Valentine's Day Easy Chocolate Mousse

I love me some Valentine's Day. Every year I make something special and this year, as I am recovering from a cold and the blizzard of 2013, I decided on an easy recipe. Nigella Lawson's Instant Chocolate Mousse.

I don't know that I'd call it instant, but it's quick and easy. It's also good if you have children, are pregnant or just cannot get fresh enough eggs to feel comfortable consuming raw eggs, which is what a traditional chocolate mousse contains.

This chocolate mousse relies on marshmallows to get that ethereal, airy texture. Because marshmallows are so sweet it's really important to us a good quality, DARK chocolate here. I even go so far as to add a bit more than the recipe suggests, probably an extra two or three ounces. I want my chocolate mousse to be really chocolatey. It's as simple and melting all the ingredients together for five or ten minutes, allowing the mixture to cool and then folding it in to some whipped cream. Easy peasy, impressive and utterly scummy.

I've made this recipe quite a few times and it is my daughter's favorite so I thought it would be nice to make it for a decadent dessert on Valentine's Day. I may have had a few spoonfuls for my breakfast, or rather as an appetizer to my breakfast. Wink wink.

I definitely ate that blob of chocolate mousse off the counter.

This recipe is readily available on Nigella's website and in her book, Express.

Cinnamon Babka

There's something that happens to me after the hustle and bustle of the holidays, something that has me feeling hungry for hearty, healthy things. There's also a part of me that is hungry for homemade breads. During these cold New England winter months, the smell of bread baking and the warmth that it brings to the home help me to cope much better with the chill in the air. I have a few old reliables, but I love to try new bread recipes. Sometimes things can get hairy, sometimes things turn out mind blowing. Fortunately, this was one of the latter experiences.

I recently picked up a few special issues of Cook's Illustrated, one of which is the Best Recipes and Reviews 2013. The recipe for Cinnamon Babka had my mouth watering and I've been itching to try it.

The recipe was fairly easy and straightforward, but I did have to add a significant amount of additional flour as the dough was far too wet and sticky. I would say somewhere between 1/3 to 1/2 cup of additional flour finally got the dough to come together. The final dough is like an ultra moist and truly delicious brioche. It's got the golden hue of brioche and that luxurious, almost cakey texture. There is a sweetness to this bread, perhaps a from the vanilla in the dough.

The finished bread is so amazing - it is a moist, slightly sweet brioche with an ooey, gooey cinnamon swirl. Totally worth the effort for an indulgent take on cinnamon swirl bread.

Christmas Candy Making

What is more fun than candy making? Nothing, I tell you. Nothing at all!

This year I wanted to give some homemade gifts from the kitchen and I set to work a week before Christmas making some of my favorite candies to give to my loved ones.

The first thing I made was Pam Corbin's Candied Orange Peel. This is one of those epiphany moments. Between the intoxicating smell that wafts through your home to the sweet and chewy texture of the finished candy, it is addicting. An added bonus, the left over syrup can be jarred and saved for champagne cocktails. Dipped in dark chocolate, these are a a homemade treat that will always impress.

The second chocolate I set out to make is the one chocolate that I always get when I visit a chocolate/candy shop, the coconut cluster, also known as the coconut haystack. I use unsweetened coconut and I toast it and mix it with some really high quality chocolate, milk chocolate is always a favorite with coconut. So easy and so super delicious.

The third and fourth chocolates I made were because of a bit of a mishap in the kitchen with an attempt at salted caramels. My candy thermometer is broken and the caramels didn't cook to the proper temperature and thus never fully set. I tried to wing it, but it was didn't work out in the end. I was left with a fair amount of gorgeous tasting caramel that I didn't have the heart to throw away. I decided to make these marvelous little dark chocolate salted caramel filled cups with half the caramel. With the other half I made milk chocolate salted peanut turtles. Those turned out brilliantly.

Although I hit that one bump in the road with the caramel, it turned out alright in the end. A labor of love created dozens of chocolates I was proud to give away to the ones I love. A fun new adventure into something different.

Reading Love

So it wasn't just a wonderful and special Christmas for me, it was a pretty special Christmas forms daughter. Among all of her toys, clothes and other fun items, were a number of books that are sure to leave a lasting impression on her life.

Among these treasures are Anne of Green Gables, Anne of Avonlea and Alice in Wonderland.

These was also the special presents from mother to daughter, the gift and no of Jane Austen. There is a wonderful publisher out there that has adapted Jane's novels into something little girls can enjoy, with lovely illustrations.

There is something really special about handing down a love and appreciation for great literature to your child. It was a wonderful Christmas indeed.

Nuvole di Miele

It's Christmastime and that means the season of cookies, right? I decided to try a recipe in Gina DePalma's wonderful book, Dolce Italiano. The cookie I chose to add to the dessert table on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, is her Nuvole di Miele, or Honey Clouds. The author describes these cookies as, "soft, pillowy,". They are definitely like little cakes, subtly infused with the sweetness of ground almonds, honey and orange.

Where the cookies are subtle in their flavor, the glaze makes them truly pop. The sweetness if all the ingredients shines with the honey and orange icing and then boom, there is the crunch of the flaked, toasted almonds. It's like the heavenly angels appeared when these cookies were made. Ok, maybe that's a bit much, but it is Christmas after all.

The cookies are really best fresh, but they are still quite excellent on the second day and perfectly fine with a cuppa on the third. I would imagine they'll fair quite well on day four, when they are dunked in said cuppa. I might be enthusiastic to add a dash of cinnamon to the batter next time around, with the subtle honey and orange flavors, I think it'd be a great match.

Happy Christmas To All And To All A Good Night

Happy Christmas!!

Hoping everyone has thoroughly enjoyed their Christmas. It was a wonderful first Christmas season for our family in our new home. Present giving, and receiving is always so fun. My husband got me some real goodies this year. My favorite could very well be my excessively greedy stash of chocolates.

He also got me these great storage bins for the kitchen. I've been dreaming of getting back into the habit of baking bread, these just might be the inspiration that I've needed. Well, these and the gorgeous brioche rolls I made for Christmas dinner. Delectable. I seem to have lost count with how many I have consumed.

Pleasant wishes to everyone during this special time of year.

Happy Christmas Eve

Chocolate Baci with Dulce de Leche Filling.

Chicken Stew with Sweet Potatoes and Egg Noodles

Chicken soup, in all it's various forms, is the perfect weekend meal. It cooks practically all day and you can make a big batch of it. With a hunk of bread, it's the perfect on the go lunch for the upcoming work week.

My chicken soup/stew is a bit of a process. It's mostly time spent in the oven or simmering. The actual hands on time isn't too bad, maybe 30 or so minutes total. It's worth it and it's not hard at all.

This thick, hearty stew is savory and warming on a cold Autumn Sunday. It's like a great big bear hug. The noodles add some heft, the chicken is flavorful and tender and the sweet potatoes add a really nice earthy, soft and sweet explosion in your mouthful of chickeny goodness. It's such a savory stew that it goes really well with a sweet corn bread.

Chicken Soup

1/4 pound pancetta, cubed
2 lrg chicken breasts, bone in, skin on, or 4 chicken thighs, or a combination of the two
1 small onion, chopped
1 large leek, chopped - reserve half for later
4 celery stocks, leaves included, chopped - reserve half for later
2 large carrots, chopped - reserve half for later
4 whole cloves garlic
4 minced cloves garlic, plus 2 cloves garlic minced and reserved for later
1 large sweet potato
3-4 handfuls egg noodles
1 1/2 cups dry white wine, Pinot Grigio or Chardonnay are some of my favs
4 sprigs thyme, one sprig reserved for later
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1-2 bay leaves
4 cups chicken broth, low sodium
2 cups water

In a large dutch oven brown the pancetta with a little olive oil. Remove the crispy pancetta from the pan. Dry the chicken pieces and season with salt and pepper. Brown the chicken, skin side down to start, on both sides. Remove from the pan. Add the chopped onion, half the chopped leaks, half the chopped celery and half the chopped carrots, season with salt and pepper. Cook until starting to turn golden. Add the garlic cloves and the 4 cloves of minced garlic, cook for a minute. Add three sprigs of thyme, oregano, bay leaves, and crispy pancetta followed by the wine. Bring to a simmer and simmer for 5-10 minutes, until the wine has reduced a little. Add the browned chicken breasts, broth and water. Bring to a boil. Cover the dutch oven with foil, then the lid and place in a 225F oven for 2 hours or until the chicken is cooked through and fall off the bone tender. Remove the chicken from the stock and place on a plate to cool. Strain the stock through a fine mesh strainer. Allow the stock to rest for 5-10 minutes, skim the fat from the top. In the now empty dutch oven heat 2 tablespoons butter. Add the reserved leeks, celery and carrots and cook until softened and starting to turn golden. Add the 2 reserved garlic cloves, the thyme leaves from the reserved sprig, a few pinches of salt and some freshly ground pepper and cook for just a minute. Add the stock and bring to a simmer. Taste the stock for seasoning and adjust the salt and pepper to taste. I always add a few pinches of salt and a good grating of pepper. Remove the chicken from the bones and shred into good size pieces. Add the chicken and sweet potatoes to the stock. Cook on a low simmer for 10 minutes. Add the noodles and push down into the stock. You may need to add a little extra broth if it seems like there isn't enough broth to cook the noodles, but the soup should be thick and hearty. Add the heavy cream. Simmer on low for 15 minutes. Add a handful of chopped parsley or dill to finish.

Happy Halloween!

Spelt Bread Dough

After a good solid six months in the new house, I'm really starting to feel settled. It took months to accomplish everything we wanted to. I made curtains or tailored curtains for all the windows, which seemed like an endless task. Pictures have been hung, most things have a home at this point. Spring blooming bulbs have been planted in the yard. It feels like home. We'll always be making improvements as life progresses,  but I feel truly settled. I've been gradually getting back into the swing of baking bread. I've got a smaller workspace than I did in our apartment, but I'm learning to make it work. Of course, the book I always find myself turning to when I need to reacquaint myself with flour and yeast is Daniel Stevens Bread Handbook. So here we are again, baking delicious, healthy breads for the family. My new love is spelt ~ delicious, mouthwatering spelt.

I'm truly head over heels for spelt flour at the moment. A sale on flour at one of my local markets had my carry basket feeling wicked heavy. I picked up some organic spelt flour, a gorgeous whole wheat flour, chestnut flour, and my favorite corn meal. It was a windfall, all of it for just under $13.

To my trusty bread handbook I go for the recipe I use as a base, adding a few things, like butter and honey. I've also found that I need a little additional liquid, about 50ml more than the recipe calls for. Combining two flours to creates a flavorful dough that doesn't have that characteristically over dense texture that a purely spelt dough can. I'm really enamored with the flavor of the spelt flour. In Daniel's book he says that spelt benefits from some extra kneading, so I kneaded an additional five minutes. This is one gorgeous dough. It's a beautiful color and it's so lush when you've finished kneading. It's my new favorite dough. I'm even more in love with it than an oatmeal and rye blend, which... oh my, is all I can say for that one. Come to think of it, spelt and rye might be a lovely combination that I think is worth trying in the future - that would make a tops loaf for a cold ham sandwich with a sharp mustard, some cheddar and even some chutney. Yum!

Spelt Dough

250g strong bread flour,  King Arthur's white whole wheat flour works nicely here too
250g spelt flour
5g instant yeast
10g fine salt
350ml milk and water, warm
1 tablepoon butter, softened
2 tabelspoons honey

Combine the ingredients and knead the dough until it is soft and elastic - this will take a good solid 10-15 minutes by hand. More quickly with the mixer. Form the dough into a ball, cover with cling and allow it to rise until doubled in size. Punch it down, form it into a loaf, allow it to rise and bake at 400F for 10 minutes, then turn the oven down to 350 and bake for a further 40-60 minutes. This could also be made into delicious little rolls to go with soup or a roast dinner.

Chocolate Whopper Cake

I make no secret of the love I feel for Nigella Lawson. I have quite a few of her cookbooks and I favor her down to earth, no nonsense approach to cooking. Reading her cookbooks is like reading a novel, her writing is beautiful and her recipes are simple and delicious. They are the recipes your mother would make, they are the recipes that are bound to become family favorites and many have become favorites of our family. I realize not everyone is as enamored with Nigella as me. I've read countless negative reviews of her recipes and cookbooks and some very unsavory personal attacks. No bother, though. I will always love her and I treasure the books I have that she has written and the recipes that have made their way into my regular cooking schedule.

Nigella's Chocolate Malteser Cake makes me think of my Mom and sure enough when I mentioned it to her, her eyes lit up. It's just the kind of cake she would like. We're malt lovers in our family. My Papa, my mother's father, has always favored a good old fashioned malted shake or frappe and malted milk balls are one of my mother's favorite candy treats. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, I am also a huge malt fan. I've been known to heat up some milt with a little sugar and a few hefty scoops of malt powder to calm my nerves. And, a chocolate malted shake is my ultimate comfort. There is always a can of malt powder in our pantry. 

It's no wonder I was eager to give this cake a go. It was simple to make and we all enjoyed it very much. My only criticism is that I wish the cake had a more chocolaty flavor. The frosting is to die for though. Oh my! The recipe can be found in Nigella's Feast Cookbook, in the Chocolate Cake Hall of Fame chapter. There's some real winners in this chapter and some of my all time favorite cake recipes, including my daughter's favorite cake that I have made for a number of her birthdays, Nigella's Honey Chocolate Cake.

Chocolate Malteser Cake

For the cake
150g soft dark brown sugar 
100g caster sugar
3 large eggs
175ml milk
15g unsalted butter
2 tablespoons Horlicks/malted milk powder
175g plain flour
25g cocoa, sieved
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

For the icing and decoration
250g icing sugar
1 teaspoon cocoa
45g Horlicks
125g soft unsalted butter
2 tablespoons boiling water
2 oucnes packets Maltesers

Preheat the oven to 325F. Butter and line two 20cm/8inch cake tins with baking parchment.

Whisk together the sugars and eggs until light and frothy. Heat the milk, butter and Horlicks powder in a small saucepan until the butter has melted and the mixture is hot but not boiling. Beat the milk mixture into the eggs a little at a time. Fold in the dry ingredients thoroughly. Divide the cake batter evenly between the two tins and bake in the oven for 25 minutes, by which time the cakes should have risen and will spring back when pressed gently. Let them cool on a rack for about 5-10 minutes and then turn them out of their tins.

Once the cakes are cold, you can get on with the icing. I use a processor just because it makes life easier: you don't need to sieve the icing sugar. So: put the icing sugar, cocoa and Horlicks in the processor and blitz to remove all lumps. Add the butter and process again. Stop, scrape down, and start again, pouring the boiling water down the funnel with the motor running until you have a smooth buttercream.

Sandwich the cold sponges with half of the buttercream, and then ice the top with what is left, creating a swirly pattern rather than a smooth surface. Stud the outside edge, about 1cm in, with a ring of Maltesers or use them to decorate the top in which-ever way pleases you.

The Joy of Tiffin

Tiffin got a lot of attention around the time of the Royal Wedding. It was speculated that William wanted tiffin included in the dessert choices at the wedding as it was his favorite treat as a child. At least, that's the word on the street. I can completely understand why Prince Handsome loves tiffin - it is full on amazing.

Tiffin is such an easy treat to make. It's sometimes called a chocolate fridge cake and the variations are endless. My favorite is a combination of coconut, butter biscuits, dried cranberries and salted peanuts. The sky is truly the limit with tiffin, though. You can add cut up bits of candy bar, any variety of dried fruits that you might like, same goes for nuts and cookies. It's your time to be creative. I love popping a little square of this delectable treat into my daughter's lunch bag. I'm sure she's thrilled to gobble it up and I hope she thinks of Mummy while she does. :o) I know it doesn't look like much and it might not even sound all that special, but I promise you when you have a bite you'll be instantly craving more and if you're at all like me, your mind will be racing with all the different things you can throw in to this chocolaty heaven. It's really something magical ~ a chocolaty, crunchy, decadent explosion in your mouth... mmmmmmm, tiffin...

The Mrs. Fav Tiffin

125g Le Petit Beurre, crumbled into smallish pieces
75g salted peanuts
50g dried cranberries
50g dessicated coconut (the flaked kind, not the sweetened one)
225g chocolate - semi-sweet chocolate or a combination of dark chocolate and milk chocolate
150g butter
1 generous tablespoon golden syrup

In a medium saucepan over a low flame, melt the butter, chocolate and golden syrup. In a large bowl combine the cookies, nuts, dried fruit and coconut. Pour the melted chocolate and butter mixture over the cookies and other tasty bits and mix until everything is combined and covered in chocolate. Dump out into a 9inch square baking tin that has been greased well with butter. Pop the tiffin in the fridge for a few hours until it is set and hard. You should be able to pop it out after running a knife along the edges. Cut it into squares and store in the fridge for a delicious treat.

Richard Bertinet's Bacon Pastry

I love Richard Bertinet's cookbooks. I have both Dough and Crust and they are wonderfully written and so informative. The photographs are lovely and the style makes you really feel the passion that Richard has for bread baking and food. Every recipe that I have tried of Richard's has been delicious. I am especially crazy about his Chocolate Buns, oh my goodness!!

I've been experimenting with Richard's Sweet Dough from his book Dough. Hubs and I made Beignets or Doughnuts for our daughter's first day of school after school treat. 30 doughnuts seemed like and awful lot to us so we split the dough in half and with the other half made these gorgeous Bacon Pastry. The combination of sweet, soft dough, bechemel, salty, smokey bacon and sharp cheese create a mouthful of heaven that cannot be rivaled. Served with eggs and you have a moreish, decadent meal that is hard to beat. We enjoyed ours with some gorgeous scrambled eggs and crispy potato pancakes. It was an unbelievable breakfast for dinner treat.

Bacon Pastry

For the dough:
9 oz whole milk
1/2 oz fresh yeast or 1/4 oz packed dried yeast
17 1/2 oz bread flour
2 oz butter
1 1/2 oz sugar
2 teaspoon salt
2 lrg eggs

8 oz sliced bacon, I ended up cutting each slice in half and placing and crinkled up half slice on each pastry
3 1/2 oz shredded cheese (a good sharp cheese)

Richard Bertinet has a special way of making his dough and it's something where you'd have to read the book and perhaps even watch the enclosed DVD to really get a handle on how to do it. However, I have made his doughs using my mixer without any issues, so I'd say just mix up the dough in the usual way using your stand mixer. Allow the dough to rest for 1 hour.

Roll out the dough to a thickness of 1/4 inch. Then cut into 6x5 inch squares, you should get about 8 squares from the dough. Spoon one tablespoon of bechamel into the center of one square, then fold two opposite corners together over it. Place a slice of bacon on top and then lift the whole slice onto a baking tray. Cover with wax paper and a dish towel and allow to rise for 45 minutes. Glaze the exposed dough with egg wash. Sprinkle some cheese on top. Bake in a preheated 400F oven for 15 minutes until deep golden in color.

Bechamel Sauce (just enough for a full batch of bacon pastry)

2 Tablespooons butter
2 1/2 Tablespoons flour
2/3 cup whole milk

Melt butter over medium heat in a small saucepan. Add flour and whisk constantly, cooking for a few minutes. Slowly add milk while whisking and cook until sauce is smooth and thick. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Add 1/4 to 1/3 cup grated cheese and allow to fully melt. Let cool completely.

Richard Bertinet's Doughnuts

Doughnuts. What can possibly be bad about fried dough covered in sugar? Nothing, I say. Absolutely nothing.

I've never had the guts to make doughnuts. Deep frying really turns me off. I'll only venture into the world of deep frying a couple of times a year. One of those times is usually for the heavenly chimichanga and then it's something unusual that I've never tried - steak and cheese eggrolls, full on fried chicken tenders, and french fries are the only other times I have deep fried.

Today was my daughter's first day of First Grade. Last year she was in half day Kindy and this year she's full day. It's a big transition, for both of us. My husband took the day off and since we had over 6 hours to hang  out, sans child, we decided to get wild and crazy and do some first time baking together.

My daughter adores doughnuts so we thought it'd be fun to have a fresh batch waiting for her when she arrived home from school. It was absolutely worth the hassle of deep frying and I think I will perhaps explore a cider doughnut once we are officially in the throws of Autumn. Yum.

Éclairs

It was well over a year ago that I made my first batch of pâte à choux and it turned out to be way easier and less frightening that I had thought. Sadly, I only made it that one time. Éclairs are my most favorite bakery treat. When I visit a bakery that is the pastry I always get. There are a lot of bakeries out there that completely butcher the gorgeous éclair. Too often they are filled with a horribly gloppy excuse for crème pâtissière and topped with a sugary sweet cake style chocolate frosting. Bleh!

I want an éclair that is filled with a luscious, rich pastry cream and topped with a chocolaty glaze where chocolate, not sugar, is the star of the show. I love the America's Test Kitchen Feed, that is where I first eyed a recipe for éclairs that made them seem simple and easy. I set to work around 3:30 - I was able to bang out the pastry cream and bake the éclairs all by 4:00.  The toughest part was waiting for the éclairs to dry out in the oven for an hour. The only issue I ran in to, which happened when I first made cream puffs last year, was that a couple of the éclairs deflated. It was only two of the eight and once I filled them you couldn't tell all that much. These éclairs are everything I want in an éclair ~ the pastry is light and crisp, the crème pâtissière is smooth and rich and the chocolate glaze, oh so chocolaty! It must be said, I halved the amount of icing sugar in the glaze because after adding half it tasted just right to me and the texture seemed pretty thick so I didn't want to risk it being too thick and sweet.

The éclairs came out great. Perfect, really. I'm very anxious to try other variations of éclairs and profiteroles. I cannot wait to surprise my husband with beautiful, tasty treats tonight. Sweets for my sweet. 

Cook For Julia ~ Soupe à L'oignon

This is my invariable advise to people: Learn how to cook -- try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless, and above all have fun. ~ Julia Child

Julia Child would have been 100 years old today. It is time to celebrate! What can possibly be said about the marvelous Julia Child? She is an inspiration and not just for her no nonsense, what the hell approach to cooking. But for her zest for life, her intellect and her charm. Her autobiography, My Life in France, is one of my top five favorite books. I am also the proud owner of the beautiful Mastering the Art of French Cooking that she wrote with Louisette Bertholle and Simone Beck. Today I have chosen to honor Julia with one of my favorite recipes of hers for French onion soup.

I have a passion for onion soup and Julia's recipe was the first I ever tried. Soupe à L'oignon is bliss. Julia warns you that from start to finish the process is around two and a half hours - I've managed to bang it out in about one and a half, which seems like a long time, but it's so worth it. On a weekend day when you're putzing around in your cozies, perhaps the weather is cold, this soup is easy to make. It doesn't need constant supervision so you can do other things while checking the soup here and there.

Onion soup is simple and the process amazing, the onions are fully the star of the show and boy do they shine. They are cooked to a golden perfection, all the while building a beautiful fond on the bottom of the pot, which you can see in the above photo. Stock and wine are added to create a luscious mix of meaty-ness and onion flavor. Thickened with a bit of flour, the soup becomes smooth and rich, just aching to be adorned with crusty bread and a sharp, salty cheese.

As Julia would say, Bon Appetit!

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday