Grind your own chocolate

I'm a big fan of the fancy hot chocolates that come from coffee shops--the ones with little shavings of chocolate and a big dollop of whipped cream on top of the actual drink. With the Chocolate Mill from Williams-Sonoma, I can add those little tastes of chocolate to drinks at home. Using the Chocolate Mill is just a matter of loading it with the chocolate chunks of your choice, holding it over your drink, and turning the hand crank. You can choose chocolate a little more out of the ordinary than the typical milk chocolate most coffee shops seem to use, too. Dark chocolate, or even white chocolate, work just as well as the Chocolate Mill cranks out paper-thin shavings of chocolate. It's perfect for adding a finishing touch to desserts and candies, as well as hot drinks.

The Chocolate Mill does require a little hand-cleaning, although you can store chocolate in it, rather than emptying it out and cleaning it after each use--just as you might leave peppercorns in a pepper grinder indefinitely. However, it's probably best to store the chocolate mill in your refrigerator between uses. The mill is priced at $35.