Get a spicy kick with chilaquiles, hot chocolate

Place chile slice in a cocktail shaker and using a muddler or the back of a spoon, pound and crush to release flavor and heat. Add tequila, blood orange juice, lime juice, and agave simple syrup. Fill cocktail shaker with ice, cover, and shake thoroughly to combine. To remove jalapeño seeds, double strain mixture by pouring through the cocktail shaker strainer and a small wire mesh strainer into a rocks glass filled with ice. Garnish if desired and serve immediately.

*Straining the blood orange juice to remove the pulp creates a more concentrated flavor and a smoother juice.

**To make agave simple syrup, combine equal parts agave nectar and boiling water. Cool and store in refrigerator until ready to use.

In a wide skillet, bring salsa, broth, and cream, half and half, or crema to a boil.  Add chicken or beans, red bell pepper, and tortilla chips, mixing gently to coat each chip while simmering. In 1 to 2 minutes, when some of the chips have moistened and begun to break up, but others are still holding their shape, add cheese. Continue stirring gently for another minute to distribute cheese evenly. 

Add avocado, onion, and cilantro and stir well to distribute. Cook for 1 minute, just to heat through, and then remove from stovetop and divide among 4 warmed plates. Top with a fried egg and serve immediately, accompanied by lime wedges and/or sour cream, if desired.

To make the diablo salsa: On a hot burner, grill, or under the broiler, char the habaneros, tomatillos, and tomatoes until slightly blackened and soft. Add olive oil to a sauté pan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic cloves and sauté until golden brown. Combine all cooked vegetables in blender with cilantro, water, and salt. Blend until smooth and taste and adjust seasonings as necessary.

Combine milk with spices, orange zest, and sugar in a large heavy saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar, until milk just starts to bubble around the edges (scalding). Lower heat and cook 10 minutes. Remove from heat and strain spice-infused milk into another large heavy pot, discarding spices. Add chocolate and rum to milk. Cook gently over low heat, whisking briskly until chocolate is completely melted. Serve immediately accompanied by cinnamon marshmallows, if desired.

Place 1/2 cup cold water in the large bowl of an electric mixer. Sprinkle gelatin over the surface of the water and set aside. Place sugar, corn syrup, honey, and salt and the other 1/2 cup water in a heavy 1 1/2- or 2-quart saucepan over moderately low heat. Stir until sugar is dissolved and mixture comes to a boil. Cover for 3 minutes to allow any sugar crystals on the sides of the saucepan to dissolve. Uncover, raise heat to high, insert a candy thermometer, and let syrup boil without stirring until temperature reaches 240 degrees F. Do not overcook. Remove from heat.

Beating constantly at medium speed, pour hot syrup slowly into gelatin mixture. After all syrup has been added, increase speed to high and beat for 15 minutes until mixture is lukewarm, snowy white, and consistency of whipped marshmallow. Add vanilla, cinnamon oil, and ground cinnamon a few minutes before the end of beating. During beating, occasionally scrape bowl with a rubber spatula. The marshmallow will thicken and become sticky. If mixture crawls up on the beaters as it thickens, carefully wipe down with a rubber spatula.

For large marshmallows: Pour slightly warm and thick marshmallow mixture into a hotel pan lined with parchment paper that has been coated with a sprinkling of powdered sugar. Smooth top of the marshmallow. Let stand uncovered at room temperature for 8 hours or overnight. Sift powdered sugar generously onto a large cutting board to cover a surface larger than your pan. Invert the marshmallow over sugared surface. Remove pan and peel off paper. Strain powdered sugar generously over top of the marshmallow and cut with scissors into cubes, dusting with more sugar as needed.  

For miniature marshmallows: Combine equal parts powdered sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Line 4 half sheet pans with parchment paper and dust with powdered sugar mixture.  Scoop marshmallow mixture into a piping bag fitted with a 1/2-inch round piping tip. Pipe marshmallow strips onto prepared sheet pans lengthwise, leaving about 1 inch between each strip. Sprinkle tops with enough of remaining powdered sugar mixture to lightly cover. Let strips set for 4 hours or up to overnight.  Cut strips into 1/2-inch pieces using a pizza wheel or scissors dusted with powdered sugar mixture.  Once cut, lightly dust all sides of each marshmallow with remaining powdered sugar mixture and store in an airtight container or plastic bag for up to a week.