A non steak, non trout, decadent lovely delight
Also good for pooping!
My marvelous chocolate mousse: (recipe can be halved)
1. Combine 24 oz. of semisweet dark chocolate (chips, bars, whatever), 1/2 cup sugar and a little glob of butter, I suppose maybe a tablespoon or two (exact amount doesn't matter, it just makes the chocolate smoother) over a double boiler and melt.
2. Separate four eggs. Put the yolks in a GREAT BIG mixing bowl. This is important cuz otherwise you wind up dirtying more bowls cuz you're shifting to ever bigger bowls as the thing grows.
3. Whip the eggwhites half to death. We're talking STIFF AS A.....um, nevermind.....PEAKS here.
4. In a separate bowl (see why people don't make this stuff from scratch very often? It's half a dishwasher load of dishes for like six ingredients. Marry a good dishwasher, that's my secret) and with fresh, clean and absolutely dry beaters (my sister has two sets *evil grin*) whip two cups of the heaviest cream you can buy, like 40% butterfat, until it's also STIFF AS.... But beware, because it will separate and turn to butter if you overbeat. You whippersnappers probably have no idea how to make butter. Do that with the rest of your package of cream for the experience. Just whip and whip and whip. Lo and behold, a lesson in how butter is made. Give thanks for power appliances and enjoy UNSALTED BUTTER, a European delicacy.
5. Hey, I just gave you a second recipe for free. Did you notice?
6. Ahem. Now comes the splattering of the kitchen, which is another reason why so few people make mousse from scratch. Secure the dogs if they are sensitive to chocolate, which Sterling the poodle is not. Three guesses how I know this. I was really pissed when my WHOLE COSTCO BAG of Lindor Truffles mysteriously disappeared. Want a poop story?
Geeze, now I REALLY digress. Do NOT think of poop while making mousse.
7. With more freshly washed, clean, DRY beaters (you're not allowed to combine all the ingredients till the end, really, seriously, or it doesn't work; your stuff won't whip right and your mousse will be the consistency of constipation, damn I love alliteration sometimes), beat your yolks half to death. They need to be very pale little gems of vitamin A.
(The only thing you can beat too much when making mousse is the cream btw.)
8. Take a small blob, like a couple tablespoons, of the chocolate goo, which btw you have melted and stirred to the appearance of fine shiny velvet, and beat into the yolks. This is called tempering the yolks so you don't get hard boiled yellow bits in your mousse. Repeat with more blobs of chocolate goo. Once you have, oh I dunno, maybe a cup or so of the goo beaten in, you can dump the whole shivaree of chocolate into the mess. BEAT. BEAT. BEAT. (If you are like my sister's kitchen and possessed of multiple mixers, use the Kitchenaid for this, not the 30 year old hand mixer. That way you don't burn your hand when the damned thing overheats.)
9. Dump the egg whites into the goo. BEAT. BEAT. BEAT. Chad, get your mind out of the gutter. You too, Larry. Besides, Larry, you aren't cleared to eat this yet, so why are you reading?
10. Lastly, dump the cream into the goo. Yes, you got it, beat like a fiend. All this beating, besides being a great way to splatter the kitchen, is THE secret to fluffy, smooth as sin mousse.
When this marvelous mass looks like you could swim through it and never feel it because it's so smooth, stick the bowl in the fridge. Or if you just must dirty another dish, put it in a pretty dish and stick THAT in the fridge. Let the bugger set up. Remember to wash your face after you get done digging in. Three guesses how I know this. Yes, I found it out in public.
Enjoy :-). Now I gotta go to class....
My marvelous chocolate mousse: (recipe can be halved)
1. Combine 24 oz. of semisweet dark chocolate (chips, bars, whatever), 1/2 cup sugar and a little glob of butter, I suppose maybe a tablespoon or two (exact amount doesn't matter, it just makes the chocolate smoother) over a double boiler and melt.
2. Separate four eggs. Put the yolks in a GREAT BIG mixing bowl. This is important cuz otherwise you wind up dirtying more bowls cuz you're shifting to ever bigger bowls as the thing grows.
3. Whip the eggwhites half to death. We're talking STIFF AS A.....um, nevermind.....PEAKS here.
4. In a separate bowl (see why people don't make this stuff from scratch very often? It's half a dishwasher load of dishes for like six ingredients. Marry a good dishwasher, that's my secret) and with fresh, clean and absolutely dry beaters (my sister has two sets *evil grin*) whip two cups of the heaviest cream you can buy, like 40% butterfat, until it's also STIFF AS.... But beware, because it will separate and turn to butter if you overbeat. You whippersnappers probably have no idea how to make butter. Do that with the rest of your package of cream for the experience. Just whip and whip and whip. Lo and behold, a lesson in how butter is made. Give thanks for power appliances and enjoy UNSALTED BUTTER, a European delicacy.
5. Hey, I just gave you a second recipe for free. Did you notice?
6. Ahem. Now comes the splattering of the kitchen, which is another reason why so few people make mousse from scratch. Secure the dogs if they are sensitive to chocolate, which Sterling the poodle is not. Three guesses how I know this. I was really pissed when my WHOLE COSTCO BAG of Lindor Truffles mysteriously disappeared. Want a poop story?
Geeze, now I REALLY digress. Do NOT think of poop while making mousse.
7. With more freshly washed, clean, DRY beaters (you're not allowed to combine all the ingredients till the end, really, seriously, or it doesn't work; your stuff won't whip right and your mousse will be the consistency of constipation, damn I love alliteration sometimes), beat your yolks half to death. They need to be very pale little gems of vitamin A.
(The only thing you can beat too much when making mousse is the cream btw.)
8. Take a small blob, like a couple tablespoons, of the chocolate goo, which btw you have melted and stirred to the appearance of fine shiny velvet, and beat into the yolks. This is called tempering the yolks so you don't get hard boiled yellow bits in your mousse. Repeat with more blobs of chocolate goo. Once you have, oh I dunno, maybe a cup or so of the goo beaten in, you can dump the whole shivaree of chocolate into the mess. BEAT. BEAT. BEAT. (If you are like my sister's kitchen and possessed of multiple mixers, use the Kitchenaid for this, not the 30 year old hand mixer. That way you don't burn your hand when the damned thing overheats.)
9. Dump the egg whites into the goo. BEAT. BEAT. BEAT. Chad, get your mind out of the gutter. You too, Larry. Besides, Larry, you aren't cleared to eat this yet, so why are you reading?
10. Lastly, dump the cream into the goo. Yes, you got it, beat like a fiend. All this beating, besides being a great way to splatter the kitchen, is THE secret to fluffy, smooth as sin mousse.
When this marvelous mass looks like you could swim through it and never feel it because it's so smooth, stick the bowl in the fridge. Or if you just must dirty another dish, put it in a pretty dish and stick THAT in the fridge. Let the bugger set up. Remember to wash your face after you get done digging in. Three guesses how I know this. Yes, I found it out in public.
Enjoy :-). Now I gotta go to class....
NOTE TO SELF: Stop reading EN's food posts when I am at work and HUNGRY!!!! OMG, I want chocolate mousse right now!!!!! BTW, how is school going? Our classes go straight through. When one ends on a Sunday, the new one begins the next weekend.... sigh..... this planning for my old age income better be worth it!!! LOL Any NJ dinners in the works? I went to the one in Pennsville the other weekend, where we had the big group out on the side porch overlooking the Delaware.... thought of you all! Mary
DS Part 1 (VSG) 11/14/06 DS Part 2 12/18/07
HW 430 SW 400 CW 210 GW 170 Blog: lifeisgood-mc.blogspot.com
Aw **** did I miss crab leg appetizers in Pennsville while I was partying in the Rockies? BUMMER.
Lemme see what the calendar looks like. I have a gap somewhere in there according to the one syllabus I've actually read thus far.
I have a normal semester schedule like the youngsters do :-). First day was today and we'll be done second week of December or so, depending on when exams fall. Then there will be almost a month off for break and we do it all over again.
Lemme see what the calendar looks like. I have a gap somewhere in there according to the one syllabus I've actually read thus far.
I have a normal semester schedule like the youngsters do :-). First day was today and we'll be done second week of December or so, depending on when exams fall. Then there will be almost a month off for break and we do it all over again.
I make butter a lot, but I always put in a bit of fleur de sel toward the end...the best way to make butter is to use very good cream to start with, and add natural yogurt to it, mix, and leave out unrefrigerated for 24 hours before you start to whip it.
This is true cultured butter. So worth it.
ETA:
This recipe is pretty much what I do:
http://www.food.com/recipe/homemade-cultured-butter-357730
This is true cultured butter. So worth it.
ETA:
This recipe is pretty much what I do:
http://www.food.com/recipe/homemade-cultured-butter-357730
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