French Style Chocolate Mousse

          I have a dream…about Chocolate Mousse. That it would be made the right way. Chocolate mousse nowadays has cream in it. This is not right. What made the mousse fluffy in the first place were the eggs themselves. This is why I bring you back an old classic the way it is supposed to be made. (Apologies for the measurements. I will translate them into an easier way to read at a later date)

          When making chocolate mousse, remember to get the best chocolate, and the freshest eggs.

Ingredients:

-11 ounces of dark chocolate (remember, the best you can find)

-6 eggs

-Just over 2 ounces butter (half salted, half unsalted)

-1.7 ounces of sugar

-A pinch of salt

          Melt the chocolate with the butter in a double boiler. Whip the egg whites until firm (they should stick to the top of the bowl when you tip it upside down). When chocolate and butter mixture is cooled down, mix in egg yolks and sugar. Fold delicately the chocolate mixture and egg whites (this is very important! *if you fold the egg whites too vigorously or too much, the mousse won’t be fluffy, or worse yet, won’t harden at all). Serve into any form of plating you want (ex: little glass cups, a big glass; *bowl you’re your choice*). Refrigerate for at least 6 hours. You can then top it off if you want with decorations, like whipped cream, shredded chocolate, raspberries, ECT…

          Enjoy the recipe! Subscribe, comment, and look forward to my post next week!

Ingredient Substitutions II

     This is a post I did 2 years ago and it's one of the most important ones i've done so far. That is why I am reposting it. :)

     When it comes to different recipes, there might come a time where you don't want to use a cirtain ingredient because you don't have it in your pantry. I have a solution for that. There are lots of ingredients that can be substituted. For instence:


1 cup buttermilk = 1 cup milk + 1 tbsp Lemon juice or Vinagar (I prefer lemon juice)
1 tbsp cornstarch (for thickening) = 2 tbsp flour
1 square chocolate = 3 tbsp cocoa + 1/2 tsp shortening (to me it dosn't matter if you use butter or margarine instead)
1 cup honey = 3/4 cup sugar + 1/4 cup liquid
cake flour = 4 cups flour plus 1 cup sifted cornstarch. Sift at least 4 times until very light. This is as good as any on the market.

     These substitutions are very effective when you are baking. A couple of other improvements that i would like to add is when making breads, muffins, and cakes, the recipe usually asks you to use oil but i use butter or margarine because it makes it more creamy and light. Those are all the tips i can think of today. Talk to you soon.
 
     Enjoy :D

New Years Resolutions

          Happy almost new years everyone!! I have decided to make this one a dedication to this AMAZING event! I have a challenge for you all, and for me too...new years resolutions.

1. Try at least 1 new recipe every week
2. Try 10 interesting ingredients that you have never heard of before
3. Invent 5 recipes and dedicate them to 5 people you love/5 celebrities
4. Rearrange your kitchen
5. Send me your invented recipes and ill try them. chelsea.f@shaw.ca

          Happy New Years Everyone!!!!! These are some of my cooking new years resolutions and some ones that I challenge YOU with. (PS. yes I did post early. I have to be with family again tomorrow) GOODBYE 2010!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

     Since tomorrow is Christmas and I usually post on Saturdays, I thought I would post a little early so I could spend all of tomorrow with my family and friends, but still help all you cooks out there. :)
     Now, I don't have a recipe for you today but I do have some gift ideas. Like me, you might have trouble getting presents for "everyone" or might even be financially impaired. At Christmas time, I do buy some presents, but most of my presents are homemade. Here are some ideas for homemade presents.

1. Fabrics: If you are good with your hands, you can knit, crochet, or even sew (although this is more expensive) clothes and accessories for your family and friends. I have knit a lot of presents this year.
2. Baking: Since this IS a cooking blog I have to have this one, but it’s also one of my favorites. You can get a box or a bag with nice ribbon and put a whole bunch of little samples of your favorite recipes in it. **You can also make a cookie mix or a muffin mix. Meaning, you get the ingredients (dry ingredients) and layer them nicely in a jar or a tube bag (it depends on your preference)
3. Homemade Cards
4. Mix CD's: I really like giving these, whether it’s full of Christmas music or a mix of all types of genres. It’s your decision :)

     Well there you go. you don't have to do just these things, there’s so much you can make for the Christmas holidays, these are just my favorites. Happy holidays children and peace!! :D

Chocolate Chip Muffins

     Before I show you this recipe, I would like to say that if you want to have tips on making a perfect muffin, visit my earlier post at http://pppiano99-recipeforsuccess.blogspot.com/2009/10/how-to-make-delicious-muffin-ps-this-is.html.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups quick cooking oats *optional

1 1/4 cups milk

1 egg

1/2 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup chopped pecans *optional

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

     Combine oats and milk and allow to stand for 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C). Grease each cup of one 12-cup muffin tin.
     Stir egg, oil, 1/2 cup of the brown sugar, chocolate chips and 1/2 cup of the pecans into the oat and milk mixture.
     Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add oat mixture to flour mixture, stirring until just moist. Fill each cup of one 12-cup muffin tin 2/3 full. Sprinkle tops with the remaining brown sugar and pecans.
     Bake at 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) for 20 to 25 minutes.

Chocolate Chip Scones

          Do you know what I love about scones? You can make them anyway you want them. Dried fruit, fresh fruit, chocolate chips, nuts, anything. This one calls for chocolate chips but you can litterally substitute whatever you want in it. You can even just take it out in general and this is the perfect breakfast, and perfect snack.


Ingredients
2 cups (260 grams) all purpose flour
1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated white sugar
1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (113 grams) (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold and cut into pieces
1/2 cup (90 grams) milk or semi sweet chocolate chips or chunks
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2/3 - 3/4 cup (160 - 180 ml) buttermilk

*If you don't have buttermilk, and I usually don't, you can just have 1 cup of milk to 1 Tbsp. of lemmon juice/vinegar.

          Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) and place rack in middle of oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
          In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives. (The mixture should look like coarse crumbs.) Stir in the chocolate chunks (or chips) and dried cherries. In a small measuring cup whisk together the buttermilk and vanilla extract and then add to the flour mixture. Stir just until the dough comes together (add more buttermilk or flour as necessary). Do not over mix the dough.
          Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead dough gently four or five times and then pat the dough into a circle that is about 7 inches (18 cm) round and about 11/2 inches (3.75 cm) thick. Cut this circle in half, then cut each half into 4 pie-shaped wedges (triangles). Place the scones on the baking sheet. Brush the tops of the scones with a little milk.
          Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.
          Makes 8 scones.

Fluffy Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients
1/3 cup peanut butter
¼ cup butter, softened
¼ cup white sugar
¼ cups packed brown sugar
1 eggs
1 tbsp. Milk
1 tsp. Vanilla extract
½ cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. Baking powder
1/8 tsp. Salt

     Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
     In a large bowl, cream together the peanut butter, butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until well blended. Beat in the egg, milk, and vanilla one at a time. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; stir into creamed mixture. Roll tablespoonfuls of dough into balls. Place cookies 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Press each ball once with fork tines.
     Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are lightly browned.