Irish Foodies March 2011 Cookalong, Traditional Irish Part 2, Bailey's Chocolate Mousse

The monthly Irish Foodies cookalong rolled around on the 4th of March.  I have already posted a recipe for the potato scones I made on the day and here is my second offering.  The theme was traditional Irish to coincide with St. Patrick's Day which falls later this week.  While I am pretty sure chocolate mousse is not traditionally Irish, no one can argue that a pint of Guinness is, so I decided to dress my mousse up as a pint of the black stuff.  Add in a splash of Bailey's Irish Cream and sure St. Patrick himself would scoff the lot, to be sure to be sure.  Right that's enough of the Irishisms.

For the purpose of the photographs in this post I served the mousse in a tumbler glass and topped it with whipped cream.  This yielded 3 portions which I'm sure would prove a little on the large side for even the most ardent chocoholic.  Trust me, I gave it a good bash but it took two sittings to finish one off.  I would suggest that you serve the mousse in a tall shot glass or alternatively espresso cups.  You should yield 6-8 servings in smaller glasses.

Bailey's Chocolate Mousse
serves 6

285ml/0.5pt Single Cream
200g/7oz Good quality Plain Chocolate, 70% Cocoa Solids
2 Large Eggs, separated
30ml/1floz Bailey's Irish Cream, or liquer of your choice

Whipped cream optional

1.  Place the cream in a saucepan and heat but do not allow to boil. 

2.  Remove from the heat and set aside for 1 minute before breaking in the chocolate.

3.  Stir until smooth and the chocolate has melted. 

4.  Beat in the egg yolks and Bailey's and stir until smooth.
5.  In a bowl whisk the egg whites with an electric whisk to form stiff peaks.

 
6.  Gently fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture in three stages.
7.  Pour into serving glasses and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight.

Macaroons (GF)

I have been known on occasion to allow the odd pack of Crimble's macaroons to wander into my shopping trolley.  I blame my sister.  She almost always has a pack loitering in her goodie press so I tasted them in her house and then started to buy them for myself on occasion.  I'm not sure exactly what it is I like about them, is it the dense and moist cakeyness of them, is it the texture of the coconut or is it a combination of both those things married with a little chocolate.  Regardless I will happily scoff a couple of them in a sitting and then long for more.

I am constantly watching food programmes on t.v.  If I have a lazy day to myself I would happily watch them from morning until night and it doesn't matter if I have seen them before, I always learn something new.  On one such lazy day recently I was watching Ina Garten and she made some coconut macaroons.  I didn't scribble down the recipe as it was fairly straightforward but later that day made my own batch using her recipe as a rough guide.  The result was amazing.  I had to stop myself from scoffing the lot and was so glad to see my husband tuck into a few with his evening cup of tea.  The more he ate the less that were left to go straight on my hips the next day.  They are super easy to make and so much nicer than the shop bought version (sorry Mr. Crimble).  I see many macaroons in my future.  Nom!

250g/10oz Dessicated Coconut
1 x tin (397g) Condensed Milk
1tsp Vanilla Extract
3 large Egg Whites
A pinch of salt
50g Milk Chocolate
50g Plain Chocolate

1.  Preheat the oven to 160C/325F/Gas Mark 3.  Line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper.
2.  Place the dessicated coconut, condensed milk and vanilla extract in a bowl and mix to combine.
3.  In a separate bowl whisk the egg whites and salt using a hand held electric whisk until they form soft peaks.
4.  Fold half of the egg whites into the coconut mix.  Fold in the second half of the egg whites.
5.  Using an ice cream scoop(or a couple of tablespoons) drop the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet. 
6.  Place into the preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes.  Turn the baking sheet and bake for a further 15 minutes. (You don't necessarily have to turn the baking sheet half way through but I found mine were going to brown down one side and not the other).  Remove from the oven when golden brown and allow to cool.

7.  Break the milk and dark chocolate into a heat proof bowl.  Melt over a pot of simmering water.  Stir when melted to combine and dip the base of each macaroon in until evenly coated.  Place back onto the baking sheet upside down until the chocolate has set.  Enjoy!

CPM: Chocolate, Peanuts & Marshmallow (GF)

*Before we get started, apologies for the atrocious pictures in this post, I was feeling a bit lazy. Soz!*

I was watching Food Network the other day, not like me I know, when this popped up.  It was one of those snippets of a Food Network chef talking about 'The best thing I ever tasted...'.  You know the ones I mean.  The theme for this particular one was sugar and Chef Duff from Charm City Cakes was in the hot seat. 

I wasn't paying too much attention to him as I was also scribbling something or other onto a piece of paper at the same time.  I very rarely just do one thing at a time, I always have one eye here and t'other there.  It's just the way I like to roll.  Even when I look like I am only concentrating on the task at hand my brain is generally 2 hours ahead thinking of the next thing I intend to do.  Anyhoo, I digress.  My attention turned solely to the tv when the chef who had created Duff's favourite dessert started to describe it.

First you pop 3 scoops of vanilla ice cream into the bottom of a glass, then you scatter on some sweetened peanuts, follow that up with a layer of chocolate ganache and then top the lot with some warm marshmallow fluff.  Naturally at that stage I found myself on my knees licking the tv screen. (Note to self, dust the tv.) 

I was giddy with excitement at the prospect of recreating this sweet confection and kept dreaming about it for the 24 hours that followed, so last night I gave in and made it before dinner.  I know, I shouldn't have but I was alone in the house and it was a good hour and a half before dinner so I did it.  This is one of my favourite things about being an adult, you can decide what to eat and when and if you want to eat dessert before dinner, you can go right ahead and do it!

As this was not part of an actual cookery show there was no recipe to accompany it.  The following is a rough guide:

CPM: Chocolate, Peanuts & Marshmallow
(the following quantities are for one serving but can very easily be multiplied)

*** NB Check that the brand of marshmallows you use are gluten free if making for someone with coeliac disease***

2tbsp Salted Peanuts
A squeeze of Honey
A handful of white Mini Marshmallows
4tbsp of Milk
3 scoops of Vanilla Ice Cream
3-4tbsp of Chocolate Sauce

1.  An hour in advance of assembly place the peanuts into a small bowl.  Squeeze over just enough honey to coat them all evenly.  Cover and set aside until required.
2.  Place the mini marshmallows and milk into a small saucepan and set over a low heat to melt.

3.  While you are waiting for the marshmallows to melt remove the ice cream from the freezer and allow to soften slightly.
4.  Once the marshmallows have melted remove them from the heat. 

5.  Place the 3 scoops of ice cream into the glass.  Flatten down with the back of a spoon.  Spoon the peanuts on top of the ice cream.  Cover the peanuts with the chocolate sauce.  Finally, cover the chocolate sauce with the melted marshmallow. 

6.  Grab a BIG spoon.  Lock yourself in a room on your own and dig in.  It is very important to get a bit of each layer in every spoonful.  Trust me, you will be glad you did.  Enjoy!

Notes:

• I had no vanilla ice cream in the house so used a homemade honeycomb one I had been meaning to taste.  It worked perfectly and I will post the recipe for that soon.
• Marshmallow fluff is not something that is readily available here.  I know Avoca sell a jar of pink marshmallow fluff but I think the melted marshmallow I used worked perfectly well.  Actually, I know it worked perfectly well because it was feckin delicious.
• I used a shop bought chocolate sauce but feel free to make your own ganache if you wish.  If I was serving it as a dessert I would most probably opt for a homemade version.

Mint Crisp Pie

This was one dessert offering from our recent dinner party.  There were plenty of "mmmmmm"'s and "ooooooh"'s as people dived in and any slices that were not finished were requested to be wrapped up to be finished the next day.  I am a very accommodating host so I obliged of course and they were either demolished following breakfast the next day or with a cup of tea when our guests were nestled on their sofa at home recovering from the previous nights over indulgence. 

I have just entered this pie into English Mum's Big Bake Off competition, wish me luck.  I need the Green & Blacks hamper to complete my life. Honest!

Before I move onto the recipe for this pie I wanted to just talk a little about the base.  The base for this pie, as with most pies, called for crushed digestive biscuits.  Now, I'm not the biggest fan of digestive biscuit bases.  I find the butter soaks in too much and leaves a soggy base that really is not what I want to find at the bottom of a beautiful mousse or cheesecake topping.  For this reason I am on a mission to create a base more suited to my tastes. 

In this recipe I decided to use Bourbon cream biscuits which I have used successfully in the past.  While I was in the supermarket though my attention was drawn to a packet of Oreos with a chocolate cream filling and I knew instantly they would be perfect.  When I set about making the pie originally I crushed 1 x 154g packet of Oreo Chocolate Creme's and mixed them with the melted butter, but the quantity fell short of the pie dish I was filling.  I tipped the mixture back into the pan and ran to my local shop but was unable to find Oreo's in any shape or form.  I grabbed a packet of Fox's Chocolate Fudge Crunch Creams in a "they'll just have to do" manner.  Just have to do!  They turned out to be the perfect addition to the dense Oreo crust.  Not only did they pepper the dark muddy colour of the Oreo crust with flashes of a beautiful fudgey brown, they also gave the added bonus of little chewy fudge pieces dotted all around the crust.   A very happy marriage indeed and one I will use for many other pies to come.

Also, this is a really easy pie to make.  It is more of an assembly project than a baking one but the results are really impressive.  Make it in the morning as you will need time to boil and cool the condensed milk (you could also boil this the night before and allow to cool overnight), and simply add the whipped cream and crushed mint crisp bars just before serving.  Don't take my word for it though, try it out for yourself.  Enjoy!

Mint Crisp Pie
(Makes 1 x 8" pie, serves 6-8)

1 x 154g Packet of Oreo Chocolate Creme Biscuits
5 x Fox's Chocolate Fudge Crunch Cream Biscuits
3oz/90g Unsalted Butter (melted)
397g (1 tin) Condensed Milk
12floz/350ml Whipped Cream

3.5oz/100g Mint Crisp Bar

1.  Place the tin of condensed milk in a large pot.  Cover completely with water and simmer with the lid on for 3 hours.  Check occasionally to ensure the tin is still submerged in the water, top up if necessary.  Allow the tin to cool in the water before removing and opening.

2.  Place the biscuits into a resealable bag, expel all of the air before sealing and then crush the biscuits with a rolling pin.

3.  Melt the butter in a medium saucepan.  Remove from the heat and add the crushed biscuits and stir to ensure evenly coated with the butter.

4.  Transfer the biscuits to an 8" pie dish and press firmly onto the base and up the sides.  Place in the fridge to set for a couple of hours.

5.  Once the base has set carefully spread the caramel on top of it (take care not to disturb and lift the biscuits).  Cover with clingfilm and return to the fridge until read to serve.

6.  Break up the mint crisp bars ( I used a Lindt bar originally but when I was making the pie again today it would seem the chocolate fairies had been in and munched it so I had to make do with Cadbury's but both were equally good) and place in a resealable bag, expel all of the air before sealing and then crush the bars with a rolling bin.  Set aside until ready to serve.
7.  If you have bought single cream whip until it holds it's shape and leave in the fridge until ready to serve.  If you have bought cream already whipped make yourself a cup of tea and relax for a few minutes.  Go on, I said so.

8.  Before serving remove the pie from the fridge, spread the whipped cream over the caramel layer and then sprinkle the crushed mint crisp bars on top of the cream.

Bord Bia Irish Food Bloggers Event Part Trois

I am entering this tart into English Mum's Big Bake Off due to some bullying, yes blatant bulling from The Glutton and of bit of Gluttony egging on from English Mum herself.  Wish me luck peeps.

I may have mentioned once or thrice that I recently attended a Food Bloggers Event in Bord Bia.  Well, for those of you who missed that I did.  As part of the days events the lovely people at Bord Bia fed and watered us very nicely indeedy.  Much to everyone's delight, having stuffed us full of delicious Irish Pork and various accompaniments, dessert followed in the form of a beautiful strawberry tart.  The room filled with 'oohs' and 'aahs' of appreciation as it was delivered to tables and I heard more than one person express an interest in receiving the recipe after lunch.  Now, as if the people of Bord Bia had not been good enough to us already they happily said they would make the recipe available to anyone interested, and they did.  Having put them to the trouble of emailing me with said recipe it would have been positively rude of me not to post about it, so here you go peeps, get ready to drool.  This is a deliciously light tart, perfect for summer entertaining.  I made it last night and it is no more this morning.  Mr. Boo and myself had a very generous slice each and my neighbours were the lucky and very grateful recipients of the rest. So go on, off to the kitchen with you and whip up this little lovely.  Go on, shoo!

White Chocolate and Strawberry Tart

Serves 12

250g Plain Flour
25g Icing Sugar
65g Cold Unsalted Butter
1 Egg
250g Mascarpone
200g bar of good quality white chocolate
145ml cream
400g Strawberries

1) Sieve the flour and icing sugar into a food processor. Add the butter and whiz until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add just enough egg to bring the mixture together.
2) Shape pastry into a disc and wrap in cling film and chill for 30 minutes.
3) Roll out the pastry and shape into a 20.5cm (8”) fluted pastry tin. Prick all over. Cover with a large circle of baking parchment and top with baking beans. Chill until firm. Preheat the oven to 190°C(170°C fan)/374°F/Mark 5.

4) Bake for 12-15 minutes until the pastry has set. Remove the beans and parchment and continue baking for 5-10 minutes until the pastry is dry and slightly sandy to the touch. Cool in the tin on a wire rack.
5) Melt the mascarpone and chocolate together in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water, making sure the base the of bowl doesn’t touch the water. Don’t stir; otherwise the mixture will thicken into a sticky mess.
6) Remove bowl from the pan and set aside to cool completely. Meanwhile, lightly whip the cream. Fold the chocolate mixture into the cream. Spoon the filling into the pastry case and chill.
7) To serve, top with strawberries cut in half and dust with icing sugar.

I have added some notes after the pics.

Notes: 

I forgot to dust it with icing sugar at the end as I was a tad over excited at the prospect of getting stuck into it!

I added the egg a couple of tablesppons at a time (I broke it into a small bowl and gave it a little whisk) until I had enough, rather than add it all at once and find I had too much.

I used my grease proof paper trick to line the pastry case but cut it a little big so that I could gather up the edges to remove the baking beans easily.

If you have neither the time nor the energy to bake your own pastry buy a ready made tart case from a supermarket and just make the filling. (I'm all for the easy life so don't worry I won't judge you, promise)

I know it says DO NOT STIR up there, but I just couldn't resist.  When I removed the chocolate mixture from the heat I did give it a quick stir to mix the chocolate and mascarpone as I was afraid they would not mix when added to the cream once chilled.  Sorry, but that was like asking Dougal NOT to press the big red button, it just wasn't going to happen.

OK lesson over, now off with yiz!

Peanut Butter Cups (GF)

Probably my favourite place in the world (aside from home) is New York.  I have been every year since 2004 and think were I confined to one holiday in a year that it would be my destination of choice everytime.  I don't think I could sum up it's attraction in one word or even 20 for that matter, it just has a hold over me that draws me back time and time again. 

The excitement at the moment the shiny black limo emerges from the tunnel from New Jersey to Manhattan has yet to fade.  Stepping from the car to the pavement and taking that first glimpse of the sky high buildings all around, and being greeted by name by the hotels concierge, as though you are an old friend returned, fills me with a great sense of belonging to a city so far from home.  The city just intoxicates me.  Invades every ounce of my being and assaults each of my senses.  From the blinding lights of Times Square, the smell of pretzels wafting from the carts of street vendors, the noise of a million (well maybe not a million but close) honking horns emanating from yellow cabs, the heat rising from street vents above the subway and the (imagined) taste of delicious confections lined up in bakery windows as I pass by (we usually save sampling the wares for Billy's Bakery in Chelsea). 

I love to walk the streets of New York hand in hand with my gorgeous man, pounding the concrete of familiar block after block and spotting new little gems that have evaded our sight on past visits.  I have been in both the depths of winter, -15°C, and the height of summer, 28°C, but I cannot say which I prefer as both have their merits.  I love the ritual of layering up in winter before venturing out to snowy sidewalks, entering a bar or restaurant for some much needed heat rosy cheeked, stripping off the 50 million layers and savouring the warmth of the room and the people all around.  Equally, I love the freedom of waking in the morning during summer and slipping on a delicate flowing summer dress before venturing out into the stifling heat (serioulsy, not a breath to be had) and walking the streets frappucino in hand or braving the oven like temperatures (and rather unsavoury smell) of the subway.  The antidote to such extreme temperatures, an ice cold mojito guzzled on a roof top bar enjoying the cities skyline from a birds eye view.

Each visit is planned with much anticipation at the prospect of visiting favourite haunts yet again and also trying new eateries and bars and seeing the city from a slightly different angle.  One favourite haunt that is never snubbed in favour of a new and shiny upgrade is the Hershey store in Times Square.  Now, I'm not the biggest fan of American chocolate.  I know, I know, I'm sorry to any stateside readers, but it is not to my liking.  It is a bit on the sweet side and doesn't possess that deliciously rich creamy luxury of it's European counterparts.  I am however, rather partial to a box of Milk Duds and a mountain or 3 of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.  I know these are available in Ireland now but I still can't step foot back on the plane without at least a months stash safely stowed in my suitcase.  Between visits to tide me over sometimes, there is nothing else for it other than to whip up a batch with my very own hands.  For the know how keep on reading.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

for the base:

50g Soft Brown Sugar
200g Icing Sugar
50g Soft Butter
200g Smooth Peanut Butter

for the topping:

200g Milk Chocolate (chopped)
100g Dark Chocolate (chopped)

also required 45-50 paper petit-four cases (teeny tiny cup cake cases in other words)

1.  In a bowl, mix together the brown sugar, icing sugar, butter and peanut butter using an electric whisk until the mixture is the consistency of a sandy paste.

sorry, forgot to take a picture of this mixed together

2.  Using clean hands place a teaspoon size disc of the paste into the bottom of the petit-four cases (I used a melon baller and a teaspoon to do this instead.  You should have enough mixture to fill between 45 and 50 cases).  Press the mixture down to form a smooth layer in the bottom of the case and place the cases into the indentations of a mini muffin tin (if you don't have a mini muffin tin place the cases onto a flat baking sheet).

3.  Melt both chocolates in a heat proof bowl over a pot of gently simmering water (do not allow the bottom of the bowl to touch the water).

4.  Stir the melted chocolate together to combine and set aside to allow to cool slightly.
5.  Spoon 1 teaspoon of the chocolate mixture into the petit-four cases covering the sandy base.

6.  Place in the fridge to set for 30 minutes before devouring.

Peanut Brittle (GF)

I was leafing through some of my recipe books yesterday praying for inspiration for something to bake today when this little lovely caught my attention.  Now it is not exactly baking before you start getting all technical on me, possibly confectionery making, but I knew immediately that it was something I wanted to make.

I haven't had this in years but my mam and sister and I used to happily munch our way through a bag of this when my mam would pick it up in the shop.  My mam would nearly always have a bag of something or other in her handbag.  Nougat was a firm favourite of hers and she would stock up on the little clear bags of it in M&S, very handy for spying the biggest piece and then fishing it out, shoving it in your gob whole and getting an unmerciful pain in your jaw from trying to break it down.  Other times it would be a slab of toffee with ginormous Brazil nuts scattered over the top, again the aul jaw got a serious workout with this bad boy.

Probably my favourite though was the lovely brown heavy paper bag that held the amber loveliness of peanut brittle.  I'm not sure exactly why I liked this so much.  It might have been the feeling of the shards being crushed between my teeth, the lovely peanut flavour being released or the contrast of the little salty bits of nut against the sugary toffee brittle.  Whatever it was one thing I am sure of is that my hand would return to the bag many times until the heart sinking moment when all that brushed against my little fingers was paper, no more sugary goodness.  We three had eaten it all.

I have never made this before or indeed tasted any homemade version but was really excited to try it out and I was not disappointed.  It is lovely and crumbly, so no need to fear for your gnashers, and it has a lovely creamy toffee flavour.  Totally yum and needs to be locked away or there will be none left for anyone else.

Peanut Brittle

225g/8oz Butter (diced)
225g/8oz Caster Sugar
50ml Water
1/2tsp Salt
150g Salted Peanuts or
100g Salted Peanuts & 50g Cocolate Covered Peanuts

1.  Place the butter, sugar, salt and water into a heavy based saucepan.
2.  Bring to the boil over a medium heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved.
3.  Reduce the heat to low and allow to simmer, unstirred, for 20-25* mins until a sugar thermometer dipped* in reads 150°C/302°F.  (the exact temperature is very important, not hot enough and it will not set, too hot and it will taste burnt)
4.  While waiting for the mixture to reach the correct temp, line a baking sheet with some grease proof paper and then scatter the peanuts on the tray in a nice even layer. (the peanut brittle I remember just had regular peanuts throughout but I decided to add in some chocolate covered ones to add an extra dimension.  Add in nuts to suit your personal preference eg. cashews, brazil nuts or alternatively enjoy the brittle plain)
***VERY IMPORTANT.  BE CAREFUL AT THIS STAGE AS YOU ARE WORKING WITH AN EXTREMELY HOT MIXTURE***
5.  Once the mixture has readched the desired temperature remove from the heat and carefully pour onto the prepared baking sheet.
6.  Allow to set for 10 mins and then transfer to the fridge to cool and complete the setting process.
7.  Break into pieces and enjoy. (banging the baking sheet on the work surface a few times should do it)

***Notes***
I have to admit that it took me 2 attempts to make this.  The first time I was a little preoccupied with the anticipation of what I was making and ignored the submersion line on the sugar thermometer meaning by the time I realised my mistake the mixture had passed 150°C without me noticing and turned into a lumpy mess, yuck.  I combatted this problem by making the second batch in a smaller saucepan (use the smallest you have that will accomodate the ingredients) to ensure the thermometer was submerged adequately at all times.

Secondly, I found the timings in the recipe a little off for my hob and it took me approx 35 mins, I have included the original timings in the recipe above but please be aware that all appliances vary so just check the temperature every few minutes and adjust the time accordingly.

1 Mississippi 2 Mississippi

I'm a bit of a bore at heart. I've never been a wan for boozing and clubbing, falling over the cobble stones of Templebar at an ungodly hour of a Saturday evening and requiring strategically placed yellow stars on photographs the next day. Nope, I'm a bit of a bore. I would garner much more pleasure from an evening sat around my kitchen table with family and friends savouring mouthfuls of delicious food I have laboured over all day. I revel in these days, with the menu planned in advance and all of the ingredients bought and safely stowed in the fridge or press I rise early to start the preparations.

Saturday was one of these blissful days. I started off at about 8:30am by mixing together some chocolate truffles before safely stowing the mix in the fridge to set. Then it was onto the cake which was made in three pretty straight forward stages and left to cool. Sorted.

We were having my brother in law and his wife over but the hubby had fecked off out to visit his mammy in advance of Mothers day, the cheek, and then to the gym to pump some iron or do whatever it is the men folk do there. As I had been abandoned and the clock was ticking down it was up to me to crack on and give the house a bit of a spruce up so out came the duster and the hoover, followed by the mop. Right so that’s the dessert and the hovel sorted which was in my world good going as I usually have to shove the hoover in a corner somewhere as the doorbell rings.

2 o'clock, I could lounge on the sofa for a few hours and shovel some of those deliciously delish homemade truffles in my gob but alas no, a friend is popping in at 2:30 to show off her new babog and I am looking as my mother would have said like the wreck of the hespiss. Half an hour just wasn't gonna cut it so I had to make a very bold decision, horror of horrors I was gonna have to face my friend with a face untouched by the wonders of modern concealers, hair scraped back into a pony that would ensure no unruly frizzy bits could escape and peel my very comfy tracksuit away from my body in exchange for some jeans.

That brings me right up to 6 o'clock, perfect. Just enough time to beautify myself and prep the rest of the food. 7:30pm and I am back in the kitchen applying a little lip gloss when the hubby starts shouting at me cos he is under pressure to prep the starter and I am obviously not contributing enough to the nights preparations. I smiled politely as the only other option was to knock him to the ground and drag him around the house by the ears and point out all of the things I had spent the day doing. A nice little smack of the lips to ensure even distribution of said gloss and sure I'm only massive. With that I dressed the table and flittered about the house lighting approximately 17 gazillion tea lights to set the ambience for the evening ya see.

Ding Dong and they're here. Plenty of mwah mwahing could be heard for the next few minutes with a light sprinkling of compliments before I find myself back in the kitchen whipping up a little pre dinner cocktail which was quaffed by all and seconds promptly requested. A few hot 'head in oven' minutes later the gong sounds and three hungry souls were seated around the table and I served up the starter which hubby declared to be his creation lest I try to take credit for it, heaven forbid. Compliments all round and hubby decidedly pleased with himself removed himself from the table to cook the mojito chicken he had been so looking forward to trying http://www.thegoodmoodfoodblog.com/2008/07/mohito-lime-and-mint-chicken.html. I joined him at the hob as my perfect hostess status was possibly in jeopardy as I hadn't knocked up a batch of my addictive Rocky Road and had numerous phone calls throughout the day from my bro in law from which I got the distinct impression he would be devastated if a plate of this did not appear at some stage throughout the night. Rocky Road chilling in the fridge and main course served there was silence again for a few minutes bar the sound of metal scraping delph until plates were clean and bellies full.

Having waited a sufficient time to talk and laugh ourselves peckish again we arrived at my favourite part of the evening - dessert. To me starters and main course are merely a means to an end and that end is dessert. The pop of a champagne cork is the most suitable herald of dessert in my book so once glasses had been filled with pretty pink bubbles the Mississippi Mud Pie arrived at the table and four very generous slices were cut and distributed followed mere seconds later by copious ooohing and aaaahing in appreciation of its chocolaty goodness and all round deliciousness. Now at this stage you would imagine we were all fit to burst and couldn't possibly manage another morsel. Well we were, but sure when I arrived at the table with tea and coffee accompanied by chocolate truffles and rocky road we heroically managed to squeeze in a taster of each before wisely vowing to only let cocktails pass our lips for the remainder of the evening and very sensibly toddling off to bed at 4 am. A very successful evening all round and another delicious dessert to add to the arsenal. Result!

Mississippi Mud Pie

I got the recipe for this from Something for the Weekend so am gonna be a bit lazy and just post the link:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/apps/ifl/food/mobile/queryengine?templatestyle=one_recipe&config=db_one_recipe&SuppressCaching=1&attrib_1=filename&oper_1=eq&val_1_1=mississippimudpie_93659

Plain Dark Chocolate Truffles

(Makes, well, a lot!)

225g/8oz Good Quality Dark Chocolate (broken into small pieces)

300ml/1/2pint Double Cream

• 
  
  Place the chocolate pieces into a bowl.
• 
  
  Bring the cream to a rolling boil in a saucepan and immediately pour over the chocolate.
• 
  
  Blend until all of the chocolate has melted.  Allow to cool at room temerature (approx 1-1&1/2 hours).
• 
  
  When the mixture has set spoon out some of the mixture and roll into balls between the palms of your hands (dust hands with some icing sugar or cocoa powder to stop the mixture from stcking to them).
• 
  
  Roll the truffles in cocoa powder, icing sugar, chopped nuts, flaked cocolate or anything that takes your fancy.

Alternatively:

• 
  
  Line a square baking tin with grease proof paper.
• 
  
  Once the chocolate and cream have combined pour the mixture into the prepared baking tin and chill in the fridge.
• 
  
  When the mixture has set lift out of the baking tin with the grease proof paper and place on a flat surface.
• 
  
  Dust lightly with cocoa powder, lay a sheet of grease proof paper on top and turn upside down, remove the original grease proof paper from the bottom and dust lightly with cocoa powder.
• 
  
  Dust a sharp knife with a little cocoa powder and cut into strips of approx 2cm.  Dust knife regularly to prevent sticking.
• 
  
  Once the square has been cut into strips turn the grease proof paper once and cut at 2cm intervals again to give perfect square truffles.
• 
  
  Use any remaining cocoa powder to dust the freshly cut sides.