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Chocolate Mousse

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Valentine’s Day Dessert – Chocolate Mousse

This fluffy and rich dessert is perfect for a Valentine’s Day treat that feels fancier than your average chocolate. It comes together easily with a hand mixer and a little patience, with no complicated baking process. Pair it with a dry red wine to compliment the chocolate and enjoy it with someone special.

Ingredients for the Mousse:

8 oz semi-sweet chocolate

6 T butter (unsalted)

6 eggs 

¼ cup and 3 T granulated sugar, divided

1 T vanilla extract

Ingredients for the Whipped Cream:

1 cup heavy cream

3 T granulated sugar

Instructions:

To begin making your chocolate mousse, start by melting the chocolate using a double boiler. If you don’t have a double boiler, you can make one using a large pot and a heat-safe bowl that fits on top of the pot without falling inside of it. 

Take the large pot and fill it up halfway with water. Bring the water to a boil and place the heat-safe bowl over the pot.

Add your chocolate, vanilla extract, and butter to the bowl. I recommend chopping the butter up before adding it in, as it melts more evenly. 

Bring the heat down to medium-high and make sure to stir often to prevent it from burning at the bottom of the bowl. The chocolate will melt and once melted, you can reduce the heat to low and stir occasionally to keep it from solidifying again. Leave the chocolate on the stovetop this way while you work on preparing the other ingredients. 

Now it’s time to separate your egg yolks from your egg whites. First, have two large mixing bowls at the ready. You will put your egg yolks in one bowl, and your egg whites in the other bowl. 

I recommend breaking your eggs very gently, so as to not pierce the yolk. After it’s broken, hold the egg over your egg white bowl and pour it into your hand very gingerly. Allow the egg whites to fall from the spaces between your fingers and down into the bowl. Pass the egg yolk between your hands very gently until all the white has fallen into the bowl. Then gently set the remaining yolk into your egg yolk bowl. Repeat this process for all 6 eggs. 

Add ¼ a cup of sugar to your egg yolks and use an electric mixer to beat them until fluffy and creamy. This should take about 5 minutes of continuous beating at medium speed. Set aside.

Add 3 tablespoons of sugar to your egg whites and beat with an electric mixer until medium-stiff peaks. This should take about 3-4 minutes of continuous beating at high speed. Set aside. 

Fold your egg yolks into your chocolate mixture a little bit at a time until there are no streaks of yolk visible. 

Very gently, fold your egg whites into the chocolate mixture. I recommend using a figure 8 motion to help mix, gently scraping down the sides of the bowl as you go. Use very little force when mixing, to help keep your egg whites nice and fluffy. Fold and mix until you see almost no streaks of white in your chocolate mousse. It’s ok if you see a little streaking, as you’d rather have it 90% incorporated than lose most its fluffiness by over-mixing. 

Once you’re done mixing, transfer your mousse into ramekins. You could use eight 6 oz ramekins, or six 12 oz ramekins. If you don’t have any ramekins, you can also use spare cups or mugs of any size until you run out of mousse. 

Put your chocolate mousses in the refrigerator, covered, for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Before serving, make some whipped cream to go on top of your mousses. 

Add your heavy cream and 3 tablespoons of sugar to a large mixing bowl. 

Mix with an electric mixer on high speed until it’s fluffy and hold its shape. This takes about 6 minutes.

Spoon the whipped cream on top of your mousse and enjoy, with an optional side of dry red wine to compliment the chocolate. 

 

Try out this Chocolate Mousse recipe and let us know what you think.

Beef Burgundy

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Valentine’s Day Beef Burgundy

Staying in for Valentine’s Day? Impress your date with an extravagant meal, paired with wine and a lovely chocolate dessert. While this dish has all the trappings of a premium dining experience, it’s easy to prepare and less expensive than a 5-star French bistro. Your favorite dry red pairs wonderfully with this dish, and better yet, you can use the same wine in the stew. Set the table and put on some mood lighting as you enjoy this curated meal from the comfort of your home. 

Ingredients:

1 ½ lbs. of stew beef or beef chuck

1 ½ tsp salt (plus more to taste)

½ tsp pepper (plus more to taste)

2 T all-purpose flour

1 onion

2 carrots

8 oz cremini mushrooms

1.5 lbs. little gold potatoes

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp tomato paste

2 T extra virgin olive oil

1 cup dry red wine

4 cups beef broth

2 large bay leaves

 

Instructions:

If you’re using beef chuck, roughly chop it into chunks.
In a large bowl, add your beef and 1 ½ tsp salad and ½ tsp pepper. Mix until coated and set aside. 

Chop your onions. Peel and chop your carrots. Set aside. 

Mince your garlic if you’re not using pre-minced. Set aside. 

Wash and chop your mushrooms. Set aside. 

In a large soup pot on medium heat, add your mushrooms, onions, carrots, and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Sauté for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Add your garlic to the pot and sauté until fragrant. 

Pour in your dry red wine and let it come to a boil.
Add your tomato paste, bay leaves, beef broth, a pinch of pepper, and a pinch of salt if desired. Bring everything to a boil. Allow it to keep boiling while you prepare your potatoes. 

Wash your potatoes and cut them in half. Carefully add them to the pot. I recommend lowering them a few at a time using a ladle. Allow it to keep boiling on medium heat. 

Remove your beef from the bowl and transfer it into a pan with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Sear the beef on both sides using medium-high heat. 

Once seared, add only the beef to the pot, leaving the grease and fat in the pan. 

Add your flour to the pan and whisk until all the fat has been absorbed. Add it to the pot. 

Simmer the beef stew on medium-low or low for 2 hours, stirring occasionally to ensure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pot.

Serve and enjoy with a glass of dry red wine. 

 

Let us know what you think of this Beef Burgundy Recipe!

Vegan Linzer Cookies

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These festive Linzer cookies can be cut into any shape you’d like; snowflakes for winter, flowers for spring, or hearts for Valentine’s Day like we’ve done for this batch. Subtly sweet and buttery, they pair wonderfully with any flavor of jam or fruit preserves sandwiched between them. Whether you dust them with powdered sugar or leave them plain, they make for a delightful treat for you or your valentine to enjoy. 

 

Ingredients:

12 T vegan butter (room temperature)

½ cup granulated sugar

1 tsp lemon zest

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 ⅓ cup all-purpose flour

¾ cups almond flour

¼ tsp salt (omit if you’re using salted vegan butter)

A jar of jam or fruit preserves for filling

Powdered sugar for decorating

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 350°. Prepare two large baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. 

Zest about ½ of your lemon into a large mixing bowl. This will come out to about a tablespoon, or a little more depending on the size of your lemon. 

Add your vanilla, sugar, and room temperature vegan butter to the large bowl with your lemon zest. 

Beat until well combined and the mixture is light and fluffy. Set aside. 

In a medium mixing bowl, sift together your flour, almond flour, and salt if you’re using unsalted vegan butter. 

Add your dry ingredients to your wet ingredients and mix until they’re just combined. Be careful not to overmix, or your cookies will turn out chewy rather than crunchy. 

Divide your dough in half and set it, covered, in the refrigerator for 10 minutes. If you want to move quickly, you can also put it in the freezer, but only for 5 minutes at a time. Either method will help the butter firm so your dough won’t be a greasy mess while you’re trying to roll it. 

Prepare a surface to roll your dough and sprinkle flour on it and the rolling pin. 

Remove your dough from the refrigerator and roll it into a ⅛ inch thick sheet. 

Cut the dough into shapes using a cookie cutter and repeat until you’ve used as much dough as you can. 

After you’ve cut all your cookies, cut a hole in the center of half of them. You can do this using another cookie cutter, or if you don’t have one small enough, other circular objects in your kitchen such as a bottlecap. Additionally, if you have an uneven number of cookies, I recommend leaving them uncut in case some of your other cookies don’t turn out. 

Assemble your cookies on your prepared baking sheet and bake them for 10-15 minutes, or until the edges begin to turn brown. Every oven is different, but I recommend setting a timer for 12 minutes to see how they’re coming along. The cookies you’ve cut holes into will take less time to bake and I recommend checking on them after 10 minutes to ensure they get too brown. 

Once they’re done, set them on a cooling rack and let them cool completely before you fill and decorate them. 

When they’ve cooled, use a fine sifter to sprinkle powdered sugar on top of the cookies you’d cut a hole in the center of. 

Then, on the underside of each cookie you didn’t cut a hole in the center of, scoop about a tablespoon of jam or preserves and spread it evenly. 

Very carefully, place your sugar-dusted cookies on top of your jam-covered ones and gently press them together so they’ll stick. 

Enjoy! 

Za’atar Lamb Shanks & Roasted Potatoes

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Sharing a delicious meal with your special someone is a wonderful way to celebrate Valentine’s Day, or any day that’s special to you. These oven-roasted, za’atar-crusted lamb shanks are the perfect main course for those who have a little extra time on their hands. This recipe may seem difficult, but the only real obstacle is making sure you start cooking early. Once you get the lamb in the oven, it does most of the work with only a few check-ins.

We’ve included a recipe for roasted potatoes as a suggested side, which you can cook alongside the lamb shanks as they’re finishing up. If you’d like a wine to accompany your meal, or a red we’d recommend a Bordeaux or a Chianti. The Bordeaux Rouge from Chartron La Fleur, or Badia a Coltibuono’s Chianti Cetamura would both pair well with this meal. If you prefer white wine, Gai’a Wines’ Monograph Moschofilero would be an excellent choice. All these wines can be found in our wine section towards the back of the store, in addition to many other wonderful selections. No matter what you pair this recipe with, you’re sure to impress your date and enjoy a lovely meal.

 

Ingredients:
2 lamb shanks, thawed
2 T oil of your choice (sunflower, olive, etc.)
2 T salt (or to taste)
6 T Za’atar (feel free to use more if you need to)
6 cloves of garlic
1 cup vegetable broth

For the potatoes:
1 yellow onion
1 bag of small golden potatoes
2 T oil (sunflower, olive, etc.)
1 T dried rosemary
1 T za’atar (if desired)
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
Preheat your oven to 450°.

Peel your garlic cloves, but only the paper-like husk of the garlic. Leave the innermost peel on and set them aside.

Place your lamb shanks in a large oven-safe roasting pan. It should be deep enough that the lamb shanks are not peeking over the sides of your pan.

Add half your oil, garlic, salt and za’atar to your lamb shanks. Rub the seasonings on them evenly and flip them. Repeat on the opposite side. Make sure to cover every part of the shank with seasoning.

Roast the lamb shanks in the oven for 20 minutes uncovered, then take them out and turn the temperature down to 325°.

Being careful not to burn yourself on the hot pan, wrap your pan in several layers of aluminum foil. Make sure there is no way for air to enter the pan. I recommend 3-4 layers of foil to keep it well-insulated and cover all the sides.

Place it back in the oven and cook for 2 hours.

After 1 ½ hours have passed, get started on your potatoes.

Prepare a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

Cut your onion into large slices and lay them on the baking sheet. Cut your potatoes in half and add them to the baking tray.

Add your oil, rosemary, za’atar, salt, and pepper to the tray and shuffle all the ingredients until everything is well distributed.

Put your potatoes in the oven with your lamb. They will cook alongside it until everything is done.

After your lamb has been in the oven for 2 hours, remove it and leave the potatoes in the oven. Turn the oven temperature up to 400°.

Remove the foil from your roasting pan and pour in the vegetable broth. Set it in the oven and cook for another 15 minutes.

Once the 15 minutes is up, remove your lamb and allow it to cool a little before serving. If your potatoes look done to your liking, take them out of the oven as well. If you think they need a little more time, leave them in for another 5 minutes.

Plate your lamb and potatoes, pour a delightful beverage, and enjoy your meal.

Shrimp Scampi

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This classic seafood pasta is guaranteed to impress and surprisingly easy to make. This dish comes together in just 20 minutes and can instantly transport you to a candlelit dinner at your favorite Italian restaurant in the comfort of your home. It’s perfect for a Valentine’s Day date night at home or when you want something delicious and easy to prepare. We hope you enjoy this simply scrumptious shrimp scampi.

 

Ingredients:

1 ½ medium sized shrimp (shelled and peeled)
½ cup chicken broth or dry white wine
4 tsp minced garlic
2 T butter
2 T olive oil
1 tsp salt
⅛ tsp red pepper flakes
Pinch of black pepper
⅓ cup chopped parsley
3 T lemon juice
1 (16 oz.) box of linguine pasta

 

Instructions:

If you have chosen to use frozen shrimp for this recipe, make sure you have thawed your shrimp.

In a large pot, bring water to a boil. Add your linguine pasta and cook until al dente, about 10 to 12 minutes. Stir occasionally to keep the pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pot.

When your pasta has finished cooking, drain it, and set it aside.

In a large saucepan on medium heat, add your butter and olive oil.

Add your garlic and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes, stirring frequently.

Pour in your broth or wine, salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes to the saucepan. Simmer on low heat until the broth has reduced by half.

Add your shrimp to the saucepan and cook them until they turn pink, about 5 to 6 minutes. If you’re using pre-cooked shrimp, sauté the shrimp until they are heated all the way through and fully coated in the sauce.

Add your linguine pasta, lemon juice and chopped parsley and stir until combined.

Garnish with extra fresh parsley and serve immediately. Enjoy!