Mousse au chocolat basque

Last week my cousin and I were talking about different kinds of foods.  To make a long story short, she confided in me that she'd never had French food.  Having lived in France and learned from a very skilled French woman how to cook a variety of things, I was stunned!  How can anyone never have had French cuisine?!? 

Worse yet, how could I not have introduced my family to a cuisine that I love?

Off we went a week later for dinner at a local French restaurant recommended by friends.  We enjoyed a good meal that ended with our sharing of a mousse au chocolat and a lemon tart.

I was disappointed by the mousse au chocolat.  It felt "puny" in my mouth and had no oompf or texture.  Yes, I know that "mousse" means "foam" but I'm used to mousses that are silken and creamy, not airy and meh.

Mousse gets its texture from the air bubbles suspended in a sweet medium.  You can use whipped cream or egg whites when making a mousse au chocolat.  Most recipes I see for mousse use whipped cream, which I don't think provides that unctuous creaminess you want from a mousse.

Here's my favorite recipe for mousse au chocolate, taken from French Cooking: Traditional recipes for the contemporary cook, the first French cookbook I ever bought.  This cookbook deserves a look because the traditional French recipes are expert at showcasing local and seasonal ingredients. 

Turns out that the amount of chocolate is variable depending upon your taste... or memory.  I didn't consult the book before delving in and used just half of the chocolate.  And I forgot the butter.  But a friend at the dinner party said, "I would sell children for this."  High praise.

Use a high quality chocolate because its flavor will be in the limelight.  The recipe scales up easily, just remember this ratio -

1 egg : 2 ounces chocolate = 2 servings

My counter has a slight bullnose on it.  I whip out the pounder thingy and whack the crap out of the chocolate while it's still in the package.  Way easier than chopping it.

I'm submitting this as a Dark Days Challenge recipe because it uses just 3 ingredients: butter, eggs, and chocolate, any 2 of which are easy to get locally.

MOUSSE AU CHOCOLAT BASQUE
This rich mousse is silken, dense, and decadent. A little goes a long way, helping to keep portion sizes small.

(Yes, the girls' eggs really are that bright orange!  Booze is all optional.)

6oz semi-sweet chocolate
1 tbsp water
1 tbsp butter
3 eggs, separated, room temperature
(optional) 2 tbsp liqueur of choice

When you separate the eggs, make sure to remove the chalaza, that white squiggly thing attached to the yolk.  You don't want someone who is in the middle of a foodgasm to stop and pull a funky white thing out of their mouth.  Believe me - this happened to me once.  Moussus interruptus is bad mojo.

Break or chop the chocolate and put into a microwaveable bowl with the water.  Zap for 30 seconds, then stir well.  Zap longer if needed to melt but don't burn the chocolate.

Allow to cool slightly then add the butter, egg yolks one at a time, and the optional liqueur.

Beat the egg yolks into submission.  I had to do mine by hand because I got rid of my hand mixer last summer.  Can I count that toward my exercise regime?

Gently... gently... fold the egg whites into the chocolate one third at a time.  Don't try to get an even color throughout: doing so will release too many of the bubbles trapped in the egg whites.

Pour the mousse into your desired vessel(s) and chill overnight.  I did one that was with Grand Marnier and another with the brandy I'd soaked my currants in for the Christmas Stollen.  The original recipe suggests rum and I've also seen people use Chartreuse, which is from the region where I lived.  On a side note, my friend is the head guide for the Chartreuse aging caves.  It's an acquired taste but good once you've acquired it!

I promise you that this will be the best chocolate mousse you've ever had.  I once made it for friends in France and they asked me for the recipe.

Be a Maven of Marshmallows

My brother loves - LOVES - hot cocoa.  Every year for Christmas he gets a massive supply of cocoa mixes because a) he's hard to shop for and b) it's a can't-miss gift for him.

As you can imagine, when I saw this book on TV a couple of years ago I knew he had to have it.

When it arrived, I poured over it... and kept it.  Sorry, Jason.

I haven't made many of the recipes but I do have a few favorites.  This was when I tried my first homemade marshmallow.

When people find out that you've made homemade marshmallows, they usually have one of two reactions.  Some people will say, "Ugh, I can't stand marshmallows".  This recipe has converted many - though not all - a hater.  The rest of people fall into the second category of disbelief and amazement: "omg you can MAKE those at home?  You're incredible!"

I love the second group!

So, without further ado, here's a recipe that will bring you in the realm of domestic diva.  Start to finish it'll take about 30 minutes.  It's quasi-dangerous so I wouldn't allow children in the kitchen during the making of the marshmallow.  They'll love to help cut and coat the end product with powdered sugar, though.

MARSHMALLOWS

Ingredients
Three 1/4-ounce envelopes of unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup cold water
3/4 light corn syrup
2 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup hot water
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp pure vanilla (see note at bottom)
Powered/confectioner's sugar

Equipment
Cooking spray
8x8 or 9x9 glass pan
Large heatproof mixing bowl
Hand mixer
Heavy saucepan
Candy thermometer
Heat-proof rubber spoon
Plastic cutting board
Pizza cutter
Small bowl

1. Spray 8x8 or 9x9 dish liberally with cooking spray.  Don't be shy because the candy is VERY sticky.

2. In a large, heatproof mixing bowl, combine the gelatin and cold water, stirring to mix.

3. Heat the sugar, corn syrup, hot water, and salt in the sausepan over med-high heat, stirring until it comes to a boil.  Stop stirring, put in the candy thermometer, and heat to 240 degrees,

4, Pour mixture into the gelatin.  Using mixer, whip until mixture doubles in size.  It smells kind of wet-doggy at this phase.  Fold in vanilla extract when it's done.

(Side note: I didn't like how my Kitchen Aid mixed this and will go back to a hand-mixer next time.)

5. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan.  Allow it to cool and set overnight, uncovered.

I made a double batch and did some pink peppermint marshmallows, too.  They turn plain old hot cocoa in holiday in a cup.

6. Powder the cutting board with confectioner's sugar and turn the marshmallow out onto the cutting board.  Using the pizza cutter, which you can coat in sugar as well, cut into squares and toss with powdered sugar.  store in air-tight container.

NOTE: Use a high quality vanilla because it's the only flavor these will have besides "sweet".  If you want to make peppermint marshmallows, which I love, use just 1 drop of the extract at the same time as the vanilla.  Believe me on this: any more than a drop of peppermint extract in these will have you running for the faucet.  I like to use red food coloring to make them pink so that I can tell them apart without opening the containers. 

If you cut with a round biscuit or cookie cutter, the marshmallows will turn out bell-shaped due to the way the  "dough" cuts.  It's a cool effect and is even prettier with chocolate drizzled over them.  I've also thought of rolling them in cocoa but never have.

I've found that these keep for quite a while, though they do get grainy eventually.  It doesn't bother me but some people might not like it.

Portland, Oregon

Portland is one of my favorite cities to visit.  The city is clean and easy-to-navigate, and offers a reprieve from the Washington sales tax that's quickly approaching 10%.

Hubbie and I have made multiple forays south over the years for wine-tasting trips, his first marathon, a business trip, and an ancient Egyptian art exhibit.  I'm headed down soon for a conference, after which Hubbie will join me for the weekend.

Here's where we're staying.

Check out this bar, called The Urban Farmer!  My brother laughed at me and said that only I would get excited about a hotel that uses jars of food as decorations.  Somehow I doubt that assertion.

No trip to Portland would be complete without a pilgrimage to Powell's Bookstore.  The place is a giant warehouse that's so huge you can get maps.  Every time I go I hotfoot it to the French section, as theirs is the best foreign language selection I've ever found in the States.  If we have time I'd like to go check out their location that only carries home & garden books.

A couple of visits ago we discovered Mother's Bar & Bistro.  Hubbie asked me yesterday if we could have breakfast there.  Ummm, heck yeah!  Everything we've ever had there has been nothing short of spectacular.  It doesn't hurt that they keep a giant slushie-type machine filled with adult beverages.

We're looking for new ideas for our time in Portland.  Do you have suggestions?  If not Portland, what's your ideal weekend getaway and what would you do with it?

Squash & Windows

A few of my yellow squash got away from me:

Oops.

The front garden is going gang-busters.  I dug up a 5-gallon bucket of potatoes recently and tonight we'll have the gorgeous head of broccoli that is looking perfect.

Last weekend I spent many hours refurbishing one of the original double-hung sash windows in our 1924 Craftsmen home.  It's not done yet - I still have to replace the glass and paint the frame - but it's now 100% functional.  That's more than I can for any other window in our entire house.  Most of the other windows can open a little but not all the way.  My next project will be to get them all to 100%.

Should you ever wish to tackle such a project, I highly recommend the book "Working Windows" by Terry Meany.  (Disclaimer: Mr. Meany doesn't know who I am nor do I get a dime for endorsing the book.)

I'll post pics as soon as we can locate the battery charger for the camera.  I know I saw it around somewhere...

Some Like It Hot

My parents gave us a spice rub from Costco about a year ago and to be honest, I just gave it away.  It was very salty and the spices were, well, boring.  It had pepper and something red - probably paprika - but no oomph, nothing to blow your skirt up.

Not so with this spice rub.  The salt is but a minor player in this recipe, singing back-up to the Aretha, Mariah, and Christina of the spice world: pepper, chili powder, and cinnamon.

When I first made this recipe, it was because I had all the ingredients.  This time I had to go get many of the spices.  Rather than buy bottles of spices, which would make this ridiculously expensive, head for a grocery store that sells bulk spices (Fred Meyer has these) and get just what you need.

In a bowl, mix together the following:

• 
  
  1/4 cup kosher salt
• 
  
  2 T coarsely ground pepper
• 
  
  1 T ground coriander
• 
  
  3 T ground cumin
• 
  
  2 T each: paprika, dried thyme, *chili powder (see update below re: chili powder)
• 
  
  1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 
  
  2 t ground cinnamon

This is what it looks like.  I wish you could smell it.

The sugar caramelizes on the meat as it cooks and the spices blacken.  It's spicy but oh-so-good!

The recipe suggests these marinating times:

• shrimp/scallops - 15 mins
• chicken breats & thighs - 30-60 mins
• beef & lamb - 60 mins
• pork chops & tenderloin - 45-60 mins

I bet if you mixed this with some yogurt and marinated some chicken in that, it would be delicious and tender.  Try it, and tell me what you think!

And anytime you're marinating over an hour, put it into the fridge.

**UPDATE**

My neighbor told me that the 2nd batch of rub didn't have the same kick as the first one.  I may have used cayenne pepper instead of chili powder.  Make it per the recipe & add some cayenne if you want it spicier.

Dressed to Grill

A few years ago I was in Metropolitan Market - it might have still been Queen Anne Thriftway at the time - when I happened upon a book signing.

A cookbook signing.

A grilling cookbook for women.

I bought it and made a few things from it, including a spice rub.

And then it languished on my bookshelf for the next 8 years.  It moved from my townhouse to my house, where sat neglected and forgotten because I'd discovered other sources for recipes.

A couple of weeks ago this little cookbook came back into my life.  My neighbors' freezer had thawed - their kids had left it open during an Otter Pop dash between video games - and they brought us some deer steaks, imploring us to eat them.  I remembered the ancient tub of spice rub in the back of a drawer, pulled it out, and sprinkled it all over the venison.  We took it back to them later than day for a BBQ.

They oohed, aahed, and exclaimed at the deliciousness of the rub.  Reaching back into my memory, I recalled where I'd gotten the recipe - you guessed it: it came from "Dressed to Grill".

So I dusted off the book and have been making some of its recipes again. 

The first thing I made was the spice rub and took a fresh batch next door.  I'll post the recipe for you tomorrow.

My favorite cookbook

This is my favorite cook book.  I use it constantly.  Can't remember the ratios for pesto or macaroni salad?  Need a scone recipe that doesn't start with "chill 2 pounds of butter"?  Want ideas for an interesting glaze on the Thanksgiving turkey?  Going to make a batch of blueberry muffins?  Got promised to bake cupcakes or brownies?  Just searching for something different?

I've battered it, splattered it, crinkled, and relied upon this book so much that it has earned a permanent spot on the kitchen counter.

When in doubt, I whip this book out.  It's well-written and includes nutritional info...

 ...is diverse and nicely organized...

...and has appropriate pictures but way more recipes than pics.

There's a whole section about 5 pages long on possible substitutions.  I'm all about switching things up, you know.

The incredible index is something like 20-pages long.

Just check out the section on souffles!

If you ever have the chance to pick up this book, do so.  It's a fantastic resource in so many ways.  There have been new editions that have come out since this one was published in 2000 but I haven't strayed from this, my first love.

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I didn't get paid, promised life-long house-cleaning, wined, dined, or sexed-up for this post about my favorite cook book.  Absolutely nuttin', honey.  I bought this book myself about 10 years ago.  Cooking Light doesn't even know who I am because I dropped my subscription in a time of economic woe and now regularly steal my mother's.

Cylons, Homer, and honeybees

NOTE: I started this post on Thursday and didn't get to finish it because Gene was hounding me to watch Battlestar Galactica with him.  Who am I to deny him a Cylon fix?

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 After working in higher education for the past decade, I'm used to being the one to stand waving while others walk away.  So it was really weird yesterday to be the one heading toward something new and leaving others behind. 

My staff team took me to Serafina for an adieu lunch.  As we stared at the menus, slack jawed about the drool-inducing descriptions, Krista proudly pointed out the top line that said that the restaurant sources their food locally.  She had even selected the restaurant for that reason!  Thanks, Krista!  Lip-smackin' deliciousness ensued: English pea soup followed by butternut squash ravioli with sage butter and crushed hazelnuts.

As a good-bye gift, my team gave me a very cool apron, 2 books, and a set of nesting bowls made of recycled metal containers.  Granted, the "Fast Actin' Tinactin" bowl is a wee bit odd, but the orange juice and striped turpentine bowls are way cool.  They've all found a new purpose in my new office.

Nancy Gardener has been recommending this first book for ages and I had never gotten around to getting it.  Funny how that works, eh?

Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades: The Complete Guide to Organic Gardening by Steve Solomon

The second book has a picture of a bee hive on the front. The lure of urban bees is getting stronger each year.  I even figured out where to put them: on the flat roof of our back porch.  Too bad Gene is allergic.

Fresh Food from Small Spaces: The Square-Inch Gardener's Guide to Year-Round Growing, Fermenting, and Sprouting by R. J. Ruppenthal

I have a feeling how I might be spending my newly found 10 hours each week.