Chocolate Mousse Pie

This is a perfect dessert for a crowd: creamy, chocolatey, incredibly rich, AND simple to make (really!). I found the recipe on epicurious.com (originally from Bon Appetit, Nov '92) several years ago. I've made it many times, and in the process have tweaked and tweaked, based on epicurious commenters' and my own experiences. The recipe below is my current version.

Chocolate Mousse Pie
28 Oreo cookies
1/3 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
pinch of salt
1 quart heavy whipping cream, divided
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
additional sugar and vanilla, to taste
chocolate shavings, optional

1. Finely grind cookies in processor. Add butter and process until mixture is evenly moistened. Press crumb mixture onto bottom of a 10" springform pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 8 minutes. Transfer to a rack and cool completely.
2. Put chocolate and salt in a food processor. Bring 1 cup cream to a boil in the microwave. With the processor running, gradually pour hot cream through feed tube and process until chocolate is melted and smooth. Transfer mixture to a large bowl. Cool to room temperature, stirring occassionally.
3. Beat 2 cups cream with sugar and vanilla until stiff peaks form. Fold into chocolate mixture. Spread over the prepared crust and chill until set, about 6 hours. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead.)
4. Beat remaining cream (with a splash of vanilla and about 2 Tbsp sugar) to stiff peaks. Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a star tip. Garnish top of cake with chocolate shavings, if desired, then pipe cream rosettes around the edge.

Serves 16+

It may look like a disappointingly small piece, but because it is so rich, you'll be surprisingly satisfied.

Yesterday I successfully experimented with preparing individual servings for a party. For the "crust" I put Oreos in the bottom of foil muffin papers, then topped them with the filling (yield=28 each). They were set in less than six hours, but are easier to eat today because the cookies have softened enough to be eaten with a spoon.

Storage and transportation in the muffin pan is a handy option:I topped the mini-mousses with whipped cream and a sprinkle of cocoa powder. Since I used a store bought "shaker top" instead of whipping my own cream, the rosettes deflated in mere minutes, much to my distress. Next time that's one shortcut I won't take!
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NOVEMBER 2009 UPDATE:

I wanted to take this to a party with a substantial dessert spread and felt I needed even smaller servings than the muffin cups above. At a dessert buffet, noone wants to commit to a giant portion when there are so many treats to try.

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Remembering a comment from the original online version, I baked the crust in a rectangular pan (about 10" x 15", the Pyrex that's bigger than a 9" x 13"). The crust and mousse were spread thin, but I think it was perfect. I was able to cut 48 pieces.

A squeeze of whipped cream and a sprinkling of cocoa, and the pan was ready to go.If thoroughly chilled (it's best made a day in advance but garnished just before departure), the portions are easy to serve, keeping their shape well. The low profile also meant that I could cover the pan with plastic wrap without disturbing the whipped cream. I used the real deal this time, and the rosettes looked fine even the next day.

Sugar Free Fruit Pie

Technically these pies are not "sugar free"--they're actually "no sugar added". I was bringing dessert to a gathering that included some folks who may not eat added sugar, but I still wanted to provide something homemade. I also didn't want to try actually baking with a sugar substitute; I'll bet there's a big learning curve, and sugar contributes a lot to texture (not just taste) in baking.

Anyway, after much pondering (I know, I know--get a life!), I figured out a way to make my summer fruit pie without sugar. I made sugar-free jello, and when it had chilled to the thick and gloppy stage I folded it into 3 cups of fruit. This was poured into a baked shell and covered with a little more jello.
The strawberry pie was gorgeous and also sliced very neatly. The blueberry pie (I used raspberry jello) didn't hold together as well, probably because it was piled into the super slumpy shell. I also didn't have as much "glaze" for the blueberries. Or maybe their packed together roundness kept the jello from surrounding them as well as the slices of strawberry. It was still quite tasty!I must admit I made real whipped cream (with sugar) for those who were able to indulge. Please don't hold it against me. :-)

Another caveat: I'm not saying this is necessarily a healthful variation. It depends on what you're careful about: sugar vs. artificial colors and aspartame. I think this is an option for the right situation.

Eating Humble Pie

Aaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!! Talk about hideous! When I bake an empty pie shell, I prick it all over with a fork (even the sides) and let it go. Sometimes it puffs up a little, but I just poke it a bit more during baking, and all is well. Sometimes the sides slip down a little, but not enough to matter for summer blueberry pie.

Yesterday, inspired by my sister-in-law, I tried a few variations on my usual technique. I rolled the dough inside Freeze-tite, a thicker plastic wrap that is 18" wide. What a great way to go--I didn't need extra flour, and the disk was easy to roll out and to transfer into the pie dish.

Innovation #2 was (ahem) less successful. Instead of my usual shortening, I used half butter and half shortening for the fat, trying to increase the tastiness factor. The dough was much softer. I could tell as a I transferred it and as I shaped the edges, but I decided to stick with my usual baking style anyway. You can see the results of such laziness:I had two pies to make, so I moved on to "blind baking", holding the crust in place with a piece of foil covered with weights (Split peas and lentils are what I had on hand.).I filled the foil to the tippity top because I was not just holding the bottom DOWN, but was also trying to keep the fluted edge UP. Somewhat better results, eh?Next time I'll pull the foil out a little sooner to give the top of the bottom (get it?) more time to brown.Which crust would you rather fill with yumminess? Yeah, me too.

And yes, the butter did add good flavor (although I've never minded the blandness of a Crisco crust) and maybe a little crispiness. I'm not sure if it's worth it to have such a soft dough, though. Maybe if I add a little less water...

Cherry Cobbler

As I've written before, we pick, pit, and freeze the sour cherries from our tree. Since their juiciness and sourness can vary each year, I consider a pie to be too tricky to bake. Getting the filling just the right degree of sweet and thick (but not too thick!) requires a lot of guesswork.

That's why I prefer to bake cherry cobbler. It's essentially a pie filling topped with a sweet biscuit. Soupiness doesn't matter, and ice cream or whipped cream can smooth out any over-tartness.

Over the years I've combined and fiddled with recipes, never feeling confident that I had a sure winner. Well now I've found it--in Cook's Illustrated's The Best Skillet Recipes. This is a great new book, with simpler (i.e. easier) dishes than many of their others.

You can bake the cobbler in the skillet if you have a 12" one that is ovenproof. Otherwise, make the filling in a pot and transfer to a greased casserole dish before topping with the biscuit dough and baking. I'll try to remember to post a picture the next time I make this delectable dessert.

For the record, I only tweaked this recipe a tiny bit. Here you go:

Sour Cherry Cobbler
Biscuit Topping
1 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup buttermilk
4 Tbsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Cherry Filling
3/4 - 1 cup sugar, depending on your fruit
3 Tbsp cornstarch
pinch salt
~4 cups canned or thawed sour cherries, drained, with 2 cups juice reserved
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 Tbsp coarse sugar

• For the biscuit topping: Whisk dry ingredients together. Pour cooled butter into the buttermilk; it will make tiny clumps. Stir wet into dry just until a dough forms. Set aside.
• For the cherry filling: Whisk the sugar, cornstarch, and salt together in a 12" ovenproof skillet. Whisk in the reserved cherry juice and cook over medium-high heat, whisking frequently, until the mixture simmers and is slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the cherries and almond extract.
• Using a spoon, scoop and drop 1" pieces of the dough, spaced about 1/2" apart, over the cherry filling in the skillet, then sprinkle with the coarse sugar. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake the cobbler until the biscuits are golden brown and the filling is thick and glossy, 25-30 minutes.
• Using a potholder (The skillet handle will be hot!), remove the skillet from the oven. Let the cobbler cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Summer Blueberry Pie

Blueberries are delicious, but I don't especially like them cooked. So I don't enjoy blueberry muffins, blueberry pancakes, or regular blueberry pie. That's why this cold version (similar to strawberry pie) appeals to me. It's also what makes it a summertime treat--FRESH berries are required.

I tweaked recipes from my aunt and from cookbook author Jane Brody to come up with my version. Simply bake a standard crust, make a sauce by cooking crushed blueberries with sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch, fold in raw berries, and chill. It's fabulous plain or with whipped cream, and easy enough to make extra--one to give away or save for tomorrow. ;-)

Summer Blueberry Pie
1 quart (4 cups) fresh blueberries
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water (plus more for the cornstarch)
3 Tbsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp lemon juice
9" pre-baked pie shell
whipped cream, optional

1. In a medium pot, crush 1 cup of blueberries with the sugar. Add water and bring the mixture to a boil.
2. Meanwhile mix the cornstarch with enough water to make a pourable slurry.
3. After the berry mixture bubbles, remove the pot from the heat. While constantly whisking the berries, slowly pour in the cornstarch slurry. Return to the heat and continue to whisk and simmer until the mixture is clear and thickened. Remove from heat.
4. Stir lemon juice into the berry glaze. Pour in the remaining three cups of berries, stirring with a rubber spatula until they are all coated.
5. Spread filling into the pie shell and chill. Enjoy!

Notes:

• For a strawberry variation, arrange 3 cups of berries in the pre-baked pie shell. Make the glaze and pour it over them. The strawberries need to be whole or halved--if you slice them, the gel will break and you will have strawberry soup!
• You could substitute a graham cracker (or vanilla wafer or animal cracker) crust, if desired.
• To pre-bake a regular pie crust, prick it all over (even on the sides) with a fork (this keeps it from buckling) and bake at 475 until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Although I will use store bought dough for quiche, I think it's worth the trouble to make my own crust for this pie. Baking it without any filling helps make the crust extra flaky:

Baklava

Baklava is a delicious treat--sweet with honey and cinnamon, crisp with filo and butter, rich with nuts. It is so intense that a little piece goes a long way, which means one pan is enough for a crowd.

Depending on whether you're a half-full or half-empty sort of person, this recipe is either simple but time consuming or time consuming but simple. Either way, it's worth the effort!

For the syrup:
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1/2 inch thick slice of lemon
1 stick cinnamon
1 cup honey

Combine sugar, water, lemon, and cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer about 15-20 minutes, until it has the consistency of light syrup (about 1 1/3 cups). Pour into glass measuring cup with the honey. Cool, then remove lemon and cinnamon. This can be made a day in advance and kept, covered, at room temperature--I leave the lemon and cinnamon in until it's time to pour the syrup.Pastry/Filling:
~1 cup ground almonds
~1 cup ground walnuts
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
1 pound filo pastry, thawed in refrigerator, then brought to room temperature
2 sticks unsalted butter, melted

Combine nuts, sugar, and cinnamon. It's okay to use up to 2 1/2 cups nuts, but fewer nuts = crisper, flakier pastry.

Skim foam from butter. Brush 9 x 13" pan with butter.

Lay filo on the counter and cover with a damp cloth. This will keep it from drying out and cracking. Gently lift a sheet of dough and spread neatly in the pan. Butter it lightly. Other sheets of dough will be wrinkled to fit in the pan (so rips don't matter) and buttered lightly--brush or dab.

After putting 6 buttered filo sheets in the bottom of the pan, sprinkle with 1/4 of the nut mixture. Top with 1 more buttered sheet, then 1/4 filling. Repeat.

Layer on the remaining filo sheets, buttering each (~9). Spread the top piece out flat and trim the edges to fit the pan.

Carefully cut partway through the layers (down to the beginning of the nut layer) in a diamond pattern: make diagonal cuts, starting at the top (short side) and going to the right (long) side. Then make vertical cuts from top to bottom.

Bake at 325* until the top is golden and crisp and edges pull away from the pan sides,an hour or longer. (The bottom will be darker than the top.)

Pour cool syrup over hot baklava (stay "inside the edges" of the baked pastry). Let stand to absorb the syrup, at least 3 hours. (I cover it loosely with waxed paper.) Cut through the bottom layer and serve.

If you think there is too much pastry on top, you can put more sheets of dough on the bottom instead. It won't make the bottom layer noticeably taller, though.

Plum Crisp

I'm still buying big boxes of Italian plums, but we can eat only so much kuchen. Next on the agenda: plum crisp.

I adapted the filling from a recipe on epicurious, and covered it with my favorite crisp topping.

Topping:

3/4 cup butter

1 cup plus 2 Tbsp light brown sugar

1 1/2 cups oatmeal

1 1/2 cups flour

Melt butter. Add remaining ingredients. Mix thoroughly and spread in 9 x 13" pan. Bake at 350* until golden brown, stirring every 10 minutes (~30 min. total). Set aside (it will crisp as it cools).

Filling:

3 pounds Italian prune plums (~44)

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup water

4 tsp cornstarch

• Halve and pit plums. Cut into 8 chunks each.
• In a large skillet cook plums and sugar over medium heat, stirring, until sugar is melted.
• Combine water and cornstarch in small bowl or mixing cup. Stir into plum mixture and simmer, stirring, until liquid clears and thickens.
• Pour into 9 x 13" pan and bake about 30 minutes at 350*.
• Remove from oven. When mixture stops bubbling (or later), sprinkle with topping. Serve warm or cold.

Below is the filling shortly after removal from the oven:And here is the completed crisp:Okay, I can hear the complaining already: "Why should I bother to cook the topping separately? What a hassle! Why is she so picky? I always top the fruit before baking." Well, friends, I made my first batch the old way, and this is what it looked like:

Not so pretty, huh? As the fruit cooked, it bubbled all over the topping. Most of it was gooey and chewy rather than crisp and light. (It didn't help that I made too much topping in the first place.) Cooking the streusel separately is well worth it, and isn't much extra effort. It can even be done (in its own pan) at the same time the fruit is cooking. Opening the oven to stir isn't a problem.

Additional notes:

• You can add 1-3 tsp cinnamon to the topping.
• I made this twice, and had 43 and 44 plums in 3 pounds. Your plums' sizes may vary, so weight is a more reliable measure. If I make this again soon I'll try to remember to record the volume (in cups) of cut fruit.
• If there is more topping than you care for, don't sprinkle it all on the plums. Keep the extra in a container (mine is in the fridge) to sprinkle on ice cream or applesauce or whatever. It's hard to go wrong with brown sugar and butter...
• UPDATED 9/26: We (Joe and Marianna helped) made another today and had 8 cups of cut fruit.
• Another lesson learned the hard way: If you're going to take this to a friend's house, wait to put the topping on when you get there so the jiggling in the car doesn't make it sink. Waah...

Oma's Plum Kuchen

When those Italian plums (prune plums) show up in the grocery store in late summer, I always think of Oma. She had a dough recipe that she used for making sticky buns, pineapple rolls, and most importantly, plum kuchen (koo-ken). She was a loving grandmother and a great cook, and was so generous with her time and talent. (Among other things, she made me some special birthday cakes and gave me the cake decorating bug.)

I hardly ever buy the plums or try to bake with them myself, but this year I went crazy and bought a five pound box at Costco! Let me tell you, that is A LOT of little plums! I came home and almost desperately prepared a batch of kuchen. Yum! I finished the box a few days later with another 1/2 batch, which is documented below. I've adapted it a bit, as is my usual practice (can't leave well enough alone...). Enjoy.

By the way, there are many kinds of kuchen. This one is essentially bread and fruit, and is only lightly sweetened. I think some are much sweeter and cakier in texture, but this is the kuchen I've always known and loved.

Kuchen
2 cups milk
2 pkgs yeast (4 1/2 tsp)
2 Tbsp instant potato
4 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
6-7 cups flour
1 egg
Italian plums (40-50)
cinnamon sugar

• Heat milk to 105-115* and pour some into the mixing bowl of a stand mixer. Add instant potato and yeast and stir to dissolve.
• Add butter to the remaining milk and heat just enough to melt the butter. Add sugar and salt, stir, and set aside to cool slightly.
• Add some flour to the yeast mixture and mix on low speed. Add egg and some more flour and continue mixing. Gradually add the warm milk/butter mixture and continue mixing. Continue adding flour in small amounts (speed 2 on Kitchen Aid) until the dough is smooth and leaves the sides of the bowl. Let it continue mixing for 2 more minutes.
• Turn dough out and lightly oil the mixing bowl. Form the dough into a ball and put it back into the bowl, turning it over so all surfaces are greased. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until double in size (40-80 minutes). Punch down dough and let it rise 2 more times.
• Punch down the dough a final time, and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Let it rest while you grease your pans. Roll out the dough (it will be thin) and place in pans.
• Sprinkle dough with cinnamon sugar, cover with plum halves (skin side down), and sprinkle again with cinnamon sugar. Let rise again, then bake at 350* for 25 minutes. Best eaten warm!
• Yield: 7 round cake pans or 2 (~11 x 17") jelly roll pans/baking sheets with sides

Notes:

• Most of the dough ingredients can be added in any order. Just don't add the salt to the initial yeast mixture, and don't add the hot milk/butter until there are enough other ingredients to stop that heat from overwhelming and killing the yeast.
• Quicker rising: Boil water in the microwave (in a Pyrex measuring cup). Leave the cup of water in there and put in the mixing bowl of dough. It's now in a very warm, humid environment.
• The second and third rises are much quicker than the first. Be ready.
• The dough may have to rest now and then during rolling out. You'll know because it will keep pulling back and resisting your stretching. Leave it for a few minutes until it is cooperative again.
• The first time, I misread the recipe and baked the kuchen at 375* for 20 minutes. It was just as good.
• Oma's recipe said the dough would be less than 1/2", but I was nervous because it was MUCH thinner. This picture doesn't do it justice--I'll bet it was below 1/4".

Here's a picture of a panful of dough and fruit. The fruit looks HUGE on the thin layer of dough--don't worry! All will be well. (The white stuff in the lower left corner is sparkle sugar I added. Don't bother--most of it melted, and what remained wasn't worth the effort.)

Below is the unrisen dough with raw plums on it. Notice how much of the pan sides you can see.

See the puffiness now just before going into the oven.

And the extra rise from baking. Don't the plums look luscious now?

Kuchen is best eaten warm from the oven. It is also excellent the next day for breakfast (wrap tightly), IF you microwave it for a few seconds to freshen it up.

Thanks, Oma, for all the love.

Indian Cheese and Nut Dessert Balls

This recipe comes from Sundays at Moosewoood Restaurant, page 320.

1 1/2 cups chenna
1/3 cup confectioner's sugar
3/4 tsp grated orange rind
2-4 tsp orange juice
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup finely chopped almonds or pistachios (we needed LESS)
optional garnish: mandarin oranges

Place the chenna in a bowl and add the remaining ingredients, except the nuts and orange sections. Mash until smooth with a spoon or your fingers. Form the mixture into a dozen or so walnut-sized balls (We made them smaller.) and roll each ball in the chopped nuts to coat. Chill until ready to serve.

If you've used freshly made chenna, these dessert balls will keep for 3 or 4 days if tightly wrapped and refrigerated.

Moosewood Fudge Brownies

These are currently my favorite brownies. They are fudgy rather than cakey, and are still moist the next day (if any are left). They are intensely chocolate compared to the ones I used to make with cocoa or any made with a mix. Two other pluses: QUICK and EASY.

The recipe was first published in Mollie Katzen's Moosewood Cookbook (1977). I'm using the version from Moosewood Restaurant Book of Desserts (by the Moosewood Collective, 1997).

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
3 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 cup flour

• Melt butter and chocolate in the microwave on 50% power, stirring every 30 seconds or so.
• Stir in the brown sugar and vanilla.
• Stir in the eggs until the mixture is smooth and glossy.
• Add flour. Stir or fold in with spatula just until combined.
• Spread in greased 8" x 8" pan and bake at 350* for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted halfway towards the center no longer comes out gooey. It may have moist crumbs attached. DO NOT OVERBAKE.

Notes:

• I use regular (not unsalted) butter because there is no salt in the recipe.
• This is of course easy to double. Spread into a 9" x 13" pan.
• Don't use a 9" square pan; an 8" square is much closer to half a 9" x 13".
• It's no mistake--there is no leavening (baking powder). That's one reason they're not cakey.
• These are yummy as is, but my children prefer them sprinkled with SEMISWEET mini m &m's, which I am now having trouble finding in the grocery store.
• I like them sprinkled with nuts, although the amount shown above is a bit too much (big chunks). I do think it's better to put the nuts on top so nut-phobes can avoid them and so they get a bit toasty (and thus more flavorful) during baking.
• The recipe suggests adding instant coffee (which I haven't tried) or cinnamon. I used 1/2 tsp of high quality cinnamon last time, but couldn't taste it. It must take a lot to compete with all that chocolate!
• Did you notice that only one bowl gets dirty?
• There is no need to adjust the temperature for glass vs. metal pans. I lowered the temp for a glass pan a few batches ago, and they took FOREVER to bake.

UPDATE (April 2010): For a Mexican/Aztec style brownie, add some heat and sweet spiciness. Today I made the recipe above, but included 1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle chile pepper (smoky and warm) and 2 tsp cinnamon (even better than the China Cassia linked to above). Delicious! I consider this an adult (sophisticated) flavor, but some of the children who tasted samples also enjoyed it.

Gingerbread Cookies

Gingerbread cookies are our one must-have at Christmas. They are dark and spicy and not too sweet. We decorate them with store-bought icing, sprinkles, and colored sugar. As the icing hardens it helps keep the cookies soft.

Logistically, these are practical cookies. I can make the dough and refrigerate or freeze it (pre-rolled). Later I cut and bake, then store at room temperature. Finally we set up for a decorating extravaganza.


Some of these pictures are from Marianna's May 2008 birthday party. The rest are from Christmas 2004.

Gingerbread Cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 generous cup molasses

4 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp each cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger

1/2 tsp mace (optional)

1/2 tsp crushed anise seed (optional)

Beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Blend in molasses. Gradually add dry ingredients. Flatten into 2 rounds and chill one hour or more. Roll to 1/4" or a bit thinner. Cut into shapes. Bake on greased baking sheets (or use parchment paper) at 350 degrees for 6-8 minutes. Cool on pan about 1 minute, then transfer to cooling rack. Makes about 3 dozen.

Notes:

After mixing the dough, I roll it between layers of heavy duty plastic wrap (freeze-tite), then chill on a baking sheet.

For cutting out, I tape lightly floured freezer paper (shiny side up) to the island, OR I cut right on the plastic wrap.

• Scraps are rerolled in the plastic wrap. I put the rerolled dough in the fridge while I'm cutting another piece. If time is short I'll even put dough in the freezer.
• Baking time depends on dough thickness. Cookies could take up to 10 minutes, but not for me. If they're a little overbaked, the icing can soften them up, but there is a point of crispiness that can't be undone.
• One can of ready-to-spread frosting is enough for one batch of dough. At Christmas I make a double batch so we all have plenty to decorate.
• Duncan Hines classic vanilla (NOT whipped) icing is whiter than Pillsbury icing. I don't know how it compares to other brands.
• I use the high quality gels for coloring the icing. It is hard to make a Christmasy red; just do your best.
• I put the icing in pint size freezer bags and snip a hole in the corner of the bag. A plastic spatula comes in handy for occasionally squeezing icing back towards the corner.
• Sometimes I put the white icing in a real decorating bag with a writing tip. This makes for more attractive snowflakes and Santa beard/hair/trim. I used freezer bags on the cookies pictured above, and don't think they look as good as others I've made.
• The children decorate for as long as they are having fun, and then I finish up, usually in an assembly line style.

Best-Ever Hot Chocolate

February is a great time to think about (and to drink) hot chocolate, and I've got a delicious version. It's better and easier than those recipes that call for cocoa powder with powdered milk or coffee creamer. Please don't even mention the bags of "hot cocoa mix"...

The house with the big trampoline might have more kid visitors most of the time, but we definitely draw the apres-sledding crowd.

Hot Chocolate
1 quart milk
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
vanilla, to taste

Heat milk almost to a boil. Add chocolate. Pause. Whisk until chocolate is melted, then add vanilla to taste. Enjoy; we like ours topped with whipped cream or mini marshmallows.

Notes:

• I just splash the vanilla in. I'd guess 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons for this batch.
• To make an individual serving, use 1 cup milk, 3 Tbsp chocolate, and a smaller splash of vanilla.
• We usually use skim milk, but the creamier milks are more luxurious.
• Speaking of luxury, for a more sophisticated drink (dessert?) use whole milk, or milk with part cream, and add bittersweet chocolate. If you don't have bittersweet, make some by substituting unsweetened baking chocolate (chopped or shaved) for part of the chocolate chips (1:3 ratio).
• I usually heat the milk (4-6 cups) in an 8 cup glass pyrex measuring cup in the microwave. After whisking the chocolate and vanilla, it's easy to pour into mugs. For larger batches I use the stovetop and serve with a ladle.

Crisp Topping

This is a versatile topping for fruit crisp. For apple crisp, we put a standard apple pie filling (like Betty Crocker's recipe for a 9" or 10" pie) into a 9" glass square pan, then sprinkle this on top. I've adapted the recipe from one in Some Like it South! by the Junior League of Pensacola, Florida.

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup oatmeal
1 cup flour

Combine and crumble over fruit. Bake at 350 degrees until fruit is tender and topping is brown; check at about 35 minutes.

Notes:

• Even if you love crisp topping, do NOT increase the amounts! I've already done it! I gave this recipe to my sister years ago, and she automatically increased everything, forgetting that great minds think alike. She wondered why the fruit/topping ratio was so low. ;-)
• This is a good give-away dessert. When I'm taking a meal to a family, I avoid giving them dishes that need returning. I put the pie filling in a plastic freezer bag, and the topping in another bag, along with instructions. The family can dump them into the pan and enjoy the smell of a warm dessert, too.

Sticky Rice with Mango

If you've been to a Thai restaurant, you've probably tried sticky rice with mango. It seems to be one of the national desserts of Thailand, equivalent to apple pie or chocolate chip cookies here in America.

It is delicious! The rice is, yes, very sticky, and slightly sweet with the subtle flavor of coconut milk. The juicy, sweet mango is a perfect counterpoint, although fresh pineapple is good, too.

I found a recipe on epicurious.com (from the June 1994 Gourmet), but have since adapted it. The original recipe included a sauce to drizzle over the final product, but didn't use a whole can of coconut milk. I found it annoying to store the leftover milk, and we eat this up so quickly that I decided to revise the recipe using more rice and a whole can of coconut milk. I made it a little sweeter and omitted the sauce. It's still delicious, and even easier. You do need to plan ahead to soak the rice overnight, but there is not much "active" work involved in making this dish.

Sticky Rice with Mango
2 1/4 cups glutinous (sweet) rice
1 can (14 oz.) unsweetened coconut milk
2/3 cup sugar (9/26/08: or up to 3/4 cup)
1/4 tsp salt
fresh mango, peeled and cut
toasted sesame seeds, optional

1. In a bowl wash rice well in several changes of cold water until water is clear. Soak rice in cold water to cover overnight.
2. Drain rice well in a sieve. Set sieve over a large deep saucepan of simmering water (sieve should not touch water) and steam rice, covered with a kitchen towel and a lid, 30-40 minutes, or until tender (check water level in pan occasionally, adding more water if necessary).
3. While rice is cooking, heat coconut milk, sugar, and salt, and stir until sugar is dissolved.
4. Put tender rice and coconut mixture into glass 9" x 13" pan (or other appropriate dish), and stir well with spatula. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature at least 30 minutes, until coconut milk is absorbed.
5. To serve, cut a square or rectangle of rice, and put on plate. Sprinkle on sesame seeds, if desired. Serve with mango.

Notes:

• The original recipe called for just one mango. This is in no way enough for us. You'll probably want two or three.
• The rice is special. The grains are short and fat. It's called glutinous or sweet rice, and will probably be from Korea or Thailand. Check the international aisle of your grocery store, or else an Asian store.
• In the past I've used a sieve and pot to steam the rice, but now I use a rice cooker with a steamer insert. Both methods work well.
• I store the leftover rice at room temperature, but keep the fruit refrigerated.
• UPDATED NOTE: Even at room temperature the rice can get stiff. Microwaving a portion for a few seconds makes it softer and pleasantly warm (don't go for hot). You might also try using just 2 cups of rice.
• UPDATE #2 (9/26/08): Our local Trader Joe's sells frozen diced mango. It thaws out pretty well--not mushy. Fresh is of course better, but this is easy and reliable (always ripe, always available, not stringy...).