Easy and Decadent Chocolate Mousse

Holy Easy Recipe, Batman!!

Seriously. It’s easy. It’s delicious. It’s decadent. It’s chocolate. Chocolate mousse.

The first time I ever had chocolate mousse was on a cruise to Cozumel, Mexico with my Girl Scout Troop and I was 14. It was drizzled with Kaluhua and oh man. It was delicious.

I had intended to make this at Christmas but I just never got around to it. So here we are coming up on Valentine’s Day and oh what a treat this would be to make for your favorite chocolate lover(s).

What you will need:

8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

2 cups of heavy whipping cream, evenly divided

24 1 ½ inch pastry shells (or make a parfait with champagne flutes)

Raspberries or strawberries for garnish

 

1. Put the chocolate chips into a 2 quart mixing bowl (glass). Bring 1 cup of the heavy whipping cream to a boil (stirring regularly) and pour over chocolate chips. Let sit for a few minutes to melt the chocolate. Stir until smooth and let cool to room temperature.
   (If it looks like it’s cooling off before fully mixed together, put about 3 cups of water into a pot on the stove, place the mixing bowl over the pot and stir. Steam from the pot will heat the bowl just enough).
    
2. While the chocolate mixture is cooling, whip the remaining heavy cream until stiff peaks form, then fold in chocolate mixture. *Be careful not to over whip or you will end up with butter.*  Pipe or spoon mousse into pastry shells. Garnish as desired with raspberries or strawberries

I folded the whip cream into the chocolate mixture and it turned out fine so I suppose it could work either way. One thing to note when folding, try to keep motion going in one direction like clockwise or counterclockwise.

The first time I made this recipe, I created a raspberry “compote” or syrup and layered into champagne flutes to make a sort of parfait. You can make the mousse ahead of time and keep chilled until you need to spoon or pipe it into pastry shells or other dish. As is with the pastry shells, it should make 24 servings…fewer if you go the parfait route.


** I will be adding a photo soon - Blogger is giving me issues **

Pistachio Balls

Easy, quick dessert that is great for those holiday parties and can be a little on the “rich” side of desserty sweetness.

I had this recipe written down somewhere on a piece of paper which now is nowhere to be found. Usually I am great about keeping up with those tiny pieces of paper – I have a box of mementos and things like movie ticket stubs. It could be in a journal or small notebook that is filled with other random things like my thoughts, budget/account balances, and old work schedules when I worked in retail.

I thought about renaming the pistachio balls to Grinch Balls because they end up a light green in color but the implications and my inner censorship board nixed that idea. Maybe it is a little 4^th grade juvenile humor but I try to stay away from wording that creates an unwanted double entendre.

Lesson learned: keep all recipes in a binder or index card box.

A short list of ingredients usually indicates the level of simplicity. If you have one that contradicts my theory, please let me know.

You will need:

1 – 16 oz. box of confectioner sugar/powdered sugar

1 – small box of pistachio pudding

1/3 cup of light cream (or just cream – I used light whipping cream and it turned out ok)

¼ cup of margarine (or butter – unsalted – I used softened butter. It was what I had in the fridge)

*Powder sugar, colored sugar, nuts, or sprinkles for decoration*

 

Combine the sugar and pudding into a medium to large bowl

Add the cream and butter

Knead/mix until the ingredients are thoroughly mixed.

Shape into 1” balls and roll in chopped nuts, sprinkles, or colored sugar as desired

 

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Makes about 2 ½ dozen depending on the size of your “1 inch”.

Roasted Garlic and Rosemary Bread

I wanted to try roasting garlic as well as make some bread so I went on an internet recipe hunt. I found two different blogs that were entertaining and easy to follow recipes for both.

For the roasted garlic, check out my previous post that includes a link to the site where I found the recipe.

This is the blog post I found for an easy rosemary garlic bread recipe to rival that of Macaroni Grill.

Rosemary Bread recipe link to My Man's Belly

I did a few things differently – possibly on accident…

For starters, I wanted to cut the recipe in half. After all, this is my first time making it and I didn’t want to “waste” the extra yeast, flour, rosemary and garlic if it turned out horrible.

I had “rapid rise” yeast packets on hand. One packet equals 2 ¼ tsps.

How did I figure this out? 1) the packet said it equaled about 2 ¼ tsps. and I know 3 tsp. equal one TBSP.

1 TBSP = 3 tsp

½ TBSP = 1 ½ tsp

So the recipe called for 1 ½ TBSP of yeast as well as salt – which equals 4 ½ tsps. Cutting that in half, I get 2 ¼ tsps.

It also calls for 3 TBSPS of fresh rosemary, halved equals 4 ½ tsps. or 1 TBSP and 1 ½ tsp.

Does your brain hurt from that entire section of fraction math we just completed? Do you have a child that struggles with fractions? Get them in the kitchen. Seriously. They are learning at the same time they are making food to eat so it will not occur to them that they are doing “Math”…but it may cause an “a-ha” moment on their next test! (Off the mini soap box)

I did not read the instructions correctly and added the salt in with the flour and rosemary instead of adding the salt in with the water and yeast. It did not seem to make a difference and this could be because my yeast was “rapid rise” and not regular yeast.

As I was trying to rough chop the roasted garlic I noticed the bits were all sticking together. So I put a small amount of the flour mixture in a small, ½ cup dish or measuring cup. As I chopped the garlic, I put the pieces into the small dish to coat them with flour so they would not all stick together. I wanted to make sure they would be dispersed throughout the bread and not end up in one large clump.

One thing I do with all my dry ingredients – regardless of what I am baking – is to stir them together and get the baking powder, salt, flour, whatever – evenly distributed. This is something I’ve always done. I don’t know if it’s all that important and I often do not see chefs on TV take this step. Maybe that’s part of the reason why many people say their baking never turns out the same as so-and-so’s…just a thought.

This bread is a “no knead” bread and does not require that you have a KitchenAid Mixer with a dough hook…though that is something on my ultimate kitchen wish list…

Sometimes your utensils make a difference. I use glass bowls to mix in and I have bamboo “spatulas” that I use because I do not have a wooden spoon to stir with (another item on the wish list).

I live in Southern California and the weather is often so nice, I never close the windows. To have a space warm enough for the dough to rise properly, I microwaved a damp sponge for about 10 seconds and then put my covered dough in and let rise for 2 hours. I did not microwave the dough – just the sponge to create a little bit of a warm and humid environment so the dough would rise.

After I baked the bread, I brushed extra virgin olive oil on the tops and lightly sprinkled with sea salt.  I had to taste one after it cooled for a bit. I mixed together a little bit of olive oil, salt, and pepper to dip the bread in. I seriously almost stood there in the kitchen and ate the whole loaf. Well, the loaves are not very large any way. I made two loaves and put one in the freezer.

I tried making this bread again but froze the dough before I baked it to see which worked better: freezing uncooked dough or freezing the bread after it baked. Well, this is one bread dough you are better off baking first before freezing. I found the freezing and then baking affected the height or rise of the bread during baking.

 

 

 

 

Ok.  I am seriously considering renaming my blog or something.  It seems my more recent (and frequent) posts have been about food.  I like food and I love to cook.  I have an index card box and 3-ring binder full of untried recipes that I long to weed through.  Then there are those pins I've pinned on Pintrest to try and other blogs I find when I'm looking for recipes that work with the ingredients and tools that I already have in the kitchen...and those recipe books too.

Which brings me to roasted garlic. GARLIC. That wonderful aroma and pretty good for your health food/spice/whatever.

It is soooo easy to roast garlic.  I do not know how I have lived this long and NOT tried it sooner!!

Let me just say this – if you love garlic and have never roasted your own – what in the world are you waiting for????  It is so easy to do but does take some time. Note the definition of easy and quick are completely different. These are not quick, as in speedy; expedient; or rapid. They are easy as in not overly complicated, requiring little to no knowledge or skill.

Roasted garlic – You will want to use a pie pan or shallow cake pan or an old muffin/cupcake pan that you do not plan on using for any further baking (cakes, pies, cupcakes, etc.). I used the only cake pan I have and after washing a couple times, it STILL smells like roasted garlic. I’m not really complaining – it’s a wonderful smell – but I didn’t realize this until after I roasted the garlic.

You want to go for the larger heads of garlic and look for ones with a relatively “flat” bottom because these will have to sit upright in the pan to the best of their ability. If you use the cupcake tin, you might be able to get away with some unevenness.

I found an old blog posting from the Pioneer Woman online. She has lots of photos! The link below will take you there and open up in a new window.

Pioneer Woman roasts garlic

Preheat oven to 375*F

Cut the tops off the garlic, trying to expose all of the cloves.

In your pan, you want to coat the bottom liberally with olive oil.

Put your topless garlic in the pan and drizzle the tops with olive oil, sprinkle with a little bit of sea salt and black pepper.

Cover your pan with aluminum foil and roast on the middle rack for 40-45 minutes.

Let the pan and garlic cool completely before you start removing the cloves. Some of the cloves you may need a small knife to get out. The cloves are soft, some may break open, but most should easily pop out whole. I have mine stored in a small container I keep in the refrigerator.

Now you have roasted garlic for a myriad of uses – add it to hummus, smear on toasted bread, throw some roughly chopped cloves on pizza, in a salad, marinades, sauces, etc.

Quick "Crazy Crust" Pizza

Last night I really wanted pizza but did not want to spend the money on delivery. Lets face it, by the time you pay tax, delivery fee and a tip for the driver, you could have bought three pizzas for carryout or stocked your freezer with DiGiorno, Tombstone, or Totinos pizzas from the grocery store. 

 

I've been going through my recipe box using recipes I've never tried or have not used in quite a while.  Fast food is convenient for sure but it is not always healthy or gentle on the monthly food budget. So if you have about an hour to spare - you can have pizza at the cost of a few pennies - maybe nickels and dimes.

 

This recipe makes up about one 12-14" crust which is enough for 2-4 people depending on whether you have a pizza monster. A pizza monster is cousin to the cookie monster.

 

Ingredients for the crust can be mixed up in the time it takes your oven to preheat to 425 degrees (give or take depending on how hot/cold your oven runs).

 

1 cup of flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. oregano

1/8 tsp. pepper

2 eggs

2/3 cup of milk

 

I also added 1 tsp. of McCormick Perfect Pinch Garlic & Herb seasoning into the dough mix.

I would think you could substitute a blend of Italian seasonings (rosemary, thyme, basil, etc.) if you did not want just oregano. Experiment.

 

Combine the crust ingredients in a large bowl. The mix will be runny like cake batter so the pan you use must have definite sides. I have a round pizza pan with about a 1/2" lip. If you only have a rectangular cookie sheet - use it.

 

The cookie sheet should be greased and floured.

 

Bake the crust in the oven at 425 degrees on the low rack for 20-30 minutes or until the edges turn brown. You can lift it a little towards the end to make sure you are also getting a nice golden color on the bottom.

 

 The crust will appear bubbly - don't worry about trying to "pop" the bubbles. Once you take it out of the oven to add sauce and cheese, the bubbles will deflate almost entirely.

For the sauce I used what little spaghetti sauce I had left in a jar.  It does not take a lot of sauce. You will want to spread it out to the edge but not all the way to the edge, maybe about 1/4 to 1/2" from the edge. Sprinkle your cheese (your choice) over the sauce and pop back into the oven for about 10-15 minutes on the low rack in the oven. Remove, cut and serve.

 

My oven is sensitive - or rather - my smoke detector is sensitive. So I put my sauced and cheesed pizza on the middle rack for about 8 minutes to melt the cheese. Then I set the oven on broil for about 3 minutes to get the top of the cheese a little golden. If you broil, keep checking on it. It can go from golden to burnt in a matter of seconds.

One additional thing I did to the edge of the crust - I sprinkled garlic powder on the edges before putting it back in the oven. Once it came out with the cheese all gooey and melted, I brushed the edge with butter and sprinkled with parmesan cheese.

 

All in all, the pizza was very tasty.  The crust edges were nice and crispy but the rest was maybe a tad chewy.  This could be a result of baking it at 400 degrees for 20 minutes (my oven is not typical).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cinnamon Rolls Part Deux

So I thought I would write a follow up post once I tried out the frozen portion of dough.

I seriously think these turned out even better than the ones I baked up over the weekend.

There were a few things I did which may be helpful. First, I took the frozen dough out and put it in the refrigerator for a little while. I was not sure my knife would slice through the frozen dough, so I let it thaw just a little.


When I sliced the dough, I made my slices a little larger, maybe a full inch to inch and a quarter. I put them in the round pan spaced equidistant and then let them sit out for about 10 minutes to let the dough lose a little more of the chill. Then I baked them up at 425 degrees for about 11-13 minutes until they're a little golden brown on the edges and you can smell that cinnamon goodness.

 

I still had some leftover cream cheese frosting in the fridge so I did not have to deal with making more.  The dough and the icing work up so nicely that you could have cinnamon rolls for breakfast during the busy week. Take the dough out the night before so all you have to do in the morning is slice, rest and bake!

Something hot, fresh and homemade for you, your family or take them in to the office for your coworkers!

Cinnamon Rolls!!!

Who wants cinnamon rolls?  

Cinnamon rolls that can give Cinnabon a run for their money?

 

Cinnamon rolls that you can freeze the dough and bake up only what you need?

 

Have I got a recipe for you!

 

I've had this recipe for a few decades since my freshman year in Home Economics and have only baked these a handful of times. 

 

This past weekend I made some and they turned out better than I remember.

The ingredients you will need for the dough:

 

1 package of yeast (I used rapid rise)   1 tsp. salt

¼ Cup warm water                             ½ Cup of shortening

2 ½ Cups of flour                                1 Cup of buttermilk

1/3 Cup of sugar                                ¼ Cup melted butter

1 TBSP baking powder          1 Cup brown sugar (I used dark)

½ tsp. baking soda                              1 TBSP cinnamon

 

• Dissolve the yeast in the warm water and let proof.

• Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Use a pastry blender and cut in shortening.

• Add buttermilk and yeast mixture to the dry ingredients, stirring with a fork until well blended.
• In a separate bowl, mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon mixture.

• Put on a floured surface/board and knead – sprinkle more flour if dough is sticky.

• Roll dough out to a 12x18 rectangle and baste top with the melted butter.

• Sprinkle with the brown sugar & cinnamon mix, covering to the edges.

• Roll the dough in a jelly roll fashion from the longest edge (18” side) and wrap in cling wrap.

• Let the dough rest/chill for a little while in the refrigerator so it will firm up a little before slicing.

• Slice into 1” and place on baking sheet or in a round pan.

• Bake at 450 degrees for 10-12 minutes  (every oven is different – so adjust accordingly)

This should yield about 1 ½ dozens.

Since I’m single and I do not want to bake up all the rolls at once, I sliced off enough to fit in a round pan with about ½ inch between rolls so they have room to expand (and they will expand). The rest of the log I wrapped back up, put in a freezer Ziploc bag and placed in the freezer.

 

The cream cheese frosting is made up from 4 ingredients and very easy to whip up: softened cream cheese, softened butter, vanilla and confectioners sugar.

 

For an 8oz. package of cream cheese, it calls for 1/2 Cup of butter, 2-3 cups of confectioners (powdered) sugar and 1 tsp. of vanilla.

 

To make a smaller batch of frosting, use 2-3 oz. of cream cheese, 2-3 TBSP of butter, 1/4 tsp vanilla and powdered sugar. I think I used about 1/2 cup.

 

• Let the butter and cream cheese come to room temperature so it is easier to cream together (with either a fork or a mixer).
• Add vanilla
• Add enough powdered sugar so that the frosting is not runny but is also not stiff. I may have added about ½ cup or so.
• You will want to frost the cinnamon rolls after they’ve had a chance to cool quite a bit but are still a touch warm. The frosting will melt a little but not much – we like this. We like this a lot.
   
  
   
   

 



When you want to bake up the frozen dough you will want to let the dough thaw a little bit. It may be easier to cut the dough frozen and then place on a baking sheet or round pan to thaw for about 15-20 minutes and then bake as directed.