S'more Shooters

With the holiday gluttony and new year celebrations behind us, most people are detoxing and making resolutions. But, I say, fuck that shit. We should live life to the fullest every day, not just during the holidays.

I've been thinking about how people only celebrate on "special" occasions. They only use great-grandma's good China once or twice a year, they are saving that expensive bottle of wine for the perfect moment, or they only take time to visit family & friends during the holidays.  The problem with saving something for a special occasion is that the occasion may never happen. Life is a fickle bitch, and she'll smack you upside the head when you least expect it. I learned this very quickly when my mom suddenly dropped dead at age 47 (sixteen years ago this month).

Last week, my oldest and bestest friend lost her house in a fire. Luckily, she and her family were out of town at the time, so they are all safe. But, they've lost pretty much everything they owned. I can't even imagine this kind of devastation. Of course, contemplating the "what-ifs" is the worst thing (the fire seems to have started in the middle of the night, in the basement underneath their 10-year-old son's room, a room which was completely destroyed by the flames).

This has made me think a lot of my life and the things I am grateful for. Overall, I am pretty damn lucky, and I should appreciate what I have. I need to just celebrate good life in general.

So, I'm going to break out my Waterford champagne flutes for Sunday morning mimosas. I'm going to keep in contact with my family more often. And, I'm going to indulge in little treats like S'more Shooters for no special reason at all:

Makes 12

12 large marshmallows or 35 mini-marshmallows

1 cup half & half

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1 ½ cups whole milk

¾ cup amaretto

½ cup graham cracker crumbs

Bacardi 151 or other flammable liquor

1.  In a small saucepan, bring the half & half to a boil. Place the chocolate in a medium bowl. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate & stir until melted.

2.  Return the chocolate to the pot & whisk in the milk. Over medium heat, bring to a simmer & stir in ½ cup of amaretto.

3.  Pour the remaining amaretto into a small bowl. Place graham cracker crumbs on a small plate. Dip the rims of shot glasses into the amaretto, then the crumbs.

4.  Transfer the hot chocolate to a measuring cup with a spout and fill the shot glasses. Top each with one large marshmallow or three mini-marshmallows, and pour a tablespoon of 151 over each class. Ignite with a lighter to toast the marshmallow. Blow out before drinking.

5. Say a toast & drink up!