cinnamon chocolate mousse pie

This last Saturday, I entered a food contest called Füd Feud, in the dessert category. I wanted to re-make this Cinnamon Chocolate Mousse Pie but doctor it up a little bit. So I re-worked the recipe and came up with something I'm REALLY happy with. It's richer, more decadent, and even more legit. So legit, in fact, that it won the Taster's Choice award for the dessert category! I'm so pleased! Thanks to my helpers and tasters and supporters. It was a fun experience! So, if you feel like knocking anyone's socks off anytime soon, maybe try out this recipe. It makes one large pie, or five smaller 5" pies (with some leftover cream, which goes great with strawberries, bee tee dub).

 Finished pie with chocolate shavings.

 Pre-baked shells.

 Yummy, slightly salty meringue.

 The baked meringue, painted with chocolate.

 Some serious chocolate mousse.

 Topped with cream.

All finished up.

 Ready for the contest!

Winnings!

Cinnamon Chocolate Mousse Pie

5 5"-inch pre-baked pie crusts
2 eggs, separated
1/2 t. vinegar
1/4 t. salt
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup milk
3 cups heavy cream
1 cup mascarpone
1 cup sugar
1 t. cinnamon
Chocolate shavings (optional)

Beat together egg whites, vinegar, and salt until stiff but not dry. Gradually add sugar and beat until stiff. Spread meringue over bottom and up sides of pre-cooked pie shells. Bake in 325° oven for 15-18 minutes until lightly golden. Set aside and cool. Melt chocolate chips with milk. Lightly beat egg yolks and whisk into chocolate mixture until well blended. Spread 4 T. of chocolate mixture over cooked meringue. Set aside the rest to chill. Beat together heavy cream, mascarpone, sugar and cinnamon until very thick. Divide cream into two portions. Fold one half into the chilled chocolate. Pour this mixture evenly over the chocolate painted pie crusts. Add the rest of the cinnamon cream on top. Top with chocolate shavings, if desired. Chill for at least 4 hours before serving.

cinnamon toast bread pudding

She did it again!

My sis wrote a rad post and made something super delicious and made me feel like I should just hand over the blog to her, cause seriously, I want to make these things and eat them voraciously. Also, remember how she's a writer and I'm not? Now I'm off to go find something with cinnamon and sugar...



My family totally dissed me today.

While on the elliptical this morning I was watching one of my favorite to-exercise-to
shows, Sunny Anderson’s Cooking For Real (don’t ask me why or how watching food
motivates me to exercise in any way), and I was inspired to make this incredible looking
bread pudding and skillet egg dish for dinner. Being an eat-breakfast-whenever-you-feel-
like-it kind of person, I immediately went to the store (after taking a shower) and bought
all the needed ingredients for my breakfast-for-dinner meal.

Little did I know that the husband and three of four kids would golf all afternoon, only to
text me at 8pm with the news that they WENT OUT TO EAT.

First I was angry. But after my first serving of bread pudding, I only felt sorry for them.
See for yourself! Oh, and this is an adaptation of Sunny’s dish, only because I wanted a
more cinnamony crust (more cowbell) and less custard, plus I thought I was feeding six.
Also, Sunny added grapes in her custard…and cooked grapes just seem wrong.

Cinnamon Toast Bread Pudding

Ingredients
1 stick butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
8 (1-inch) thick slices French bread
5 eggs
2/3 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup vanilla yogurt
juice from 1 orange
1 teaspoon vanilla
maple syrup, for drizzling
Powdered sugar, for garnish

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray 9x13 baking dish and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine butter, sugar, and cinnamon. Microwave for about 15 seconds
to slightly melt butter for easier spreading. Generously butter both sides of French bread
with butter mixture. Toast on a baking sheet in oven about 8 minutes, or until bread turns
golden brown. Set aside. When slightly cool, cut toast on a diagonal into triangles and
arrange in prepared baking dish.

In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, cream, yogurt, orange juice and vanilla. Pour

over bread slices in baking dish. Let rest 10 minutes for bread to absorb some of the egg
mixture, gently pressing down a few times to help absorb. Bake 20-25 minutes until crust
is golden and crispy in parts and custard is set. Remove from the oven, drizzle with maple
syrup and dust with powdered sugar. Serve warm.

Adapted from Sunny Anderson on The Food Network.

things i love: killer knives

I've mentioned before how killer awesome my parents are at gifts. I have what I like to call my "dowry" pretty well stocked thanks to their great taste, willingness to buy gifts way in advance (I've had an All-Clad pot and pan set with my name on it since I was about 10 years old) and love of kitchen gadgets. They've been hooking me up with knives more recently, and I got this Shun Classic 8 inch Chef's Knife - Hollow Ground for Christmas. I'm in LOVE with it! Look at the apple slices below. PAPER THIN. This knife is so legit. So, if you are looking for a great knife for yourself or your loved ones, make this happen to your/their life.