Mmm, c'est bon! (airline edit)

(For those of you who by your anonymous (and unpublished) comments think that the sensuality of cooking is adversely affecting my sense of decorum.. here's a pg-rated version of the earlier post. Henceforth I'll post a warning if reader discretion is advised.)

While grocery shopping today (yes, I know I'm late - normally market day is Tuesday, but we had company over) I'm wandering the produce department looking for something to grab me by the neck and shout "buy me!" with no such luck so far, and then.. the strawberries sort of flirted with me. ;) They weren't priced low enough to have a line of boys waiting, but ripe, red, lush and juicy that they were, they certainly looked attractive enough to pull off a line like "hey, there mister: what are you lookin' at?" when they knew darn well it was *them* I was eyeing up. Typical of berries who know they're cute..

So, I put my arm around a pound box of those babies, and sure enough, they came home with daddy. :) Mmmhmm.

But then inspiration struck! Oh! Dessert! Yes, perhaps..

Sure enough there were french crepes not far away, and on the back of the package... a recipe. :) So I take quick mental stock of what's in the cupboards and what I need at the store, and.. home I go with a glint in my eyes. Those berries will never be the same. ;)

Besides, the entree' was leftover chicken breasts from Olive Garden the night before, courtesy of Grandma and two nieces who have no appetite. So, besides a fresh vegetable, what am I contributing tonight, anyway? I have to do SOMEthing creative!

Okay, then.. chocolate mousse made from scratch. :) Why not? Let's see now, heavy whipping cream. Beat .. until .. peaks .. appear. Hm. Okaaayyy.. Will it be obvious?

Big bowl, pour in the cream, doesn't say to add anything, so.. electric beaters in the cream, start on low, turn up to high.. so far so good.

Hm. Nothing's changing. Three minutes. Five minutes.. How long do you BEAT this stuff!!??!?!? Seven minutes.. jeepers, this is taking forever. My forearm hurts. :( Oh, now *finally* it's thickening. And woah! All of a sudden it's getting really thick and clumpy. Wow. But where's the peaks? It just looks like pillars of cottage cheese now. This can't be right. I'd better stop. Hm.

Well.. it is what it is. :) Let's try the chocolate part. Pudding mix, some espresso, milk.. blend.. hm. Clumping again. Pillars of chocolate cottage cheese. What IS this with the clumping!?!? Okay, so for the cup of milk the pudding mix wanted, I used up the rest of the whipping cream and then a little 1% to make up the rest of the cupful, and - maybe I wasn't supposed to do that? Ahhh, who cares? Stop with the beating already. Hold back some whipped cream for garnish, and blend the rest in with the chocolate mix. Lick the spoon and see.

Ohhhh YEAH, baby! Now *that's* chocolate mousse!

But why just chocolate and strawberries, how about one with chocolate and blueberries?? Have some to eat up anyway.. and oh! I have some blueberry yogurt. Yoplait, no less. That's French, right?

So the finished product: two crepes per plate, one with strawberries and whipped cream as garnish on the top (with the chocolate mousse and more strawberries inside, of course), and the other with blueberries & chocolate instead, inside and out. The second plate had a strawberry chocolate one, and a blueberry one with blueberry yogurt inside instead of chocolate.

Lovely. :)

French crepes done well on the first try. Tres bon!