My American ex-pat friend Judy Witts Francini lives in Certaldo, halfway between Florence and Siena, where she teaches classes at her Divina Cucina Cooking School.

I have to share her recent post of a decadent recipe for cioccolato caldo , hot chocolate that’s as thick as a pudding because it contains an obscene amount of melted bittersweet chocolate. Just looking at her photo of a mug of cioccolato caldo— set against the backdrop of snow that Tuscany’s been pelted with— warms my spirits.

Judy credits the recipe to Leonardo Vestri who has a chocolate/gelato shop in Florence. He sometimes spikes it with a pinch of hot pepper which is the way Judy likes it. I can’t wait to sip some by the fire! How about you?