Lay your troubles to rest
Has it really been a week already since I last posted? Whirlwind times my friends, just a whirlwind. Nothing in particular that exciting has happened; I’ve just managed to keep myself very busy. Let’s see: work, work, drama with friends, work, weekend parties, saw Bridesmaids twice and more work. I posted about my job two recipes ago so I won’t bother you with details about my job. “Bridesmaids” is hilarious and if you haven’t seen it yet, you really should. There’s one scene that goes overboard with the toilet humor (spoiler alert: food poisoning yuck) and it could have been a little less obvious. Otherwise the movie was clever, adorable and managed to take Chris O’Dowd (aka Roy from The IT Crowd) and bring him across the Atlantic from Ireland/Great Britain to become a new Hollywood heart-throb. My girlfriend Betsy, remember the one with the boyfriend troubles I told you about, is in LOVE with O’Dowd’s character in the movie. Too bad we couldn’t pluck him out of the screen for her.
Then there was some drama that Betsy and I traced back to that lying ex of hers. Apparently about a month ago he spread a rumor about me to members of my pubquiz team. Despite discovering the source the male members seem to have chosen to believe the con artist over me. I was distraught about it for a day and then decided it was their fault. Seriously though, can someone explain to me why men have an irrational need to side with one another even when it’s obviously wrong?
I hate gender wars. It’s especially frustrating for me. See I tend to get along better with men because my interests more commonly align with those of the opposite sex. It has to do with a long standing stereotype that geeky things are male territory but thankfully the geek-girl movement is gaining momentum. I’ve got a rant, er, essay on the topic of girl-geek acceptance formulating in my mind for a post another day. Well I certainly found a baker’s dozen of women to gush about science fiction and comics with during filming for “The Guild.” Still, once back in Davis CA I find my selection more limited. I wish I had more because geeky women seem to be of a superior breed of women i.e. less catty toward another. Probably because we have a hard enough time as it is. This is usually also an upside to hanging out with men who share my passion for fantastical things. The problem with *men* is that one-sided emotional entanglements tend to happen and it’s always one guy developing feelings for me that causes a rift. As a result I end up losing a lot of friends.
So to all my girl geeks out there: THANK YOU for existing and I’ll be writing a post dedicated to all of you in the coming weeks. In the meantime here is a recipe for some delicious Chocolate Mousse w/Chocolate Port Ganache atop a Chocolate Cookie Crust. There’s definitely one girl stereotype that I do embody and that’s a love of chocolate when I’m sad. A little dopamine is just the thing, but be careful ladies, don’t drown yourself in it too long lest you fall into Guisewite’s Paradox. Instead focus those bad energies on some time in the pool or on a run so you can couple that chocolate high with an endorphin rush.
Death by Chocolate
adapted from Bon Apétit
Ganache:
- 1 1/4 cups plus 1/2 cup (or more) ruby Port
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter
- 4 ounces high-quality milk chocolate (such as Lindt, Perugina, or Valrhona), chopped
- 1 tablespoon sugar
Mousse:
- 2 large eggs, separated
- 2 tablespoons water
- 10 tablespoons chilled heavy whipping cream, divided
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 6 ounces high-quality milk chocolate (such as Lindt, Perugina, or Valrhona), chopped
- 2 cups chocolate wafer crumbs
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 6 tbsp melted butter
Before adding the port ganache
For Cookie Cups:
Bled the crumbs with the brown sugar and butter with your fingers. This gives you the added bonus of having something to lick off them at the end. Prep a muffin pan with small pieces of parchment paper; this will make it easier to pull out your cups. Press the crumb mix into each muffin round to make small cups. Bake at 350°F for about 15 minutes, remove and cool to room temperature before attempting to pull out the cups.
For ganache:
Boil 1 1/4 cups Port in heavy medium saucepan until reduced to 1/4 cup, about 9 minutes.
Meanwhile, simmer cream and butter in small saucepan. Remove from heat. Add chocolate; whisk until smooth. Stir 2 tablespoons Port reduction into chocolate mixture. Add 1/2 cup Port and 1 tablespoon sugar to Port reduction. Boil until syrup coats spoon thickly, 6 to 7 minutes.
For mousse:
Whisk yolks, 2 tablespoons water, 2 tablespoons cream, and sugar in heavy medium saucepan. Stir over medium-low heat until custard thickens enough to coat spoon, about 5 minutes (do not boil). Remove from heat. Add chocolate; stir until smooth. Transfer chocolate mixture to medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat egg whites in another medium bowl until soft peaks form. Fold whites into chocolate mixture in 2 additions. Beat 8 tablespoons cream in another medium bowl until peaks form. Fold cream into chocolate mixture. Cover; chill at least 6 hours. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled.
