Thursday, June 14, 2012

By the way...CHOCOLATE

...here is a delicious chocolate recipe!


INSTANT CHOCOLATE MOUSSE (CHOCOLATE CHANTILLY)
Recipe by Herve This & Heston Blumenthal

Ingredients

4 servings
9.35 ounces (265 grams) bittersweet (%70 cocoa solids) chocolate, chopped (preferably Valrhona Guanaja)
1 cup (240 ml) water
4 tbsp sugar, optional

Method
1. Place a large mixing bowl on top of another slightly smaller one, filled with ice and cold water (the bottom of the large bowl should touch the ice). Set aside.
2. Put chocolate and water (also sugar and/or liquor if you’re using) in a medium-sized pan and melt the chocolate over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
3. Pour the melted chocolate into the mixing bowl sitting on top of ice and water, and start whisking with a wire whisk (or an electrical hand-held mixer) until thick. Watch the texture as you whip and make sure not to over-whip as it will make the mousse grainy. If the mousse becomes grainy (which is possible at your first try), transfer it back into the pan, reheat until half of it is melted, pour it back to the mixing bowl and whisk again briefly.
4. Divide into four serving cups and serve immediately.

The originial recipe is found here.

Here are TWO MORE recipes that I plan on approaching in the near future.  I am sure you will notice that I have a theme going on.  What can I say, chocolate is pretty damn delicious.

"Better than Nutella"
AND
"Chocolate-Raspberry Fudge Cake"

... they are all gluten, sugar, and dairy free.

Done with academia...for now

This is how I felt yesterday. Before I turned in my 25 page research paper.  Before I finished writing my two French essays. And before I had solidified the paper work for my field school in the INDIAN HIMALAYAS this upcoming October...



With all of that behind me...this is how I feel now:  Smoooth sailing.  All I have to worry about is ocean related pursuits, moving, and preparing to go to India for a month.  Good times.