Day 363: This Blog's Final Discovery

My husband and I recently discovered the show "Check Please Bay Area", which is produced by and airs on the PBS affiliate here in NorCal, KQED. The show features three guests who each talk about their favorite Bay Area restaurant and then the other guests go and visit it and each reports on their experience.

We recently saw an episode that featured Sociale as one of the three restaurants. Intrigued by the menu and the garden ambiance, we decided we needed to check this place out.

I was taken with the place upon arrival. We had to walk down a narrow tree lined alley which let us out at Sociale's garden patio. It was a bit too chilly to sit outside, so we were seated indoors. The service was stellar - prompt and super friendly.

One of the dishes on the appetizer menu is deep fried olives stuffed with fontina cheese. I needed to try this (pictured). Unfortunately, it was disappointing. It tasted like super salty olives. The cheese didn't come through at all. I ate two of the eight on the plate, my husband ate one, and the remaining five were uneaten.

Next I had a salad of prawns, peaches, and cucumbers. All of the ingredients were so fresh - super crunch cukes and the peaches were so sweet and delicious. I loved it.

My main course was pappardelle pasta with duck, peas, and truffle oil. This dish was rich, savory, and luscious. I'd order it again in an instant, although the menu contained lots of other dishes that I'm interested to try as well.

It would have been great if I'd had any room left for dessert - the goat cheese cheese cake sounded so interesting - the apple and quince tart sounded delicious, and the beignets with blackberry glaze sounded amazing. But alas, I was way too full. But we'll be back. Not in time to tell you the details - but that just means you probably need to check this place out for yourself.

Day 353: Some Assembly Required

To be honest, tonight's dinner was more assembled than cooked.  I purchased some fresh pasta (cooks in 2 minutes!), a package of Aidell's chicken/turkey meatballs, and some shaved parmesan cheese.  All I needed to do was make some quick sauce and prepare the pasta & balls as suggested on their packages and presto - dinner is ready!

To make the sauce, I threw a package of cherry tomatoes and two pressed garlic cloves into the food processor and pulsed it until the tomatoes were crushed.  Then I threw all of that into a pot with a couple of splashes of white wine, a few pinches of dried oregano, and S&P.  I brought all of it to a boil and then allowed it to simmer with the meatballs for about 15 minutes.

Then came the assembly.  I mixed the cooked pasta with the sauce and meatballs in the pot I had used to cook the pasta.  I then sprinkled in a generous dose of the parm and gently mixed it all together.  Once plated, I sprinkled some more cheese over the top.

So - very little of tonight's dinner was made from scratch - but it was tasty, easy, and healthful.  On busy work nights, sometimes that's the best you can do but I think you should be proud about making dinner at home no matter what you make.

Day 342: Pretty Pile of Pasta

This beautiful bowl of pasta was a snap to put together and so tasty!  It all started with a package of fresh egg pasta, which only had to boil for 2 minutes!

Rather than sauce, I loaded this pasta with the full flavors of fresh ingredients like heirloom cherry tomatoes, toasted pine nuts, chopped basil, and lots of grated parmesan cheese.

I tossed a pound of cherry tomatoes with about 2T olive oil, 3 cloves minced garlic, and S&P and laid it all out in a single layer in a glass baking dish.  This roasted at 350 degrees for about 30 hour - until the tomatoes began to burst.

Another 4 cloves of minced garlic was sauteed with 3T olive oil and a few shakes of red pepper flakes over low heat for about 5 minutes, until the garlic was softened and mellowed out.

In a separate pan, 3T of pine nuts were carefully toasted over low heat.

When everything was ready, I cooked up the pasta (2 minutes!), drained it, and returned it to the pot.  I then added the tomatoes, garlic/olive oil, and nuts to the pot with it, along with about 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese.  Taste and add S&P as you feel is necessary.  

Serve, sprinkle a good dose of freshly chopped basil over the top, and enjoy!

Day 326: How to Get Out of Cooking Without Even Trying

Here's a tip.  If you get tired of having to cook and clean up, just cause some serious bodily harm to yourself and your wonderful hubby is bound to step in.  At least that's how it works in my house!

Last night I cut my thumb rather badly while preparing dinner.  24 hours later it's still sore and generally in rough shape so there was no way I could cook tonight.  So, we picked up a couple of NY strip steaks and some two types of orzo salad.  My husband grilled up the steaks with a simple seasoning of S&P and dinner was ready lickety split.

I love to cook and so expect this whole thing to get old kind of fast.  But I think another few days of having dinner cooked for me instead of by me is going to be quite okay.

Day 322: Chilling with Jen

A dear college friend is in town just for one night, so we wanted to take her somewhere that we know is good and that's not too noisy so we could catch up.  We decided on Bistro Aix.

After the delicious beet and goat cheese salad (one of my fave appetizers)  I had a bowl of spaghettini with tomato, basil, and grana padana cheese.  Then the three of us shared two desserts:  tarte tatin and chocolate cake.

As always, everything was delicious and it was great fun to hang out with my friend, whom I hadn't seen in almost two years!

Day 302: I Will Steal This Plating Idea!

When I ordered the grilled salmon with roasted eggplant raviolini tonight at Capannina, I expected to get some little mini raviolis.  Instead, I got one large ravioli, which served as the cushion for my fish.  Genius!

If you've been following this blog awhile, you know that plating is not my strong point.  So, anytime I encounter interesting ideas like this, I file them away in my mental cookbook.

It goes without saying that this meal, like all that I have had at Capannina, was not only visually impressive but delicious as well.  That's what keeps up coming back!

I should note that I started the meal with the soup special:  puree of asparagus and artichoke with polenta croutons.  I tried this soup for the first time a few weeks ago and it was to die for and another visual stunner.  Click here to see it for yourself.

Day 301: Little Bit of This, Little Bit of That

One reason I love Isa is that no matter what you're craving, they can deliver it.  The plates there are smaller and are meant to be shared so you can have a little bit of this, a little bit of that.

There are a couple of items that we order 100% of the time:  baked goat cheese with tomatoes, basil, and pine nuts and sea scallops with asparagus (or brussels sprouts, depending on the season) and mashed potatoes.  From there, we choose another couple of things to suit our mood.

Tonight I had a mild craving for carbs, so we had a bowl of spaghetti with truffles and cheese.  We rarely order the pasta at Isa so this was a nice change and a great treat.  We also had spicy tuna tartar with avocado and roasted duck with braised cabbage.  Like I said...a little bit of this, a little bit of that.  And all of it delicious!

Day 290: Recession Deals & Steals

Lots of restaurants are employing new strategies to bring customers in during the recession.  In our neighborhood alone, Three Seasons offers happy hour specials, Isa has half priced wine, Mezes has introduced appetizers with wine pairing, and Izzy's is now open for Sunday brunch.

We noticed that Jardiniere, a normally pricey restaurant in Hayes Valley, recently began serving a three course prix fixe menu with wine pairing for only $45 on Monday nights.  Each week, the meal has a different theme, this week being "Celebration of Spring".

This was my third time dining at Jardiniere.  I've found their food to be a little inconsistent.  Some dishes are wonderful.  Others, not so much.  But a great deal like three courses with wine pairings was intriguing enough to get me there for another try and I am so glad because the meal was wonderful.

We started with chilled pea soup, which was perfect given the steamy hot weather we've been experiencing here these past few days.  I literally felt my entire body cool off as I ate it.  Next, we had house made pasta with asparagus, morel mushrooms, ramp greens, and parmesan cheese.  Dessert was vanilla angel's food cake with whipped cream and macerated strawberries.

To see the wine pairings, click here.

If you live in SF and know of other great restaurant deals, please leave a comment and give the what, where, and when.  I'm happy to eat and drink my way to a stronger economy!

Day 272: Feeding the Monster

I have a cat named Monster, but he is not what I'm referring to in this entry's title.  I'm referring to my noisy, growling tummy!!  I was absolutely famished tonight!

First, we attempted to go to the Balboa Cafe but there was an hour wait to sit down.  So, we walked a couple of blocks to Bistro Aix where two great surprises awaited me.  First, I ran into an old friend whom I had not seen nor spoken to in ages - and since there was a short wait to sit down, we were able to catch up.

The second surprise was tonight's special:  Spaghetti with Maine lobster, tomatoes, and basil.  Lobster?!?  Just what the monster ordered!!  Not only was the dish delicious, but it was loaded with lobster and only cost $25!  The monster and my wallet are super happy tonight!

Day 271: Can You Spot My Secret Ingredient?

The goal tonight was to use up a bunch of items that we had on hand:  cherry tomatoes, fresh basil leaves, spinach, and a fennel bulb.  I decided to make some whole grain pasta and toss in those items and some others that we also had:  garlic, parmesan cheese, and my favorite secret ingredient - white wine!  The only thing I actually had to purchase was some spicy turkey sausage.

I mixed the tomatoes with two large cloves of pressed garlic, about 1.5T of olive oil, and S&P and poured everything into a square glass baking dish.  The dish went into a 375 degree oven.

Next, I set the pasta water to boil (with salt & olive oil, of course) and cooked the pasta until al dente.  While that was happening, I prepared the rest of the dish.

I chopped up two links of spicy turkey sausage and thinly sliced the fennel.  These ingredients went into a large saute pan that had been pre-heated with a light coating of olive oil.  I also added about 2-3T of white wine and stirred frequently, cooking the mixture until the fennel was softened up (about 10 minutes).  

Then, I rough chopped four large handfuls of bagged baby spinach and added them to the pan.  The tomatoes had burst in the oven by the time the spinach was wilted, so I dumped them into the pan with everything else and cooked the mixture for another couple of minutes.  Then the cooked and drained pasta went into the pan and I cooked everything until the pasta was heated through (the noodles had finished before my sausage and veggie mixture, so I had drained them and rinsed them in cold water to stop the cooking process).

Finally, I tossed in about 1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese and mixed everything together again.  Once the pasta was plated, I sprinkled another healthy dose of cheese over the top and some chopped fresh basil leaves over that.

This was a decent recipe - not one of my favorites, but a tasty and well-rounded meal with whole grain, protein, vegetables, and calcium.  The best part was, it enabled me to use up a bunch of stuff we had on hand just in time for the weekend.  Because you know I don't "do cooking" on Friday or Saturday nights.  Speaking of that, any restaurant recommendations to share?

Day 269: You Haven't Lived Until You Eat This

Picture this:  perfect mac & cheese, formed into large cubes, breaded, and deep fried.  What would one call something like that?  If you were the chef at Town Hall, you would call it mac & cheese croquettes and you would rock the world of anyone who gave into their crunchy, savory goodness.  I'm telling you that you have not lived until you try this stuff.

We hosted some new clients at Town Hall tonight and wooed them with said croquettes, many bottles of fine wine, and amazing desserts.  Oh - and there were entrees, too, but speaking for my own experience, the actual food paled in comparison to the aforementioned mac & cheese magnificence, booze, and sugary treats.

I began my meal with the soup of the day:  pureed asparagus.  As my colleague said, it was fine.  It didn't burst with fresh asparagus flavor.  It just tasted green.

Next, I had a salmon filet over mashed potatoes, leeks, and fava beans.  If you are into crispy fish skin, this was the dish for you.  I'm not so much into fish skin though and once I peeled it away, I was left with salmon that was fine but didn't blow me away.

However, the meal ended on a very positive note as I enjoyed the butterscotch and chocolate pot de creme with crunchy slices of something that reminded me of Heath Bar Crunch.  Way too good.

I'd like to thank our lovely waitress for her wonderful, friendly, and patient service.  It can't be easy to wait on 13 business people who get increasingly loud as the evening goes on.  And a big thanks to our new clients for a great evening.  I'm looking forward to enjoying a great many more wonderful meals with you in the future!

Day 261: Double Recipe Entry

I make damn good meatballs and today's you're lucky day because I'm going to give you the recipe.  Usually we eat them without pasta, but tonight I boiled up a little bit of whole wheat spaghetti.  I also made some baby broccoli as a side dish and it was beyond delicious.  All in all, a stellar meal tonight.

Meatballs:

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1/3 cup bread crumbs or panko

1/2 cup cold water (or beef broth if you have some handy)

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley

1/2 cup grated parmesan

1 lb lean ground beef

1/2 lb ground pork

1/2 lb ground lamb

Place first four ingredients in large bowl, stir together, and let sit for 5 minutes.

Pour a thick layer of olive oil into a pan and place it over a medium-high burner.

Add garlic, parsley, and parm to the egg mixture and mix everything together.  Add meat and use your hands to gently mix everything together.  If it seems too wet to hold together, add some more bread crumbs until you're happy with the consistency.  

Place two jars of your favorite tomato sauce in an oven proof pot and place in the oven at 225 degrees.  I like Classico and use some combination of their tomato basil, roasted garlic, or spicy tomato flavors.  Of course, you can make your own sauce if you prefer, but having tried that a couple of times, I find it's way more effort than it's worth for this particular recipe.

Make balls out of your meat mixture.  I like to make larger ones because you can get them all fried in fewer batches.    I get about a dozen and a half large meatballs out of this recipe.

Place a batch of meatballs in your hot oil and cook until browned.  Turn them and allow the other side to brown and then place them in your pre-heated sauce.  Once all of your meatballs are in the sauce, allow them to cook uncovered for an hour and a half.

Upon serving, grate some more parm or melt some mozzarella over the top.

Baby Broccoli:

1 package of fresh baby broccoli (we purchased ours at Trader Joe's)

2 large cloves of garlic, minced

1 small shallot bulb, chopped

1/4 cup white wine

Pour a thin coat of olive oil into a pan and warm over low heat.  Add garlic and shallot and saute for a couple of minutes until soft and fragrant.

Add broccoli, season with S&P, and turn heat up to medium-high.  Add half of the wine and stir everything together.  Add the rest of the wine a couple of minutes later, or when you see the initial bit has evaporated.

Stir frequently and cook until broccoli is at the desired doneness.  I like mine to still have a lot of crunch.

This dinner definitely takes some time to prepare, which is what makes it perfect for a Sunday night.  If you're cooking for two, then you will also be blessed with some yummy leftovers which will make dinner preparation a lot easier one night during the week.  Enjoy!

Day 250: This Dish Has it All

I had a craving for swordfish tonight, but there was none to be had at the store, so I bought ahi tuna instead.  I was also craving carbs, so I decided to cook up some whole grain pasta and mix in the fish and some veggies.

I boiled the pasta in salted, oiled water until it was al dente and then drained it, keeping about 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid aside.

While the pasta was cooking, I roasted a yellow bell pepper.  Of course, you can buy a jar of roasted peppers, but it's so easy to do it yourself.  Just cut a pepper into quarters, removing the seeds and white tissue, and place skin side up under your broiler.  Once the skins are black, toss the pepper into a paper bag  or a covered bowl and set aside for a few minutes.  Then you can easily peel the skin off and slice up the peppers.

While waiting for the water to boil and the pasta to cook, I slowly sauteed 3 minced cloves of garlic, 1 large sliced shallot bulb, and a tsp of red pepper flakes in olive oil over medium low flame.  I also defrosted about a cup of sweet baby peas.  You can do this quickly by placing them in a bowl of cool water.

All of these ingredients, including the pasta water you set aside, back into the pot in which you boiled the pasta.  Add some olive oil and fresh thyme leaves and gently mix everything together.

Begin to sear your tuna steak(s) in hot olive oil and slowly reheat the stuff in the pot, stirring occasionally.  When the tuna is cooked to taste, cut it up into bite sized pieces and add it to the pot.

This dish has it all:  lean protein (tuna), good fat (olive oil), fiber (whole wheat pasta), and veggies.  It takes a little time to put together, but it's worth it.  Enjoy!

Day 245: Urban Adventure

Despite having lived in SF for over two years, we still live our lives like New Yorkers.  This means that we walk everywhere and rarely leave our neighborhood.  We actually chose to live where we did because it was conducive to that type of lifestyle - tons of restaurants and everything you need within just a few blocks from home.

Once in awhile we decide to venture out of our comfort zone and try someplace new.  It's our idea of an urban adventure.

Tonight was one of those nights.  We hailed a cab and went over to Hayes Valley to try out Indigo.  We had a good meal, the stars being the appetizers, but as usual I was left with the feeling that we could have eaten just as well if not better at one of the stellar restaurants in the 'hood.

We started with two appetizers, which we shared.  The tuna tartar with mango was delicious, especially when scooped up into a homemade waffled potato chip.  The grilled shrimp over risotto was amazing as well.

I continued with the fish theme as I moved into the next course, with salmon over soba noodles.  The soba salad with scallions and julienned carrots was the best part of this dish.  I adore the flavor and mild sweetness of soba and because they are made with buckwheat, I think they're more wholesome than a lot of other types of noodles.

I'm always glad when we leave the borders of our neighborhood but usually, it just makes me even gladder that I live in an area with such great and diverse food options.  Three cheers for Cow Hollow!

Day 214: Pesky Cilantro - It's Back!!

We are still at Tiskita Jungle Lodge, so here we are at 6:30 having dinner with the other guests. Last night's entry explains the mealtime drill at the lodge.

Our meal was a surprising one tonight, as I hadn't expected to have lasagne while in Costa Rica. Like last night, our dinner started with a bowl of soup - this one was tomato based. Fresh tomatoes had been used, crushed and mixed with other finely minced veggies and lots of cilantro (see last night's entry for my feelings about that ingredient!).

Then, we had a salad of chopped tomatoes, celery, carrots, hearts of palm, and - wait for it - cilantro!!! I madly love hearts of palm and so gobbled up the salad despite that pesky herb. The lasagna was vegetarian, with large chunks of broccoli and other tasty fresh veggies and a pretty strong but delicious cheese melted on top. This was the first dish served at Tiskita that did not include cilantro, so I warmly welcomed and devoured every bite!

Day 210: An Early Happy Bday to ME!!

My birthday is on Sunday.  Normally, my husband would treat me to a big, fancy dinner out but we'll actually be on a plane all day (more on that later) so we celebrated tonight instead.

In recent years, my birthday has been celebrated at some freaking amazing places:  Chez Panisse, Gary Danko, Babbo!!  This year I wasn't sure what to choose and so I asked for a recommendation from a colleague who is also a big foodie.  He suggested Range.  I had never heard of it, but based on his high praise and a yummy sounding menu, I went for it.  And it was GOOD.

I started with "artichoke stuffed pasta".  Okay - that was ravioli - and I have no idea why they didn't just call it ravioli - but it really doesn't matter.  It was to die for.  Chopped almonds and fried sage leaves were sprinkled on top of the pasta and addeda ton of additional and amazing flavor.  Seriously - I could eat this dish every day.  Twice.

My entree was slow cooked pork loin with white beans, fennel, and kale.  This dish was simple, yet flavorful and delicious.

My colleague had insisted that we order dessert - and who am I to argue with advice like that?  I ordered the pink lady apple & huckleberry tarte tatin and my husband had the chocolate and espresso souffle.  I loved mine.  It came with a scoop of creme fraiche ice cream which was perfect because it wasn't too sweet while the tart itself was quite sweet.  A perfect balance.

This was a wonderful meal.  And so the birthday week begins!  We fly to Costa Rica on my actual birthday and will spend a week and a half there and in Panama.  365daysofdinner.com will go on hiatus, but check back mid next week.  I'm sure I'll have LOTS of rice and beans to tell you about!

Day 205: Sunday Night Splurge

If you're here for lowfat, healthy recipes then don't bother with this entry!!  This one is loaded with cheese and butter and therefore, is scrumptious!!

This recipe for artichoke ravioli is one of my favorites from Epicurious.com.  You can click on that first link for the details because I followed them exactly, with only these exceptions:

1 - Rather than frozen artichokes, I used canned and was careful to squeeze out as much of the liquid as possible.

2 - Instead of making my own pasta, I used wonton wrappers.  This saves A LOT of time.

This was the second time I made this recipe and I realized that this could be done as a lasagna or as stuffed shells and it would be a lot less work.  I'll try that next time.  I had a fair amount of the artichoke mixture left and plan to use it as a stuffing for chicken breast later this week.

And no splurge is complete without dessert!  For that, I picked up some tiny fruit tarts and amaretti cookies from Emporio Rulli, our neighborhood purveyor of delicious Italian baked goods and caffeinated goodness.

Hey, diets start on Monday, right?

Day 202: Give Cheese a Chance

Tonight I had a serious craving for carbs.

Rather than pasta, I boiled up some whole grain udon noodles.  I like the Eden brand, which you can find at many supermarkets these days.  These wheat and brown rice noodles are a lot lighter than most whole wheat or whole grain Italian pasta both in texture and in flavor and are packed with protein (8 grams per serving!).  They also seem to be kinder on the old digestive system than a lot of those whole grain pastas tend to be.

The first thing I did was toss a pint of sweet orange pear tomatoes with olive oil (just enough to coat), dried oregano, and S&P.  I poured this mixture into a glass baking dish and roasted it at 400 degrees until the tomatoes burst (10-15 minutes).  If pear tomatoes aren't readily available, you can replace them with some nice vine ripened red tomatoes.  Just cut them in half and roast them cut side up.

While the tomatoes were roasting, I boiled my pasta and drained it when it was just al dente.

I also heated up 1/4 cup of olive oil and 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes on low heat.  Once warm, I added five cloves of finely chopped garlic and cooked the mixture for a few minutes.  The garlic should soften up and mellow out but NOT brown.

While this was happening, I grated about 2 oz of parmesan cheese.

The final step is to combine everything in your pasta pot:  cooked noodles, roasted tomatoes and any juice that cooked out, the olive oil and garlic mixture, and the cheese.  Mix everything together gently and cook until it's at the desired temperature.  Sprinkle some more cheese over the top before serving.

You know I always need my greens, so I just steamed a bunch of broccoli to have on the side.

This was a yum meal and really satisfied my carb craving without making me feel like I had gone off the deep end nutrition-wise.  Also, if you're a meat eater, you won't miss it a bit in this vegetarian meal.  And if you do, just add more cheese.  There are no problems that more cheese cannot solve!

Day 182: Third & Fourth Wheels

Friends of ours from the East Coast have been in the Bay Area this week and today was their 10th wedding anniversary.  Since I had attended that wedding so many years ago, I thought it appropriate to suggest that we all celebrate their anniversary together.

As always, our dinner at Capannina was delightful.  You may recall that my husband and I spent Christmas Eve at this restaurant.  That night, my husband and I shared two appetizers - a beet salad with goat cheese and spicy prawns stacked high with polenta cakes.  Those prawns were so good that I had to have them again tonight.

For my entree, I chose linguini with clams and zucchini.  This dish was so simple and yet so delicious.

And of course, because we were celebrating an anniversary, we just had to take advantage of Capannina's amazing dessert menu.  The four of us shared three desserts:  a warm chocolate cake with hazelnut gelato, profiteroles with chocolate and caramel dipping sauces (my personal fave), and tiramisu.  

What a meal!  We'll have to invite ourselves to help celebrate friends' events more often!

Day 180: A New Year - A New Cuisinart

Happy New Year!!

We spent the last night of 2008 at a dinner party at our friend Julie's house.  She made a delicious lasagna with ground pork and lots of creamy ricotta.  It really was fab.

To accompany the main dish, I made a spinach salad with tiny tomatoes, orange bell pepper, raw mushrooms, toasted pine nuts, and sliced apple.

I also made cheesy garlic bread which, to be honest, was too garlicky.  Next time I'll roast the garlic first to cut down on its sharpness.

Cheesy Garlic Bread:

French baguette, sliced in half lengthwise

1/2 stick of butter, softened

1 T chopped fresh oregano

Several cloves of roasted garlic

1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella

Combine the oregano and butter and mix.  You may find it helpful to do this with a fork.

Fold the bread back to expose the inside.  Be careful not to tear the top from the bottom.  Spread herbed butter liberally on the top and the bottom the inside of the bread.

Add a thin layer of mashed roasted garlic (or finely minced/pressed raw garlic, if you prefer) on top of the buttered bottom of the bread.  Sprinkle a layer of parmesan cheese over the garlic.  Add the shredded mozzarella, fold the bread back over, and wrap tightly in foil.  

Bake bread for 15-20 minutes on 375 degrees.

The last dish I made was chocolate mousse.  Eventually it was tasty, but the preparation was fraught with disaster.  

The recipe called for 12 oz. of imported milk chocolate but I decided to get fancy and use chocolate with hazelnuts.  I broke up the bars into my Cuisinart to chop the chocolate but either I overloaded it, or the nuts were too hard for the machine, or perhaps there was another reason but next thing I knew, the processor was making a strange sound.  I stopped it, opened it up, and realized that the blade had broken in half and the loose piece was sticking into the side of the bowl of the processor!!  I didn't know something like that was even possible!  Guess I'll be welcoming a new Cuisinart to our household in 2009!

My milk was already simmering, but I needed to go to the store for new chocolate, so essentially, I needed to start from scratch.  Once all of the ingredients had been replaced, I still found the mousse somewhat difficult to make.  It's very delicate and there are several opportunity to screw it up by overcooking the milk or overmixing.  It wasn't easy, but it turned out very good.  We served in small dark chocolate cups - bit sized luxury!

I hope you all enjoyed your New Year celebration and wish you all lots of good food and tasty treats in 2009!!