Grace's Chocolate Mousse

Simple, delicious, and probably shouldn't be served in a giant ramekin...

When I first introduced Grace, I mentioned how I'd found out that in France, most people don't make their own desserts. It's customary to purchase them at a local bakery or sweet shop instead. But there are two recipes that are exceptions to this rule: the yogurt cake I tried and slightly failed to make in said intro, and chocolate mousse. Which is what we're going to talk about here!

Chocolate mousse has slightly mysterious - or at least murky - origins. No one really knows when it was invented, but we do know that people have been making mousses since the 1700's, and it did get its start in France. Since Europeans had been enjoying chocolate for almost a hundred years at that point, it's not all that surprising to think that someone got the idea to put the two together! Some researchers think it came to be when people started adding eggs to the customary chocolate drink to make it thicker and foamier, and eventually someone added cream and sugar, and presto! Chocolate mousse.

Cécile's French Onion Soup

A time consuming treat, but totally worth while in the end!

One last thing before we head into the fun that is December and all the spice and seasoning of the holiday spirit! I've been wanting to try my hand at making French onion soup for a while, and like many of the things I want to make, I just haven't been able to get around to it. Until now! And let me tell you, it was worth every minute spent staring at the stove wondering what's taking these onions so long to cook?

But best of all, I didn't have to go out and buy special bowls to cook this in. The recipe I found suggests an easy way to get all that gruyere flavor without the hassle of finding just the right dish to serve it in. Always a good thing for my wallet and my cabinets!

Grace's French Yogurt Cake

A moist, chocolatey treat that gave me more trouble than I thought it would!

I tried to resist. I really did. But as soon as I heard that this year's Girl of the Year was going to be a baker, I pretty much knew that no matter what she looked like or what her story was, there was a very good chance she was going to be coming here to guest star on my blog. I've never been a big fan of the Girl of the Year line - I didn't get into AG because of the modern dolls, and even if the dolls themselves have been pretty, I've never really bonded with any of the characters, but since she's a baker and her books are actually pretty cute (and are a lot more believable than certain other GotY stories!), I picked her up a few weekends ago while we were in New York.

Thanks to Grace's books, I had no problem coming up with a good first recipe to feature for her. Unfortunately, mine did not turn out as perfectly or easily as Grace's did, to the point of where I'm not sure I'd use this particular recipe ever again! Read on to discover what happened.

Cécile's Chèvre on Toast

What's not to love about cheese on toast?

Are you looking for something quick and easy to make for breakfast? Lunch? A lazy dinner that doesn't involve a lot of clean up, prep time, or much of anything else? Or an appetizer for a party you're throwing to prove what a sophisticated, high class adult you are?

Look no further. These little cheese toasts look elegant and are simple enough for even the most inexperienced cook to make. Although they're not my personal favorite thing I've ever made for the blog, they seemed to be a hit with my taste testers and were happily gobbled down almost as soon as I took them out of the oven, which will hopefully be the case for you, too if you ever decide to try your hand at this French treat!

Cécile’s Pâte à Choux and Easy Mushroom Pâté

Better than any meat pâté you've ever had!

I have been told by quite a few people that I'm a very brave aspiring chef, because apparently I've been taking on recipes that they wouldn't have considered trying if you paid them to do it. I guess it's true that I've tried a lot of unusual things since starting this blog, especially considering before I got the idea for it, I barely felt comfortable cooking pasta unassisted, let alone tackling things like making my own bagels or soups.

But the thing is? I don't feel especially brave most of the time in the kitchen. Most of the time, I feel completely in over my head. It works out more often than it doesn't, but sometimes I realize that just because a recipe seemed straightforward enough when I read it doesn't mean it's actually going to be all that straightforward to do.

This post is a little bit of both. One of the elements was basically totally stress free, while the other was pretty frustrating and had I not already been cooking almost all day long, I would, I might have tried to start it over. Which one is which? You'll just have to read on to find out.

Cécile's Chocolate Truffles

Totally addicting chocolate treats!

On to our final stage of our two part adventure into treats our favorite girls from 1853 New Orleans might have enjoyed during Christmas! Last time, I explained that because Marie-Grace and Cécile's books don't really focus on how they would have celebrated Christmas, I had to get a little creative in coming up with desserts they might have eaten during holiday celebrations. While I picked the bread pudding for Marie-Grace because it was something practical and tasty, I wanted to do something simple and decadent for Cécile to reflect something she and her family might have enjoyed at a fancier party or get together during the holiday season.

After a lot of consideration, we decided to try out this recipe for homemade chocolate truffles, and boy, they were not a disappointment. This was definitely a winner, and I would imagine it's going to be added into the regular rotation for any parties we host at our house!