Bacon Soup and Chocolate Mousse Pie

Yeah...my blog doesn't lie. My last entry talking about what 2011 will bring ended with: And if Eliot has any influence, more bacon.

First meal we cooked together in 2011? Parsnip and potato soup with bacon. And a side of bacon.

Bring on the new year!!!

I think the only way to ever share an Eliot recipe will be if I write down EVERYTHING the boy grabs and hold out measuring cups and spoons before the ingredient makes it into the pot or pan. So at minimum, this soup had five parsnips, three carrots, a few potatoes, some celery, 4 cups of my homemade turkey stock, an onion, kosher salt, garlic cloves, freshly picked parsley, sherry, and some random spices he found, cooked in a stock pot, combined with an immersion blender, and topped with bacon. With a little dish of bacon on the side.

Eliot cooks. I bake. He can look at recipes and then walk away and make magic happen in the kitchen. Me? I follow recipes exactly and expect them to turn out perfectly since someone already figured out the science behind making these dishes.

And what happens when I don't follow recipes exactly? I fail and end up throwing out a dozen eggs. When Eliot and I each got our own copies of Cooking for Isiah, we decided that with every promotion he gets, I will bake him a dessert to celebrate. His first promotion was the ever simple chocolate cake. With every promotion, the desserts will get more complicated as I also develop into a better cook and baker. I made some smart decisions by at least skimming the pre-chosen recipe earlier in the week, so I knew I would need to make cookies for the crust and at least two double boilers or heat safe bowls. I figured I could beat the system and use the same bowl twice. And I failed to correctly save my egg yolks the first time around. So this recipe that needed six eggs, actually used a total of 19 (one was for coating the cookie crust) under my careless eye. ALWAYS READ ALL THE DIRECTIONS FIRST. Eliot saved the day when he came with two glass bowls and I was finally able to follow the directions properly and make something wonderful in the kitchen. Just over three hours later, the chocolate mousse cloud pie with a chocolate cookie crust came out of the refrigerator and I used my microplane to add some dark chocolate to the top. Yum! I'm (slowly) getting the hang of making mousse desserts since those are popular among the dairy free crowds. I am looking forward to the day, however, when I can don't have to hold my electric mixer for almost ten minutes as my eggs are beat. When can I get a Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer in my kitchen? Patience is a virtue I don't have time to wait for - which can be problematic at times in the kitchen. Meanwhile, I'm going to keep learning from my mistakes and continue to grow as a cook. And eat LOTS of chocolate!