Well, the week of birthday celebrations was in full swing last night with a Fancy Tuna Dinner and for dessert — chocolate mousse. I saw Alton Brown make this last week on Good Eats and well, here it is. I am easily impressionable like that.

Here is his recipe (my comments in italics).

Chocolate Mousse:
1 3/4 cups whipping cream
12 ounces good quality semisweet chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli)
3 ounces espresso or strong coffee (I used instant espresso powder dissolved in 3 oz. of boiling water)
1 tablespoon dark rum
4 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon flavorless, granulated gelatin

Chill 1 1/2 cups whipping cream in refrigerator. Chill metal mixing bowl and mixer beaters in the freezer. In the top of a double boiler — I used a heavy glass pyrex bowl over a pot of simmering water — combine chocolate chips, coffee, rum and butter. Melt over barely simmering water, stirring constantly. Remove from heat while a couple of chunks are still visible. Cool, stirring occasionally to just above body temperature. I just let it cool about 15-20 minutes.

Pour remaining 1/4 cup whipping cream into a metal measuring cup and sprinkle in the gelatin. Allow gelatin to “bloom” for 10 minutes. Then carefully heat by swirling the measuring cup over a low gas flame or candle. Do not boil or gelatin will be damaged. Stir mixture into the cooled chocolate and set aside.

This took a while to melt. I stood there holding the 1-cup metal measuring cup for quite a while. Swirl. Swirl. Stir with a fork. Swirl. Finally it looked all melted and dissolved. As I poured it into the chocolate, I noticed the bottom had a few remaining gelatin lumps.

*sigh*

Back to the stovetop. Swirl. Swirl. Swirl.

In the chilled mixing bowl, beat cream to medium peaks. Stir 1/4 of the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture to lighten it. Fold in the remaining whipped cream in two batches. There may be streaks of whipped cream in the chocolate and that is fine. Do not over work the mousse.

Spoon into bowls or martini glasses (I used wine glasses), cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour. Garnish with fruit and serve.

One of the nice things about living in Oregon is that I was able to wander out the back door and come back with four raspberries and four Morrocan mint sprigs from the yard!

Next, I want to try this with white chocolate chips and perhaps — now wait for it — some chamomile tea (or maybe even green tea) instead of the espresso and maybe some orange liqueur instead of the rum. That sounds kind of good.

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Coming soon (as in hopefully tomorrow and Friday respectively) a review of Jam on Hawthorne and a recipe for Coconut/Shrimp Soup with Butternut Squash.

I know I’ve mentioned before that I’m not great at baking (I remember the terrible croissant catastrophe of ‘99 like it was yesterday). I am trying improve though. I think the main problem is that I just don’t bake very often, nor did I grow up in a household where there was a lot of baking going on — more often than not, there was cheese being melted on something.

In the past, I have been known to try my hand at scones or muffins, but cakes and pies are very elusive. But…jwa wanted a pie for his birthday and I was feeling somewhat optimistic, if not downright inspired. You see, last week, I read this post on Gotham Gal’s blog. Wow, her recipe looked completely scrumptious. Pie, peaches, caramel, brown sugary crumble? How could you go wrong with that? As I learned, aside form a couple of minor missteps — brought on by my own baking limitations, I’m sure — you really can’t.

For the one pie I had baked previously (pumpkin, for last Thanksgiving), I used a pie crust recipe that turned out very well. I decided not to monkey with my crust mojo and used that crust recipe for this peach pie. The recipe is from Gale Gand and is listed below.

Pie Crust
4 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons sugar
12 ounces (3 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup ice water (strain out the ice just before using)
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or using a hand mixer), mix the flour, salt, and sugar for 1 minute. Add the butter and mix just until you have a crumbly, sandy mixture. You should still be able to see the pieces of butter. In a small bowl, stir the water and vinegar together. With the mixer running at medium speed, drizzle in the water-vinegar mixture and mix just until a dough forms. You should still see small bits of butter. Turn out onto a work surface, divide the dough in half, and shape into round, flat disks. Wrap separately in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes before using. (Or, refrigerate up to 48 hours or freeze up to 1 month before using. If frozen, let thaw in the refrigerator overnight before rolling out.)

After rolling one of the dough discs out, I put in a glass pie plate, crimped the edges, and pre-baked for 30 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Before going in the oven though, I pricked the bottom of the crust with a fork, lined with aluminum and covered with pie beads. I’ve heard dried beans work well too, I just happen to have beads, as already mentioned, due to the fact that the packaging was cute.

One thing I always forget though, is the crust shrinkage. It always comes out a bit smaller and shorter than when I put it in the oven. I need to remember that for next time and make the crust a tad taller!

Millions of Peaches…
Continuing on, here come the peaches. I followed Gotham Gal’s instructions, although I did wind up with way more peaches than I needed. She calls for 15. I think I had a smaller pie plate (mine was an 8-inch one) and I probably only needed about eight or so peaches — so, adjust for your pie plate as needed. Also, can I say peeling peaches is a huge pain? Okay, peeling peaches is a huge pain. I did that trick where you submerge them in boiling water for about 30 seconds, but still, it was time-consuming. Of course, it was worth it and all — I’m just complaining.

The Caramel
This, I messed up just a little bit. I added the butter and cream to the sugar-water syrup and some of the caramel hardened up on me. I think in retrospect, the cool cream was the culprit. Next time I will stir in the butter (which seemed to not effect the caramel adversely), let it cool a bit, then mix in the not super cool cream. As it was, I had enough caramel mixture (after removing the hardened caramel bits) to add to the peaches, but next time I will test the above hypothesis. Where is Alton Brown when you need him?

Bring on the Crumbly Topping
Mmm! Here, I was not generous enough. Next time, I will add more. My advice, don’t be shy with the crumbly topping. You probably don’t need all of it (as she mentions) but maybe use more than you think you need. Finally, I baked the pie for about 35 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

The Verdict
We managed to wait a couple of hours before having some of the pie. I was very pleased. It was especially good warmed up a bit, with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. I had a couple of minor issues with this pie experience, but now I want to try again. Isn’t practice the best way to improve? Why, yes, I think it is! Speaking of which, the caramel and crumbly topping would certainly work as well with apples as it did the peaches! Hmmmm….

ps: happy birthday…

When I was younger, I remember making grilled cheese sandwiches with my grandma — we used those American cheese slices and white bread and they were really, really tasty.

In college, a roommate showed me her trick of spreading the butter on the bread before putting it down on in the hot pan (could that have been the most useful thing I learned in college?)

Lately, I’ve taken to making a grilled cheese the following way: sourdough bread with goat cheese, cheddar, granny smith apple, and spinach. I flattened mine, sort of like panini, by placing a cast iron skillet on top of the sandwich while it grilled in the grill pan. When I turned it over on the second side, I left the cast iron pan off and used a lid instead, to encourage maximum cheese meltage.

The accompanying soup in the photo is chilled carrot (cooked carrots, ginger, chicken stock, miso, onion, garlic, tofu, salt, pepper and a blender). It was good. That is all.

Grilled Cheese Day.

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Crockery Corner
How could I have forgotten? I guess I was too excited about the grilled cheese! The plate and cup in the photo are…Fiestaware, in the color Shamrock. This is a great resource for Fiesta dishes.

Remember the old Avocado Gazpacho recipe? The one with cucumber? The one here.

Well, forget that one. This one is much better (at least in my opinion) and has become a staple in our house on taco night*. It’s more Mexican in flavor…kind of like a guacamole soup.

Chilled Avocado Soup:
2 ripe avocados
1 jalapeno, roasted until blackened, skin removed, seeded and diced
1 1/2 cups or so of chicken stock
1 lime, juiced
1 handful of cilantro, chopped
1 clove garlic
1 small onion, chopped
Salt & pepper to taste

Garnish
2 corn tortillas, sliced into thin strips and fried until crispy (I usually just coat the bottom of a pan with a somewhat generous about of peanut oil, add strips, let them get crispy, remove, salt and drain on paper towels — sometimes I sprinkle cumin on the strips too)
chopped tomato or cherry tomatoes

***
Peel and pit avocados, drop in blender along with as much jalapeno as you want (I usually start with half), the garlic, onion, stock and about half the lime juice. Blend. Add more stock if needed to thin it out. Add the cilantro. Blend again. Taste. Add more jalapeno and lime as needed (I like mine really limey, but understand if some people don’t…fools!) Salt & pepper to taste.

Chill for one to two hours.

Divide between bowls and top with tortilla strips, tomatoes, and perhaps extra cilantro. Serve with chips and a variety of hot sauces for the more adventurous — perhaps even use as a side with tacos, like we do (that way you can drizzle some on each taco bite). Mmm!

* Ahhhh, taco night. I’m sure there will be a post soon about the beloved taco night. A tradition that started in the Bay Area on Tuesdays, to coincide with Buffy.

This is a pretty tasty, moderately fast week night dinner!

Chicken with Asparagus & Pistachios
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 1/2 pounds fresh asparagus, ends trimmed, and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 pound of chicken breasts, trimmed of excess fat and cut into bite-sized pieces (I prefer these on the big side of bite-sized)
1 small white onion, diced (if it’s not a small onion, feel free to use a half or a quarter of it only)
1-inch piece fresh ginger, diced very fine
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp chili-garlic sauce
1/4 cup (or less) chicken stock
1/4 cup shelled pistachios, coarsely chopped

***
Heat oil in large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add onion and asparagus, stirring for about 2 minutes. Add chicken and cook for about 3 minutes. Stir in sauces and ginger. Continue cooking for about two more minutes. Add enough stock to scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan to make a quick sauce. When chicken is just done — one to two minutes more — serve over rice. Sprinkle with pistachios pieces.

I used brown rice but basmati would be nice too. A little soy sauce on the side is good as well — mmmm…maybe even some green onions for garnish.

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Crockery Corner
Hey! I made this — at PCC (Portland Community College), in a community education pottery class. My bowls are getting more bowl-like and everything. They actually have a very nice ceramics studio at the newer SE Center at Division and 82nd. But the classes seem to fill up quickly. If you want to get in, you have to be on the ball and remember to register the very first day…

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Grilled Cheese Day:
Apparently, it’s Grilled Cheese Day on Monday over at Slashfood! Oh, I really think getting that perfect grilled cheese photo will be a weekend project.