It is Christmas time, do something nice

It is Christmas time, how about doing something nice?  Make someone happy and make yourself feel great at the same time. When you do something nice for someone (can be your love ones, a stranger or yourself) may be an insignificant small thing to you but it can be a humongous thing to the receiver. I am not exaggerating, sometimes it can even change someone's life! You do not need to do big things, it is the small little things that count the most.


My Quay Lo does not wait for Christmas time to do something nice. He does it throughout the year. For example, out of the blue, he will serve me a special morning "teh tarik" (pull tea). For no apparent reason, he will put a plate of nicely decorated afternoon snacks on my office desk. When he returned from a business trip, he would bring back some little surprise gifts for my mum, usually tid-bits that she likes. When he knew my brother is coming to visit, he would buy a bunch of movies to watch with him. When the ladies were chatting in the kitchen, he would make us a cocktail drink and pour us a glass of wine. His actions had made me aware of how doing something nice plays a direct role in the bigger picture of our existence. Can you think of what nice things you have done recently? Would you share with us so that we all can learn from it? 
I am going to share with you my Quay Lo's chocolate mousse recipe. Do you consider this doing something nice? 


It was a surprise dessert and a bigger surprise when he served it like those being served in a fine dining restaurant to me one evening. It was the best chocolate mousse I've ever had. It was creamy and probably extremely fattening but we are allowed to treat ourselves with a rich dessert once in a while don’t we? I am not a big fan of chocolate dessert but then I will eat this anytime. 


The following photos of the chocolate mousse did not allow its deliciousness to shine through (I hope you are not too disappointed with them). They were taken in a hurry because I did not want to make my Quay Lo wait too long although I know he is used to the whole drill when food is served. That is a problem for having a wife who is a food blogger. Anyway, just forget about the pictures and trust my words would you? This is a great choice of dessert to make if you want to impress your guests. Not only it looks pretty, its rich chocolate flavor with light and airy velvety smooth creamy texture will definitely "WOW" them. Furthermore, you can make this dessert one day ahead of time so you have one less item to worry about and have more time to make yourself look pretty before your guests arrive. That means you are doing something nice for yourself, why not?

Chocolate Mousse
Recipe from my Quay Lo

Ingredients:

7 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

7 egg yolks, beaten

2 tablespoons sugar

1 pinch salt

7 egg whites

1 1/4 cups heavy cream plus ¼ cup additional

1 tablespoon Cointreau (optional) 

Method:

1. Place chocolate in a metal bowl and set over a pot of simmering water. Stir

occasionally until mostly melted, then remove from heat, and stir until

smooth. Set aside to cool slightly.

2. In a separate bowl, whip heavy cream to medium stiff peaks, but do not

allow it to become grainy. Set aside.

3. In a separate bowl, whip egg whites with the pinch salt until soft peaks form. Sprinkle in the sugar, and continue whipping until medium stiff peaks form. Fold in egg yolks and the optional liquor.

4. Fold in the melted chocolate until completely incorporated, then fold in

whipped cream until evenly blended. Spoon into dessert cups, and chill

until firm, about 1 hour.

To serve:

Put the extra ¼ cup heavy cream, a tablespoon of confectioner’s sugar,  and a teaspoon of vanilla extract into a cold metal bowl. Whip until stiff peaks form. Serve on top of the chocolate mousse, sprinkle with a little instant coffee or shaved chocolate.

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