I kick culinary ass.

For about a year now I've had a drastic, burning desire for chocolate mousse. Not so much to eat it, but to make it, and make it well. A good mousse has always seemed to be one of those cooking mysticisms, like making mayonnaise or a really fabulous reduced pan sauce. Something I've seen numerous times on the Food Network and is made to look so stupid easy, but the minute I go to look up a recipe, suddenly appears terribly complex and off-putting. (the one time I did try a reduced sauce, some balsamic vinegar thing for salmon, it ended up caramelizing and we ate salmon with balsamic candy topping, though it was pretty darn tasty all the same.)

Last night I finally pulled my wits together and remembered The Dessert Bible, the gigantic volume from America's Test Kitchen/Cook's Illustrated that makes up half of The Classic Cookbook. Aha, success. I found the easiest mousse recipe I've seen yet. No stove use required, which seems to be what scares me away from other methods.

Melted the semisweet Ghirardelli chocolate with butter in the microwave, separated eggs, whipped a couple things, and folded my little heart out. I think I managed to maintain a bit of streakiness, one of the hallmarks of a proper mousse to me.

And another note, I listed to Weezer's Pinkerton for the duration of this project (perfect because both take about a half hour). It's been a while since I listened to that album in its entirety and it always takes me back to very comfortable early-college times. Also, there's something really perfect about the combo of making a fancy-schmancy dessert you have no one to share with and songs like "Across the Sea" and "Pink Triangle" all about being starved for emotional closeness. I watched Becoming Jane while they chilled too, so it was really one big unrequited love kinda night.

The finished product (in my favorite highball glasses I've had no use for until now) on its merry way into the fridge for a chill-down.

Fast forward 2.5 hours and this stuff is damn delicious. Creamy, light and fluffy, nice smooth bitter chocolate flavor (though I think I'd throw in a bit of espresso powder next time) and that perfect mousse-detachment sound when you pull a bite off the spoon. I want to try adding Oreo cookie bits the next batch I make. For future reference, I need to pay attention to the serving size... the recipe is for 12-16 servings and can easily be scaled back.

Next stop, mayonnaise and pan sauces?

Reading:
Atonement (not quite begun yet, but it's sitting right in front of me)

Completed:
Pride and Prejudice
Julie and Julia

Bought:
Napoleon's Buttons - Penny Le Couteur and Jay Burreson
Persuasion - Jane Austen
On Call - Emily R. Transue

Seen:
27 Dresses
Pride and Prejudice (2005)
Atonement
The Santa Clause 3
Arrested Development Seasons 1 and 2

Crafty bastard.

One of my new favorite things... reusable coffee sleeves! Pattern from Sew Simple magazine, but changed a bit so it works better. The green on the left was my first attempt, and it's a bit wonky (though that doesn't show up so much in the photo). It's one of my favorite fabrics, a green check with bees all over it, then I embroidered "buzz", because you know, it's bees... and coffee... get it? I think I made the blue one next, it's Em's birthday gift and she'll get it late this week when they're visiting. It has a silly tiny pocket for god knows what, but I embroidered a monogram "E" for her there. The third one is my favorite. I adore this drip drop fabric I bought off Etsy (have I mentioned how much I love Etsy nowadays? Well, it's a lot). I've learned that it's better to do the finishing/edgestitching in embroidery floss instead of sewing, because it looks more neat and adds a nice punch of color. One of these lives in my bag, one at home. Begone stupid paper sleeves!

The floss card with two sad little strands of floss was a beautiful color in my box that I ran out of after finishing my sampler this week. I knew I wanted to replenish, so I went off to JoAnn yesterday armed with the scrap card. Standing in front of the giant rack o'floss, I glanced briefly over the many shades, and aha! There it was, DMC #902. It was a great match, extremely close, if not the same (which it might not be, as I've probably had that skein remnant for upwards of 15 years). I stood there for another few minutes, just checking that there wasn't something better. I have color-matching skills, folks. Oh, and I have taken to labeling my cards with the number so eventually this sort of nonsense won't happen any more.

And finally, the current state of my floss box. It appears I need to expand. Ooh, and there's my card-winder-gizmo, which I have loved for many years.

"I'm not a goddamn pioneer"

Sunday night, after working long and busy shifts all weekend, I turned onto my street to see, well, nothing. Black hole of light. Blackout due to crazy winds. I kept driving, confirming that my building was out also and then turned straight off to the grocery store. The plan was to a) kill time in hopes that the power would come back and b) buy a flashlight.

I wandered around the grocery store in a haze for as long as I possibly could, walking out with four purchases (ice cream, grapes, toothbrush, mozzarella balls). No flashlights... so I ran across the strip mall parking lot to the Rite Aid. Thawed out in there (oh, did I mention it was colder this night that it's been in a long time, like 20?), and finally struck flashlight gold. The pimply kid at the counter asked me why I bought a flashlight, saying several people had bought them today. I replied that I didn't have power, and they probably didn't either.

I'll say now how eerie it is to drive around for blocks without electricity. Like some kinda zombie movie, not that I watch zombie movies.

Power still off when I get back, so I grab a bowl of ice cream, prop the flashlight and try to prevent Charlie from playing with the cord and knocking it over. The power came back on about 45 minutes later, and I see from my stove clock that it went off at 5, so it's been off for 4 hours. I had been planning on holing up in the bathroom and propping the light against the mirror so I could read. I used to sit in my half-closet over the stairs and read with a flashlight when I was little. It would have been like old times. Oh well.

End of story, I'd make a crappy pioneer.

Photos I love, part the first

Charlie, looking very much at ease, sitting on my back. Moments before, I had been trying to dry my hair. Charlie of course, saw a flat surface and an opportunity to have a rest. He has a very stressful life, you know.

This picture reminds me that I am loved and that I have two of the most wonderful friends that have ever existed.

Three little cousins, all in a row, rapidly escaping from me.

Grandmother's 95th birthday cake, which I slaved over for half a day and which she has chosen to stick her thumb in the side of. Further proof that you may do whatever you like when you are old.

This is the rare Telletubby Strawberry. Discovered in 2003 while perusing the offerings of a Case Western Reserve University dormitory cafeteria, it was quickly swept away from its fellows. This photo is the only lasting evidence of such a phenomenon. Sadly, the Telletubby Strawberry was lost to a hungry belly later that night.