Easy Recipes - Chocolate Mousse

Far too many people asked for this for me to ignore it, so here is a recipe I use to make a nice chocolate mousse. This recipe, like all things I make, has a bit of room for change depending on your personal taste. However, I'll explain this along the way.

First, the ingredients:
1 pt Heavy Whipping Cream
3 T Powdered Sugar
1 12oz package Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
2-3oz Alcohol (Grand Marnier, Triple Sec and Rum are options - actual amount will depend on the alcohol content of what you are using. Higher alcohol content means you will need to use slightly more)
1t Vanilla Extract

1) Put your METAL mixing bowl and beaters in the freezer. Leave them there for at least one hour, preferably overnight. Using a cold bowl and beaters will help maintain the fats in the whipping cream and keep you from making butter instead of whipped cream.

2) In a manner that works best for you, begin to melt the package of chocolate (save a few of the chips for a garnish, if you wish), Vanilla Extract and your alcohol of choice (I typically use Grand Marnier to make a nice Orange-Chocolate Mousse, but even Triple Sec will work. Use Rum for a different flavor, or try something else if you're feeling brave). I typically place all these ingredients in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 15-second increments. Always start on the light end of the spectrum with regard to the alcohol of choice (because you can always add more, but can't take it away). There is a chance that your chocolate may end up looking like this:



This melting chocolate is lumpy and dull in color because it needs more fluid

I actually took the picture specifically to show the problem  of chocolate seizing up. This will happen if there is a fluid in the mixture, but not enough to adequately saturate the chocolate solids and sugar in the chocolate. If you add a bit more liquid, you can get this:



Isn't it shiny and pretty?


You'll notice that I have a few small bits of solid chocolate still in the mixture. Instead of using a whisk for a perfectly smooth mixture, I prefer to use a fork to leave the small chocolate bits - it gives a bit of textural intrigue. If you don't like it... well, use the whisk.

3) Pour your heavy whipping cream and powdered sugar into the chilled mixing bowl and use the chilled beaters to begin to aerate the mixture. Start on the lowest setting until you generate a fair bit of froth, then turn up the power to one of the highest settings. Since the cream is warming up the entire time it is outside the fridge, you want it to get light and fluffy as soon as possible. It should look like this:

Whipped Cream... you can just do this step if you just want fresh whipped cream, excellent on Strawberry Shortcake

4) Pour 1/3 - 1/2 of the whipped cream mixture into chocolate mixture and stir it. You want to get it fully integrated, it will help lower the temperature of the chocolate and get it to a similar consistency of the whipped cream.

5) Take the remaining whipped cream and FOLD it into the cream/chocolate mixture. You don't necessarily need to COMPLETELY mix it, but get it decently put together.

6) Place the mixture in the refrigerator and let it set for at least 4 hours. Trust me, it will get better the longer you let it set. If you don't let it set all the air will leave the mousse. It will deflate and it will be almost too rich to eat.

7) I like to serve the mousse in wine glasses (when I don't decide to sit down and inhale the bowl in one sitting). I wrap the rim of the glass with wax paper to prevent chocolate smears and lightly fill the glass. This is a VERY rich dessert and you don't need much to be satisfied. Feel free to add the chocolate chips, if you held on to them.

Isn't it pretty?

It should go without saying... Enjoy!

Things I Am Thankful For - Kitchen

The main thing associated with November here in the US is Thanksgiving - a time to recognize all the things we are thankful for in our lives (like a nice climate - take that, Canada!). Well, as I was cooking today I couldn't help but notice a few things in my kitchen that I readily take for granted. I figured I would share these with you guys because they are things that I feel everyone needs in their home.

1) Wax Paper
With so many uses and applications it's a small wonder that more people don't use wax paper. Not only is it useful to keep things from sticking while preparing them, it can be used to keep things from getting very messy indeed. Need to knead a particularly sticky bit of dough? Try wax paper. Icing cookies with a less than skilled hand? Try wax paper. With it's ability to prevent just about any mess from getting out of hand, the only sad thing is that starlets like Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears didn't discover it sooner! Y'know, because they're a mess...

2) Minced Garlic
Now I realize many garlic purists are likely wanting to nail me to the wall for saying this (and possibly literally, garlic puritans are some crazy people...), but I believe a jar of minced garlic is something that every household needs. It's amazingly simple to use, inexpensive and keeps for a very long time. Mine fits nicely in the top shelf of the door of my refrigerator and I use it for so many things. Garlic mashed potatoes are undoubtedly one of my all-time favorites since they're good by themself but usable in so many other situations.

3) Instant Rice
With the winter season upon us, my crockpot is certainly getting a fair bit of usage in making nice soups and stews... but I'm not exactly the most consistent of cooks. Most of the things I make are made with a knowledge of what goes well together and an understanding of how to fix things if they don't end up exactly the way I like. (Afterall, isn't this what Alton Brown advocates in Good Eats? Not a knowledge of recipes, but a general understanding of how food behaves?). Well, sometimes my soups/stews end up a bit more watery than I would like... and instant rice is remarkably helpful with this. Simply add a small amount to the soup until it is the consistency you like. No need to wait for flour to cook off, no need to even make a roux. With instant rice, you can have a watery soup fixed in mere minutes (okay... in the temp of a crockpot, 10-15 minutes realistically. Still, something has to be said for the benefit of throwing rice in and walking away!).

4) Instant Mashed Potatoes
Anyone who makes Instant Mashed Potatoes as Mashed Potatoes deserves to be shot. Mashed Potatoes are entirely too simple to make, so you should make them right. However, Instant Mashed Potatoes are very useful in thickening gravies, just like the rice above helps thicken broths. I particularly like to use instant mashed potatoes with homemade brown gravy and cream of mushroom soup to produce an amazingly thick and rich gravy that is PERFECT for Shepherd's Pie (not traditional, I know... but I firmly embrace my ability to take foods and make them my own). I also like to use them to make Salisbury Steak, and I've even tried them in meatloaves. :)

5) Cajun Seasoning
Not everything you cook has to be Cajun, per se. A good cajun seasoning is basically salt, peppers, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder and a few other things depending on the mix. This stuff is exceptional and can help make even the blandest of foods have a little life to them. A small sprinkling won't necessarily register as Cajun cooking, but merely create a bit of intrigue. There is next to nothing you can't use this on if the desired end-result is nice and savory.

Onward, and Upward... but mostly Onward...

So it would seem that I am once again questioning the direction of my blog... There are so many possibilities and it seems to be simply oozing in all directions and I'd really appreciate if it had a more clarified sense of purpose.

I do, of course, love my opinion posts. They take a little less work on my part, and people seem to appreciate the sassy humor that finds a way into my writing. However, I also love my crafty/how-to posts. A bit more effort, but actually worth reading and including pretty pictures. I like to think that I am more than a bit talented in the way of cooking/plants/crafts, and humor a small romantic notion that my blogs on these topics will lead to me becoming the next Martha Stewart-esque character. :)

So, let me know what you think! Oh, and sometime this week I will prepare an awesome orange-chocolate mousse. It should be picture-heavy... :)