Original Message
"Mousse Report" Posted by Karchita on 05-24-12 at 04:47 PM
It's good to have you back, Tkitty! I have missed you, your recipes, and your gorgeous photos. The steak concoction definitely tempted me. And that is saying a lot from one who generally doesn't eat beef. If fooner had actually dragged his azz to Casa de Karchita last weekend, who knows what would have happened. So I made the lime mousse and it was the yummiest, not too sweet and not too tart and very, very limey. I loved it! I made a half batch because dear Mr. Karchita is generally good for one portion of any dessert that I make, and while I am sure I would have enjoyed eating 7 portions of this delightful mousse, I decided that wasn't a good idea. Making a half of this recipe is complicated by dividing five eggs by two, but I managed. I subbed Light Cool Whip for the real whipped cream, also out of waistline considerations. I would have liked more precise instructions (Silver Palate's fault, not yours) on how long to beat the eggs. I went for about 2 minutes at med-high speed, until fairly white and densely foamy, but I have no idea if that was too much or too little. I also had no idea how long to cook the custard. I figured custard shouldn't have foam, but the foam never disappeared (but then maybe I beat the eggs too long). So I cooked it until it was starting to change color to a darker yellow in the bottom of the pan, which seemed custard-like to me, but it turns out that was too long as my mousse was a bit grainy. I thought at first it was the lime zest, but on closer inspection, it was actually both the zest and bits of cooked egg. Next time I would use a finer grater for the lime zest as well. The flavor was wonderful, however, and I love most anything with lime or lemon, so I would like to try again and see if I can work the kinks out. If you have any advice, I would much appreciate it. I have had the Silver Palate cookbook for decades and have never made this recipe, but that is why I like OTCC. Thanks!