The Fashion of Food

When was the last time you had chocolate mousse?

I haven't had it in ages. Oh, I mean, I have had the mousse-like filling in cakes and desserts but real chocolate mousse all on its own. Well it must be 10 or more years! And back in high school I decided it was in my top few desserts to order. I thought I was the height of sophistication to have this as my favorite. Maybe because I had been to Paris and tried it there. Maybe because my friend, Terri and I made it as part of a French class presentation/skit. Oh how we slaved over both the mousse and our cooking show lines in French. But we made a mean mousse and got an excellent grade.

Flash forward 20 plus some years and now cooking shows are more ubiquitous than newspapers it seems. Many would do anything to be one of the select few that gets paid to talk about their passion. Cooking and food blogs are more than plentiful. But where is the chocolate mousse? I don't see it on restaurant menus often. Of course with two little ones I am not at restaurants often either. Has it fallen out of fashion? Is it passé? I have really had a craving for it lately.

Food does have it's own trends. Things are in and out. I think mousse is one of them that just isn't that in right now. Or do you disagree? At any rate, you need fear not because there are plenty of recipes for this classic dessert all over the internet both in blogs and major sites like the Food Network and Epicurious. And many of them are very simple too. After making it the other night, I felt so satisfied with just a little bit. I say, let's bring it back in style! At least in our own kitchens.

I chose a recipe from Kim's site at Easy French Food. It was so simple and quick (except for the chill until set or overnight part)!

Mousse Au Chocolat

• 8 ounces good quality dark cooking choclate
• 6 eggs, at room temperature*
• whipped cream (optional)

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler.

Seperate the eggs into two large bowls.

Beat the egg whites until very stiff.

Stir the melted chocolate into the egg yolks, beating vigorously until the mixture is smooth.

Stir one third of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and mix until thoroughly blended.

Carefully fold in the rest of the egg whites.

Spoon the mousse into individual parfait glasses, chill and serve with whipped cream and shaved chocolate if you wish.

4 to 6 servings

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This version of chocolate mousse was not as fluffy or airy as I remembered it to be. It was dense and rich and I really thought it needed a bit of the whipped cream with every bite. But it was good and did not feel too heavy or as fattening as so many desserts can be. If you have the foresight to prepare dessert a day ahead of time, I say try this! It also makes entertaining easy to just have it all set and ready to serve. Just whip your cream before you serve it. Delish! Thanks Kim, for the inspiration. And my kids loved it. I felt like I gave them protein and dessert in one fell swoop!

Next time I might try Julia Child's Perfect Chocolate Mousse Recipe that I found on David Lebovitz site. It looks a bit more involved and tricky but I am up for the challenge!

Hey, how do you like my cute little glasses my parents got for me in Morocco a few years back! They are perfect for this kind of little dessert or for lemoncello!

* One more note. This chocolate mousse recipe and many others uses raw eggs so make sure they are fresh and do not let the mousse sit out of the refrigerator for very long.