Every week I write an article and give you a recipe or some hints on how to cook or prepare something. Often enough, the recipe is something a friend has given me that they and all their friends really like and think that my readers will too.
Every once in a while I will write an article on some type of drink; usually a summertime fountain drink that I made years ago working at an ice cream shop. Recently, I happened to be sitting at Gold Coast with Bob and a few other friends that also happened to be up there were really going on and on about some kind of drink. OK, yes, we were sitting near the back bar on the ARC level. You probably had already guessed this was going to be an article about a drink just by the title.
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“While out skiing around at Squaw, if you ask any of the locals where to have a drink, they will immediately reply, ‘Go see Mona.’ ”
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It seems most bar drinks just somehow end up with weird names. This bar is Mona’s bar. No, that’s not the name of the bar. It is literally “Mona’s bar.” Oh yes, there probably is an official Squaw name to it. It was the waterfall bar but they took out the waterfall, so I really don’t know what it’s called now except Mona’s bar. Wait, who’s Mona?
If you ever watch movies, one of the stars might be the hotel concierge and everybody that stays in that hotel knows that person by name and in fact, stays there because of that concierge. Or, if it is a bar scene, everyone knows that certain bartender and they are the draw for that movie. Well, meet Mona. While out skiing around at Squaw, if you ask any of the locals where to have a drink, they will immediately reply, “Go see Mona.” She is at the top of list when it comes to bartenders; keeping up with drinks that would normally require at least two or three bartenders. I did see one time that there was a frown on her face. It happened when the sun came in the window unexpectedly and caught her right in the eyes. It only lasted that second while she squinted and then the Mona smile was back.
Anyway, I really didn’t want anything but finally when she mentioned the hot chocolate, I cracked. “Wow,” is the only thing that came out of my mouth. I am a chocoholic and that carries right over to hot chocolate and this was by far the best hot chocolate drink ever. It seems that most drinks have their special times: an ice cold beer while watching the game or an umbrella drink on a hot summer day. Hot chocolate is one of those drinks that you really want on a cold, snowy day. It just seems to warm you up from the inside out, so if you happen to be skiing on a cold, snowy day and we have had a ton of those this year, stop by and say hello to Mona and try her hot chocolate.
If you want to make it at home, here are the ingredients in order of how much of each to use. Mona had the ratio pretty set so all the ingredients complemented each other with none of them being to overpowering. That’s exactly what I talk about when cooking. As with my food recipes, play around with the amounts to suite your own tastes and enjoy.
Stabbin Cabin
Hot chocolate
Bailey’s
Amaretto
White rum
Whipped cream
Add a little of each liquor at a time to taste and top with the whipped cream.
Smitty is a personal chef specializing in dinner parties, cooking classes and special events. Trained under Master Chef Anton Flory at Top Notch Resort in Stowe, Vt., Smitty is known for his creative use of fresh ingredients. To read archived copies of Smitty’s column, visit chefsmitty.com or TheTahoeWeekly.com. Contact him at tmmsmitty@gmail.com or (530) 412-3598.
