Chocolate Mousse Cups

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With Valentines Day just around the corner, time to start thinking about some chocolate delicacies.  One of my all time favorites is Chocolate Mousse….I guarantee this recipe is very easy and very quick…did I mention also very very yummy?????

Start out with a few basic ingredients….you can find the “flavorless gelatin” in the “jello” isle of your favorite grocery store.

Ingredients

Ingredients

Place mixing bowl and beaters in the freezer for at least 15 minutes.  Add chocolate, butter, expresso (or coffee), and rum (or extract) to a double boiler pan (or a small metal bowl).

Double Boiler

Double boiler

Stir until almost melted, its fine if you have a few chunks of chocolate.  Remove from heat and set aside.  Add 1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin to ¼ cup of heavy cream.  Let sit for 10 minutes.  Heat by swirling the cup over a low gas flame or a candle.

If you don't have a gas stove

If you don’t have a gas stove

You just want to heat this, do not boil it.  Stir mixture into melted chocolate and set aside.  Remove your chilled bowl and beaters from the freezer and add remaining heavy cream.  Whip cream until soft peaks form when beaters are removed from cream.

Whipped Cream

Whipped cream

Fold large dollop of cream into chocolate mixture.  Continue adding cream until incorporated into the chocolate mixture.

A dollop of cream

A dollop of cream

Spoon mouse into chocolate tulip cups or mini fillo shells.  Chill mousse for 1 hour.   Garnish with additional cream, cinnamon sticks and or fresh mint.

Chocolate Tulip Cups

Chocolate Tulip Cups

Fillo Shells

Fillo Shells

Ingredients:

2 cups whipping cream, divided
12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup expresso (or strong coffee)
2 tablespoons dark rum, or 1 tablespoon rum extract
4 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon flavorless granulated gelatin
1 package Athens Mini Fillo Shells or 12 Chocolate Tulip Cups

Chill metal mixing bowl and mixer beaters in freezer.

In top of a double boiler, combine chocolate chips, expresso, rum and butter over medium heat.  Stir until almost melted, remove from heat.  Let stand, whisking occasionally, until room temperature.

Pour 1/4 cup whipping cream into a metal measuring cup or small pan.  Sprinkle in the gelatin.  Let gelatin “bloom” in pan for about 10 minutes.  Heat by swirling the measuring cup or pan over a low gas flame (or candle).  Do not boil or gelatin will be broken.  Stir gelatin mixture into cooled chocolate and set aside.

Remove chilled mixing bowl and beaters from freezer.  Add remaining whipping cream (1 3/4 cups) and beat to medium peaks.  Stir 1/4 of the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture.  Fold in remaining cream.  Do not over mix the mousse, its fine if the chocolate is streaked with the cream.

Spoon mousse into chocolate tulip cups or mini fillo cup shells (cooked according to package directions).  Chill for one hour, garnish with additional whipped cream, cinnamon sticks and or fresh mint, if desired.

Yield:  15 Fillo Shells or 12 Tulip Cups

3 Quick & Easy, Healthy, Nutritious and Delicious Fish Recipes

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Tilapia en Papillote

4 tilapia filets
1 large zucchini, julienned
1 large yellow squash, julienned
1 large carrot, julienned
1 medium shallot, thinly sliced
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice, about 1 orange
Zest of 1 orange
Salt & pepper, to taste
Vegetable oil
Weber® Boston Bay Seafood Seasoning

Preheat oven to 450°F. Position a rack in the center of the oven.
Combine zucchini, yellow squash, carrot, onion, shallot, orange juice, orange zest, salt and pepper in a mixing bowl.
Cut four pieces of parchment paper 24×16-inches. Fold each piece of parchment paper in a half. Using scissors, cut each folded piece of paper into a heart shape. Place an opened parchment heart on your work surface with the fold running vertically. Brush one side of the heart lightly with oil.
Place fillets on the oiled half, sprinkle seafood seasoning over fish and 1/4 of mixed vegetables on top. Fold the other half of the parchment heart over the fish, covering it completely. Crimp edges to form a sealed pouch.
Place packages on baking sheet, lightly brush the top of each package with oil; bake until the paper is puffed and brown, about 15 minutes.
Place heart shaped package on plate. Cut slashed in the parchment at the table to release the aromatic steam.

Mediterranean Swordfish

4 slices of Swordfish cut about 1/2” thick
1/2 pint cherry or grape tomatoes
1 sliced shallot
1/2 cup chopped black kalamata olives
3 tablespoons capers, rinsed and drained
4 ounces feta cheese

Preheat oven to 425°F.
Place swordfish on hot grill or hot grill pan and sear on both sides. Remove from the grill. Place swordfish on one half of baking sheet lightly sprayed with cooking spray. At other half add tomatoes, shallots, olives, capers and feta cheese. Bake 10-15 minutes or until an internal temperature reaches 140°.
Place swordfish on plate and top with vegetables and cheese.

Smoked Salmon

1 pound fresh salmon
2 lemons, one juiced, one sliced
1 teaspoon Weber® Zesty Lemon & Chicken Seasoning
Cameron Stovetop Smoker 
1 teaspoon Adler chips (comes with smoker)

Place 1 teaspoon adler chips in stovetop smoker. Lightly spray grill with cooking pan spray. Place salmon on grill pan, squeeze one lemon over salmon, top with Zesty Lemon Seasoning and sliced lemons. Close top of smoker leaving 1-inch open and place on medium high heat. When smoke appears through opening, completely close cover. Cook 20 minutes or until internal temperature measure 140°F on a food thermometer.
Remove salmon from grill pan. Serve with additional lemon, if desired.

Baked Stuffed Lobsters

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I just love traditions!  Our annual New Year’s Eve tradition is a wonderful lobster meal.  This year I stuffed the lobsters, purchased some shrimp fried rice at a local Chinese restaurant and some cole slaw from Germantown Commissary.  Yum!  What  a meal!

First purchase a couple of lobsters from your local grocery store.  Bob is the “killer of the lobster” person in our house.  I suppose I could do it, but I really like getting him involved in cooking.  Never had a lobster before we started dating back in 1971.  Bob’s family had a home on Long Island Sound and Bob grew up tending lobster pots with his dad.  I can remember the first time I had a lobster at his parents house,  his dad showed me how to open the little guy…but by the time I had it opened the meat was cold….hehehe.  Good memories.

Place lobster on his back

Place lobster on a cutting board.  Cut open the lobster by inserting your knife just underneath the head and the cutting down, splitting the belly (body and tail). Remove the “inners” (heart, guts, etc., but not meat).  Remove the black vein and rinse under cold running water.  Place lobster on baking sheet.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Remove the black vein

Remove the black vein

In a medium size skillet over medium high heat, melt 2 tablespoons of clarified butter.  Add shallot, celery, red pepper and lemon seasoning.  Saute until soft, about 10 minutes.  Deglaze vegetables with wine, sherry (I just love Harvey’s Bristol Cream in lobster recipes) and lemon juice.  Cook an additional 5 minutes over low heat.  Remove pan from stove.  Add 4 ounces of salad shrimp,  pankos, parmesan cheese and chopped fresh parsley, mix until well combined.

Chopped shallots, celery and red pepper

Chopped shallots, celery and red pepper

Place lobsters on baking sheet, stuff inside with stuffing and drizzle lobsters with 2 tablespoons of remaining clarified butter.

Stuff lobster

Stuff lobster

Place in preheated oven and bake 15-20 minutes, or until the tail reaches an internal temperature of 140° on an instant-read thermometer.  This meal would be very expensive in a restaurant, but you can make this at home for a fraction of that cost.  It’s really pretty easy, and not that time consuming.  I hope you try this wonderful lobster recipe at home and feel free to leave me your comments.  Bon Appetite!

Baked Stuffed Lobsters

2 live 1 1/2 pound lobsters
salt and pepper to taste
6 tablespoons clarified butter, divided
1 small shallot, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, diced
1/4 red pepper, diced
1/4 teaspoon Weber® Zesty Lemon & Seafood Seasoning
2 tablespoons white wine, drinkable quality
1 tablespoon Harvey’s Bristol Cream
juice of 1/2 lemon
4 ounces cooked and peeled salad shrimp, rinsed (can be found in the frozen seafood section of your grocery store)
1/2 cup Pankos
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Prepare lobsters for stuffing.  Cut open the lobster by inserting your knife just underneath the head and the cutting down, splitting the belly (body and tail). Remove the “inners” (heart, guts, etc., but not meat).  Rinse lobster under cold water.  Lightly season inside of lobsters with salt and pepper.

In a medium size skillet over medium high heat, melt clarified butter.  Add shallot, celery red pepper and lemon seasoning.  Saute until soft, about 10 minutes.  Deglaze vegetables with wine, sherry and lemon juice.  Cook and additional 5 minutes over low heat.  Remove pan from stove.  Add remaining ingredients and mix until well combined.

Place lobsters on baking sheet and stuff inside with stuffing.  Drizzle each lobster with 2 tablespoons of remaining clarified butter.  Place in preheated oven and bake 15-20 minutes, or until the tail reaches an internal temperature of 140° on an instant-read thermometer.