We do old fashioned cocoa in this house.
1tbsp cocoa powder
1tbsp sugar (I prefer brown)
a generous cup of milk.

I heat the milk on the stove and mix the powders with a bit of milk to form a runny paste before mixing it in the milk. Add vanilla, Bailey's, peppermint extract, etc. for fun.

Have you tried the Schokinag Drinking Chocolate? It's pretty tasty.

I've found you can make an easy cup of very rich chocolate by melting down chocolate pistoles or a high-quality chocolate chips with some milk in a saucepan. Delicious, simple, and you can use the pistoles or chips in other recipes, too.

Caster sugar is called "superfine" over here, and is not called for nearly as often as regular granulated sugar and powdered/confectioners' sugar. Does that help?

My grandmother always had instant cocoa -- but she was famous for "doctoring" all of her recipes. She usually bought the generic hot cocoa mix, but would stir a few teaspoons of powdered coffee creamer into the mix before adding the hot water. It always made really creamy cocoa.

What I like better than using the G&B powder is breaking up half a Maya Gold bar into milk and heating it up while frothing with a whisk.

Also, Ibarra's Mexican hot chocolate (as far as I'm concerned, it has to be Ibarra.)

It's called Playboy: The Complete Centerfolds!! I know, right? I kill me!

http://www.amazon.com/Playboy-Complete-Centerfolds-Robert-Coover/dp/0811860590

On first skim through I was a bit disappointed. Too much princess girly-girl stuff. I loved the Dangerous Boys book. I spent hundreds of hours engrossed in a similar book of everything from my mother's childhood. I distinctly remember the dinosaur section with the illustrations in shades of black and pink.

I was thinking I could pair the book with something from the book, supplies for an activity or specialized tool mentioned somewhere.

I'm glad to read that I'm not the only one who finds this charming. Now I'm reconsidering it as my gift. Is it general interest enough to appeal to women from 23-81?

Just like to give you a tip. Recently I spent way too much on a can of "drinking chocolate" at Whole Foods. I'll admit it is good, but it was only looking at the label that tipped me off that I'd overpaid. The little curls inside the can were nothing more than shreds of dark chocolate. So, just get yourself whatever kind of dark chocolate you like (bar, chunk, whatever form) and melt it in milk for a rich, and cheaper, "drinking chocolate."