Mousse au Chocolat

This is my French father in law's recipe. It is a special treat for us every time Jean Claude (Pepe) comes to visit and makes it for us. You can top it with whipped cream or a fresh raspberry, but as far as he is concerned...it is just great on its own!

Ingredients: 3 eggs (separate the yolks from whites)

1 egg white

1/2 cup sugar

8oz semi sweet chocolate, I get a mix of semi sweet and dark by Ghirardelli

2 tbsp water

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp rum or brandy (optional, you don't taste it)

Salt

Beat the egg yolks and sugar together until the mixture becomes pale.

Add the chocolate to another bowl and add the water. Place over a saucepan of simmering hot water to melt (water must not boil). Remove the bowl from the heat and stir in the butter into the chocolate. Add the chocolate to the egg yolk mixture. Mix well. Add the optional liquor.

Beat the 4 egg whites with a pinch of salt until they form peaks (careful not to over beat or they will be dry) then gently fold into the chocolate mixture. To fold the mixture: add 1/3 to 1/4 of beaten whites in chocolate mixture and mix normally to thin out some the chocolate mixture which is kind of thick then add rest of beaten egg whites and fold gently until the whites are incorporated completely.

Spoon the mousse into a shallow bowl or into 6 individual cups and chill at least 3 hours before serving.

Recipe borrowed from: Jean Claude Fra

Focaccia Bread

We have an Ooni pizza oven, so we baked the one in the photo in that. However it will work just as well in a regular oven.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups luke warm water

7g yeast

2 tsps honey

5 cups flour

2 tsps salt

Olive oil

Fresh rosemary

Flakey finishing salt

Combine luke warm water, yeast and honey. Let site for 5 minutes. In a separate bowl combine flour and salt. Then pour yeast mixture in and stir until you don’t see any dry parts. In another bowl add 4 tbsps of olive oil and dump dough into it, turn it around so its coated with olive oil. Cover with plastic wrap and put in fridge for 24 hours.

Deflate the dough by punching it down and pull over itself and slide it into a rectangle pan coated in olive oil and stretch out the dough to cover the pan.

Leave in a warm place for 4 hours to rise again.

Dimple the dough using your fingers and then top with whatever toppings you like, such as rosemary, roasted garlic and flakey salt. Make sure you use extra olive oil on top.

Bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees. Take out of the pan and cool on a cooling rack. That keeps the bottom crispy. Cut up and enjoy with dipping oils and balsamic if you would like.

Recipe borrowed from: daenskitchen.com

Bagna Cauda (Italian Fondue)

This recipe will serve about 4-6 people. However, in my family we always do multiple pots and double or triple the recipe! This is an absolute family tradition of ours and we must do it once a year. There are a lot more rules to it, but you should probably be invited over to have the full Gremmo family experience.

5 cans of flat anchovies, chopped

Olive Oil

2 sticks of butter

2 heads of garlic, cloves sliced d

3 heads of Savoy Cabbage- no substitutions! must be Savoy, quartered

2 Top Round Steaks, frozen, then ½ defrosted

4 Stalks of celery, cut into 1 inch pieces

3 Red and/or Green peppers, cut into large pieces

1 loaf Rustic Italian Bread, sliced

In an electric fondue pot fill ½ way with olive oil and then add butter, heating up to medium heat. Then add all of the anchovies and garlic. Bring pot to a boil, stir and then keep at a low simmer for 1-2 hours.

In the meantime, prepare vegetables and place in to small bowls for serving. Defrost the steak ½ way, this makes it easier to slice thin, then slice the steak into thin strips. Also place into a bowl/plate for serving.

Serve in the middle of the table, still plugged in using an extension cord, keeping it a simmer. Using the fondue forks wrap your meat up with veggies of choice and cook in the pot until desired doneness. Eat on top of a slice of Italian bread. Best if you soak the bread with a few rounds of meat/veggies. Then eat the bread when its loaded up with flavor!

Recipe borrowed from: My dad, The Gremmo Family