It's Been Five Years....

Today is our five year wedding anniversary!!

And we've been married for so long that I can no longer find the CD with all our wedding photos. I think we've moved too many times. It's here somewhere, but finding it would involve making the kind of mess that I'm trying to avoid in anticipation of the arrival of our house guests tomorrow. So, use your imaginations, and tap into your memory and remember how young and happy we looked on this day five years ago.

Plans for celebration include going to the gym and eating at home. How romantic!! There will probably be champagne. We tried making reservations at five different restaurants, and all of them were closed for their annual vacation, and quite frankly, we ate enough in Russia to last us another five years. We'll go out for a big fancy dinner in the fall when things have settled down around here, and when we can really appreciate the meal.

So, instead of photos, I'll leave you with the recipe for chocolate mousse that I'm making for dessert tonight. Enjoy!

Chocolate Mousse
Six to eight servings

Adapted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking (Knopf) by Julia Child.

I found the coffee flavour to be a bit strong when I made this the last time, so you might want to reduce the amount if you're not big coffee fans.

6 ounces (170g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
6 ounces (170g) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup (60ml) dark-brewed coffee
4 large eggs, separated
2/3 cup (170g), plus 1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons (30ml) dark rum
1 tablespoon (15ml) water
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Heat a saucepan one-third full with hot water, and melt together the chocolate, butter and coffee, stirring over the barely simmering water, until smooth. Remove from heat.

2. Fill a large bowl with ice water and set aside.

3. In a bowl large enough to nest securely on the saucepan of simmering water, whisk the yolks of the eggs with the 2/3 cup of sugar, rum, and water for about 3 minutes until the mixture is thick, like runny mayonnaise. (You can also use a handheld electric mixer.)

3. Remove from heat and place the bowl of whipped egg yolks within the bowl of ice water and beat until cool and thick, as shown in the photo above. Then fold the chocolate mixture into the egg yolks.

4. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites with the salt until frothy. Continue to beat until they start to hold their shape. Whip in the tablespoon of sugar and continue to beat until thick and shiny, but not completely stiff, then the vanilla.

5. Fold one-third of the beaten egg whites into the chocolate mixture, then fold in the remainder of the whites just until incorporated, but don't overdo it or the mousse will lose volume.

6. Transfer the mousse to a serving bowl or divide into serving dishes, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, until firm.

Storage: The mousse au chocolat can be refrigerated for up to 4 days.