My 1st pain d'epices was messed up and I didn't even know!

About a month ago, I made a pain d'epices for the first time. Well it wasn't until I made another one a couple of days ago that I realized I had completely messed it up the first time! I forgot to add a whole entire cup of water to the batter before adding the dry ingredients!

This time, with the water, the pain d'epice was much more moist and flavorful. Yum!

Here I was putting the dry ingredietns together and I thought it looked pretty:

And the result:

And I also wanted to show my new kitchen gadget, a bread keeper. Love it! It's expendable and has a cuting board.

Chocolate Mousse

When I was a teenager, I used to make chocolate mousse very often. It had been at least 10 years since I had made some so I was a little nervous when I set off to make some a few weeks ago. I think the result was pretty good but in an effort not to "break" the eggs, I think I didn't incorporate the chocolate well enough witch resulted in some white lumps. Nothing dramatic, but it's definitely something I need to improve on next time I make it!

This recipe is from La Tartine Gourmande.

Ingredients:

- 150 g dark chocolate

- 1/2 cup (100 ml) cold heavy cream

- 10 g sugar

- 5 egg whites

Melt your chocolate using the bain-marie technique.

Heat the cream until boiling.

Add the cream to the melted chocolate and mix well. It should thicken.

Beat your egg whites firm.

Before they are fully firm, gradually add the sugar and continue to mix.

Then, very carefully, add the egg whites to the preparation, making sure not to "break" the eggs. Use a wooden spoon to describe large circular movements.

Place in individual cups or a large bowl.

Chill at least one hour before serving.

Such an inspiration!

Today, I discovered a new cooking blog and I absolutely love it! Check out 17 and Baking. This young woman is 17 years old and so talented! Her writing, photography and recipes are amazing! And she lives in Seattle :-)

Fabulous pancakes!

I recently discovered King Arthur Flour's "Guaranteed" recipes and I am very impressed with the results. So far I have made the pancakes, the shortbread and the banana bread and they were all so good that I doubt I will ever try a different recipe for them.

Here's the printable version from King Arthur website.

Ingredients:

- 2 large eggs

- 1 1/4 cups of milk

- 3 Tbsp melted butter or vegetable oil

- 1 1/2 cups flour

- 3/4 tsp salt

- 2 tsp baking powder

- 2 Tbsp sugar or 1/4 cup malted milk powder

Beat the eggs and milk until light and foamy, about 3 minutes at high speed of a stand or hand mixer. Stir in the butter or vegetable oil.

Whisk the dry ingredients together to evenly distribute the salt, baking powder and sweetener.

Gently and quickly mix into the egg and milk mixture. Let the batter rest for at least 15 minutes, while the griddle is heating; it"ll thicken slightly.

Heat a heavy frying pan over medium heat, or set an electric griddle to 350°F. Lightly grease frying pan or griddle. The pan or griddle is ready if a drop of water will skitter across the surface, evaporating immediately.

Drop 1/3 cupfuls of batter onto the lightly greased griddle. Bake on one side until bubbles begin to form and break, then turn the pancakes and cook the other side till brown. Turn over only once. Serve immediately.

Coconut Shrimp.

This recipe is from The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook by Jaden Hair. My in-laws actually know her and they had her sign the book for me before sending it to me for Christmas. How cool is that?

I have always wanted to cook Asian food but had never tried before. I think I was a little intimidated by all the ingredients I had never used before and how different it is from the way I am used to cooking. I really like this cookbook because it really does make it look "easier" than I thought it would be to cook Asian dishes. For my first try, I decided to make some coconut shrimp.

We all thought it was very tasty and I can't wait to make it again!

Ingredients:

- 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

- 1 Tbsp high-heat cooking oil

- 1 lb (500g) raw tail-on shrimp, deveined and patted really dry

- 2 tbsp butter

- 4 green onions, cut into 2-in (5 cm) lengths

- 1 Tbsp finely minced garlic

- 3 Tbsp cognac (brandy or rum make good substitutes)

- generous pinch of salt

- 3/4 tsp sugar (omit if you are using sweetened shredded coconut)

In a wok or frying pan over medium heat, add the coconut and toast until golden brown. This should take 3 to 4 minutes. Don't burn the coconut! Once it is toasted, immediately remove to a plate to cool.

Wipe the wok or pan dry and set over high heat (if you are using a coated non-stick pan/wok, use medium to medium-high heat). Add the oil and swirl to coat. Add the shrimp to the wok, keeping them in a single layer. Fry for one minute, flip and fry for an additional minute until almost cooked through. Remove from the wok, keeping as much oil in the wok as possible.

Turn the heat to medium, add the butter and, once the butter starts bubbling, add the green onion and garlic. Fry until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Pour in the cognac and add the salt and sugar.

Stir and return the shrimp to the wok. Let the whole thing bubble and thicken just a bit- the sauce should lightly coat the shrimp.

Remove from the heat, sprinkle in the toasted coconut and toss well (I forgot to take a picture of that step).

Yummy!