Friday, November 9, 2012

Top-Secret Chocolate Mousse

A particularly good week for a little indulgence ~
Per Nana:

Chocolate mousse!  What's not to like.
I think if all of Dorie's recipes were dessert, Hubby would
 be in seventh heaven, because he just raved over this.

Thank goodness I only had enough to fill  three ramekins, 
but that was okay.  We need more chocolate like we need
  a hole in the head. With the confusion of which day to celebrate
 Halloween in our neighborhood, either Wednesday or Friday, 
we had a total of only 8 children trick or treating.
 That left a lot of candy to be consumed by two retirees 
with nothing better to do. I had never made mousse before and 
was surprised  how easy it was to prepare. When you first read
 Dorie's recipes they sometimes seems difficult but her instructions 
are clear, with many  options, and most turn out to be easy. 
This was  a great recipe and I will certainly make it again.

Per Tricia:
I loved Dorie's comment about being welcomed to the club 
when a friend finally shared that this well loved dessert came
 from the back of a box. Hence the recipe name.
 This recipe was a cinch but I have my 24 year old  Kitchen Aid 
mixer to thank.  I bought this toy investment right out of college.  
I knew it would be a great investment but is still wonderful to see
 it paying off....especially when I need foamed egg whites. 
Note the French bowl of "medium" size. Moyen is not my last
 name - it means medium in French :)
 Between  the mixer's brawn and Nana providing me the chocolate
 (yes, I  even had the one piece handily cut in half by her to make the
 3.5 ounces....) I had an easy time of it this week. 
 Which is particularly appreciated since we added to our family with a
 kitten  found in between storms, in a parking lot late one evening. 
No houses around,  freezing conditions, and a Nor'easter en route.  
Turned this dog family into a more diverse household.

 And yes, the recipe was a huge hit with the family. 
 Happy French Fridays all ~

17 comments:

  1. Nana - good luck with all that candy :-)
    Congratulations on the new family member? That sounds a lot like how I ended up with my last two cats...
    Have a great weekend ladies - lovely mousse(s).

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  2. sounds like this was certainly well received by both your families! :)

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  3. Whoah - hide that candy!! You both did a great job this week! Yum!

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  4. Glad this worked out for both of you. Love the sesame snap. Mine - well- it was a disaster.

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  5. BTW, did you ladies see that we are having a French Fridays Christmas Card Exchange this year? Would you both like to participate? The details about it the end of my French Fridays post for the chocolate mousse :) We would love to have both of you!

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  6. Wasn't this the best mousse? I also used a 24(!) year old Kenwood mixer that belongs to my mother in law and strongly believe it is the best investment!!!I am going to lobby hard with my husband to buy me one of the newest models and I will used your post a supporting evidence!

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  7. Congrats on your new kitten! I miss having a cat sometimes but my husband is allergic. Glad you and Nana are doing well after the storm and both your mousses look great!

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  8. So glad you both weathered the storm well! Our area was hit hard with downed trees and power outages, but nothing compared to the Shore area, NYC and Long Island! I am grateful to have the comfort of my home, friends and family! My heart breaks for all those who will be affected for years to come!
    Both of the mousse look fabulous and I too was surprised at how easy it was to make! A huge hit in our house! Have a wonderful weekend, ladies!

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  9. Nana - I feel your pain. Trick or Treating is not a German tradition, and after 5 years of no kids, I had long since given up hoping for any and had absolutely no candy on hand last year when my doorbell rang! The most adorable little trick or treaters and all I could scrounge up were some granola bars. So this year I was prepared and, of course, not a single visitor. Oh well, my co-workers were very appreciative of the leftover candy.

    And Tricia - I already thought that you were a kind person, but your story of taking in an abandoned kitten just warmed my heart even more. Hope the weather is finally settling down in your area.

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  10. The mousse looks delicious - and how sweet that you welcomed a new kitten into the family. I'm also glad to see your KitchenAid still ticking - I've had mine for 11 years and still going strong!

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  11. Tricia and Nana: I love both your versions of the Mousse au Chocolat - they look picture perfect and delicious! And the additions of whipped cream and sesame seed brittle both seem lovely! How nice that this recipe was so well received by all!
    Have a terrific weekend!

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  12. What fun! Both of your versions look wonderful! Beautiful presentations too - happy that you enjoyed the recipe. Mine wasn't quite the success that I had hoped, but at least my guests liked it!!

    Hope your weekend is lovely.

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  13. Beautiful mousses ladies! This recipe was easy and good. Glad you have survived Sandy and the nor'easter....hard to believe its not even the middle of November!

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  14. Both turned out great! And, I didn't have any trick-or-treaters this year. It's because most of the kids did stuff through the schools.

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  15. Nice job, ladies! This was my first mousse too.
    Congrats on the new kitten! What's its name? And what kind of cookie is sticking out of Tricia's mousse. It looks delicious.

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    1. The little gent has been named "Oliver" :) The cookie was a leftover from France- sesame something that was handed out with a cup of coffee from somewhere. Nana and I always stockpile the little extras given with these cups and bring them home !

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  16. Both your dishes turned out so good!
    I'm laughing at the image of you and your husband going through all the halloween chocs!
    And tricia we call those cookies sesame snaps over here in Australia and the kids love them! Nice addition!

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