of the can.I know, that is WRONG...........
and so is the following recipe.
(Also wrong.... is being off work for 3 days as a result of 2 inches of snow!) 
As a result of my snowed in with a toddler watching WAY too many cartoons, I bring you the sweetest hot chocolate recipe in existence. Lydia seems to approve!
Let me also preface this overly indulgent recipe by saying that I once had a perfect cup of hot chocolate, on a very cold day, in the very beautiful city of Florence, Italy. If you have never experienced Italian Hot Chocolate, you have no idea the lies that are being perpetrated on us by the companies that sell us those powdery packets that mix with WATER to make a thin sort of chocolaty drink. In Italy, hot chocolate is thick like pudding and tastes like, well, melted CHOCOLATE!!! 
I looked up the recipe today and it is basically milk, sugar, unsweetened chocolate and a thickening agent. I don't do well with measurements and directions, but I LOVE when something is simple enough to remember because it just makes sense. So I had some sweetened condensed milk and unsweetened chocolate left over from the crazy cupcake contest, and I got to thinking....Sweetened Condensed Milk (SCM) is really just thick milk and sugar. Add the chocolate and that is pretty much the recipe for Italian style hot chocolate. So, I mixed one can SCM with 3 squares of unsweetened baking chocolate. I heated them until melted. Sprinkled in a little salt and tasted it. I decided to add a little milk to thin it and you could add more or less milk to get the consistency and taste you like. Keep in mind, the Italians eat it with a SPOON!
Let me also preface this overly indulgent recipe by saying that I once had a perfect cup of hot chocolate, on a very cold day, in the very beautiful city of Florence, Italy. If you have never experienced Italian Hot Chocolate, you have no idea the lies that are being perpetrated on us by the companies that sell us those powdery packets that mix with WATER to make a thin sort of chocolaty drink. In Italy, hot chocolate is thick like pudding and tastes like, well, melted CHOCOLATE!!! I looked up the recipe today and it is basically milk, sugar, unsweetened chocolate and a thickening agent. I don't do well with measurements and directions, but I LOVE when something is simple enough to remember because it just makes sense. So I had some sweetened condensed milk and unsweetened chocolate left over from the crazy cupcake contest, and I got to thinking....Sweetened Condensed Milk (SCM) is really just thick milk and sugar. Add the chocolate and that is pretty much the recipe for Italian style hot chocolate. So, I mixed one can SCM with 3 squares of unsweetened baking chocolate. I heated them until melted. Sprinkled in a little salt and tasted it. I decided to add a little milk to thin it and you could add more or less milk to get the consistency and taste you like. Keep in mind, the Italians eat it with a SPOON! Drinking this concoction while watching yet another episode of Dora the Explorer can not compare with that cafe in Florence, but the taste (and the approaching sugar coma) are helping me not really care!
I think I might have to try this as I too have an affinity for SCM, lol.
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