For me Claudia’s Chocolate Mousse is the mousse by which all others are judged. It is however, not a health food. Jan usually makes it only once a year on my birthday. Jan spent years perfecting the techniques of making mousse, but she has not dared to tinker with mom’s recipe. For this year’s birthday dinner, she made some variations to make it her own. I may just have a new favorite.
Jan’s Chocolate Mousse
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Jan had oral surgery yesterday so she is on a soft food diet for the next few days. She decided to make herself some custard. She decided that she totally disagreed with the one she found in Bittman’s, so she made it from the memory from what her mother taught her fifty years ago. She did make one major change from her mother’s recipe, which was to use my orange infused sugar.
Jan’s Orange Custard
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Adapted from Joy of Cooking
Every Christmas Jan, Myr and Eilene make Rum Balls as give-aways to our friends. Originally they followed the recipe in Joy of Cooking, but a few years ago they started to make changes (adding a little instant coffee, rolling them in cocoa powder rather than sugar, using other liquors rather than rum).
Jan’s Christmas Rum Balls
Chai Rum Balls
Chocolate Chip Grand Marnier Balls
Coffee Rum Balls
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Adapted from an Anne Burrell recipe
We used to live in the house across the street. The son of the people who moved in suddenly died this week. Jan wanted to bake them some muffins as a mitzvah.
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I saw some pears in the market today. Although I usually do not make desserts, I thought about my mother, Claudia, and her baked apple crumbles. She would slice apples and spread a oatmeal mixture on top and then bake it to sweet, gooey/crunchy delight. I decided to adapt her recipe to pears.
Karl’s Baked Pear Crumble
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This is one of those more of a technique than a recipe. We have friends coming over for a last minute BBQ. Jan decided to make this as a Fourth of July dessert.
Jan’ Red, White, and Blueberries
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My neighbors know that I make jam. As a result, they occasionally show up on my door step with boxes of fruit. They buy more then they eat and then give it to me before it goes bad. Yesterday it was apricots.
Karl’s Apricot Quick Jam
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Adapted from Obsidian Stout Brownies
Backstory: Charles Worstell, who recently passed away, loved to hold court in his local cafe. When I knew him in the 1970’s it was at the Cafe Midi. More recently it was at the Revue in the Tower District in Fresno. He would frequently bring brownies, since he loved to drink beer and eat brownies. This recipe was adapted to honor him.
Jan’s Stalwart Brownies
for Charlie the Barbarian
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Adapted from a recipe by the National Honey Board
Jan was disappointed to find that the Ethiopian idea of dessert was sour cheese or just coffee. (Actually, after all of that good food who has room for “just one little thin mint?”) She decided to make an Ethiopian inspired desert by adding honey and spices to caramel and using it to make a gelato sundae.
Jan’s Sweet Ethiopia Honey Caramel Sauce Sundaes
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For me this is the chocolate mousse by which all others are judged. I have paid $10 for desert at fancy French restaurant and gotten something that was not even close to the oral satisfaction of my mother’s mousse.
Before I left home for the first time, I sat down with my mother’s recipe box and wrote down my favorite dishes. I have made a few changes from my mother’s original recipe. The most significant being that I have doubled her recipe and NO! There is no such thing as too much of a good thing! The only other change I have made is that mom always made this desert with Nestle’s Semi-sweet Chocolate Bits. Chocolate snobs that we are, we always make it with high end dark chocolate. Continue reading
Filed under Desserts & Treats, Treats
karllueck
Miriam
Jabberwocky Stew 