Chocolate Mousse for Two

Matt told me he had a craving for chocolate mousse or pudding with fresh strawberries. Never having made either I was happy to oblige & try making something new at the same time. I started reading homemade pudding recipes on blog only to get the sense that taste of homemade pudding wasn't necessarily worth the work compared to pudding in a box. So, I asked him if he'd prefer pudding or mousse. Luckily he said mousse because that seems to be a little simpler venture with better results.

I didn't want mousse around the house for days & I didn't want a huge serving size. (I know a huge serving of rich chocolaty goodness doesn't sound like a bad thing but trying to be healthier & all...) This recipe to make just two, approximately 1/3 - 1/2 cup, servings. It come together pretty quickly, especially since I use a microwave instead of a double boiler to do my melting.

Serve it in a pretty glass with fresh fruit & whipped cream and you have a cool, sexy treat to share with your special someone on a warm summer night.

Chocolate Mousse for Two

1 1/4 oz bittersweet or darker chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 T unsalted butter
1/2 T espresso (I buy instant espresso & just dissolve it in a little hot water)
1/4 c heavy cream
1 egg, separated
1/4 T sugar

Combine the chocolate, butter & espresso in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave until almost melted (this took about 40 seconds on high for me) then stir until completely melted. Let cool until it still feels warm to the touch but not hot. Do not let it get cold. (If you don't have a microwave use a double boiler for this step.)

Mix the egg yolk into the warm chocolate mixture.

In a separate bowl, whip the cream until soft peaks form. Keep cold until ready to use.

In another small bowl, whip the egg whites until foamy & then add the sugar. Continue whipping until soft peaks form.

Gently fold 1/3 of the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture. Once incorporated add 1/2 of the egg whites, incorporate them then add the second half. Finally add the remaining whipped cream & fold until there are no more streaks of white.

Spoon into serving bowls, cover & refrigerate for at least 8 hours up to 1 day.

Serves 2

I put a layer of sliced strawberries in the bottom of the glass then added the mousse. When it was time to serve I added more sliced strawberries & freshly whipped cream.

Molasses Brined Pork Chops with Roasted Corn Salsa

We love pork, everything from Grilled Asian Tenderloin to Homemade Italian Sausage to Apricot Stuffed Loin and even Dark Chocolate and Bacon Cupcakes. But I have a confession to make, we can't cook a decent pork chop to save our lives. No matter how we try to prepare them they end up dry. We try cooking them in sauces, grilling them, baking them but still the same unappetizing dryness. I try to tell myself its not us, its today's leaner pork but still its hard not to start to question your cooking skills.

Well, that all ended with last night's pork chops from Mastering the Grill: The Owner's Manual for Outdoor Cooking. The chops are brined for 4 - 6 hours in a sweet & salty Molasses Brine which helps keep them juicy while cooking. The brine also imparted a subtle flavor to the pork but not so much that it would overpower any seasoning you added to it later.

As good as the pork was in this dish the Roasted Corn Salsa was amazing. The sweetness of the fresh corn is enhanced by the time on the grill & matches perfectly with the heat of the chile, tart of the lime juice & bite of the onion. It brought a lot of extra flavor to the pork but I can see making it as a condiment for plenty of other dishes.

Molasses Brined Pork Chops

Molasses Brine

1 3/4 c cold water
2 T apple cider vinegar
2 T kosher salt
2 T unsulfured molasses
1 T light brown sugar
1 T ketchup

Mix everything together in a gallon-size ziplock bag. Close the bag & shake until the sugar is dissolved.

4 pork chops 1 - 1 1/2 inches thick(bone-in rib chops or boneless center cut loin chops)
1 T olive oil
1 T paprika

Place the pork chops in the bag with the brine. Seal the bag pressing out any excess air. Massage the meat. Place in a bowl & refrigerate for 4 - 6 hours.

Remove the meat from the brine & dry with a paper towel. Rub the chops with the olive oil & then the paprika. Tent loosely with tin foil & allow to sit at room temperature for 1 hour.

Heat the grill to high & grill the chops over direct heat for 2 - 3 minutes per side. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover & grill for another 5 - 6 minutes per side (boneless chops will only need about 2 - 3 more minutes per side). Transfer to a plate, tent with foil & allow to rest for 5 minutes.

Roasted Corn Salsa

1 T olive oil
1 small tomato, seeded & finely chopped
1 jalapeno chile (we used a Freseno red chile instead), seeded & finely chopped
1 small clove of garlic, finely minced
2 T chopped red onion
2 T chopped fresh cilantro
juice of 1/2 lime
1/4 t kosher salt
3 ears of fresh corn, husks removed
oil

Combine the olive oil, tomato, chile, garlic, onion, cilantro, lime & salt in a medium bowl.

Coat the corn all over with oil. Grill the corn over medium-high heat, turning often, until brown all over. This should take about 10 minutes.

Allow the corn to cool to touch & use a knife to cut off the kernels. Add the kernels to the rest of the ingredients.

Makes 4 servings of pork & salsa

What we did with CSA box #5

Boy, this last box was a lot of fun. I can't wait for this week's. As we get further into the summer the better they get!

1. the box 2. grilled balsamic strawberries 3. pea & chicken salad 4. strawberry fool tart 5. grilled lamb with fennel tzatziki 6. strawberry cheesecake cupcakes 7. rice & fennel salad 8. grilled roadside chicken dinner 9. roasted vegetable salad 10. kohlrabi remoulade 11. kale chips 12. Indian pizza

Black Forest Cupcakes

Matt's parents brought us a big box of dried sour cherries from Michigan over the weekend so, of course I decided to use them as inspiration for this week's cupcake. For some reason the first thing that came to my mind was Black Forest Cake with its layers of sour cherries, whipped cream & chocolate cake.

Usually you would use canned cherries in the cake so I wasn't sure if dried would work or be too chewy. I had no need to worry as they worked out beautifully, packing quite a sour cherry punch which paired nicely with the dark chocolate. The only downside I found was the cherries had a tendency to stick to the cupcake liner when you peeled it off. I used foil cupcake liners & am wondering if the sticking would have happen if I'd used paper instead.

I chose to use rum to flavor my cupcakes because I read that is what they use in Austria (ok, it was also what I had in the house). Kirsh is also commonly used to add even more cherry flavor. You can also leave the alcohol out completely.



Black Forest Cupcake

1/4 c unsalted butter
1/8 c Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa Powder
3 T water
1/2 c granulated sugar
2 T well beaten egg
1/8 c plain yogurt
1/2 T rum or kirsh (or just use vanilla)
1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/4 t baking soda
1/4 t baking powder
pinch of salt
1/4 c dried sour cherries

Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare muffin tins.
Melt butter in a large heavy saucepan over moderately low heat, then whisk in cocoa. Add water and whisk until smooth. Remove from heat. Whisk in separately sugar, egg, yogurt, and vanilla. Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the cocoa mixture and whisk until just combined (it will be a little bit lumpy).

Coat the bottom of each muffin tin with a little batter then sprinkle in a single layer of dried cherries. Finish filling muffin tins to about 2/3 full for rounded cupcakes or 1/2 full for flat cupcakes. Bake for 18 - 20 minutes until a skewer or toothpick comes out clean. It's a moist cake, so don't worry if a few crumbs stick to your tester.
Allow cupcakes to cool.

Makes 4 - 6 cupcakes.

Whipped Cream Frosting
(Adapted from Allrecipes)
The gelatin in this whipped cream makes it hold up to piping, just make sure it is completely melted so you don't get lumps.

1/2 c heavy cream
1 t confectioners sugar
1/4 t vanilla
3/4 t cold water
1/4 t unflavored gelatin

Whip the cream, sugar & vanilla together just until soft peaks form. Set aside.
Mix the water & gelatin together in a small bowl and microwave briefly, about 10 seconds, until the gelatin is dissolved. Allow to cool slightly but not get hard. Add to cream & continue whipping until stiff peaks are formed. Keep in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Makes enough to frost 6 cupcakes.

Sidetracked

I don't think I've always concentrate on sides enough, which means our main dish is often served with a steamed vegetable & perhaps a starch like potato or rice. There is nothing wrong with that but I'd like to add a little more interest to the whole meal. Since we've been getting more varied fresh vegetables this summer it seems like a good time to work on that problem.


When I wrote about our last CSA box an anonymous commenter suggested I try Kale Chips & gave a quick how-to. We were very intrigued & since they only take 15-20 minutes from start to finish I decided to make some to serve for lunch today instead of potato chips. The result was a thin, crunchy almost lace-like chip. The flavor of the kale was very subtle with a hint of nuttiness. I added quite a bit of salt which made it seem like a guilty snack. They didn't go soggy after cooling at all, which I was worried about after my sad little try at Beet Chips.

I really, really liked these. Matt, on the other hand, is not sold but he couldn't pinpoint why. After making these I looked to see if there are recipes online & there seems to be one main on floating around that adds cider vinegar. I guess that would make a salt & vinegar version as compared to my salt & pepper. Maybe I'll try those tomorrow & see if they go over better.

Matt read you could serve these with a dip but I think they are much too fragile. I'd like to try them as a garnish on a salad or soup, a beautiful crunchy addition.

Kale Chips

4 c loosely packed kale leaves, stems removed, sliced into 2 - 3 inch pieces
1/2 T olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 F. Clean & dry your kale leaves (I use a salad spinner). Toss them with the olive oil making sure to coat all the leaves (add a little more olive oil if needed, I used 1 T & it was probably too much as they came out a little greasy). Mix in salt & pepper to taste. Spread leaves out in a single layer on a baking sheet covered with a silicone mat or parchment paper (I sprinkled a little extra salt on at this point). Bake for 10 - 15 minutes until crispy (mine took 11 minutes).

2 servings

Update 7/22: I made these chips again today & used 1/2 T olive oil & 1/2 T cider vinegar. The addition of the vinegar flavor really does give them a nice tang. I think I'll keep adding it in the future.


We've been looking for a good creamy coleslaw recipe & so far everything we've tried has been bland, bland, bland. We got two red kohlrabi from the farm so we decided to try again. Matt suggested we try Alton Brown's Celery Remoulade recipe replacing the celeriac with kohlrabi. (Ok, I know remoulade is technically a sauce but that is was Alton called this salad.) It was perfect! The creme fresh adds a subtle tang, the Dijon a little sharpness & lemon freshens the whole thing up. It's so simple in its ingredients & preparation I think we have found our go-to coleslaw.

Kohlrabi Remoulade (or Coleslaw)
adapted from Alton Brown's Celery Remoulade

1 T fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 T Dijon mustard
2/3 c creme fresh
salt & pepper
2 kohlrabi heads, stems & leaves removed

Mix the lemon juice, mustard, & creme fresh together in a medium bowl. Slice the kohlrabi into matchstick-sized pieces and add to the dressing. Salt & pepper to taste. Cover & allow to chill for 1 to 3 hours before serving.

4 servings