The Lost Symbol and Chocolate Mousse Pyramid

Is that a pyramid made out of chocolate mousse you ask?  Why yes it is!  Is that gold paint on the top of it? Yes!  Why in the world would you complicate something as simply delicious as chocolate mousse by fussing it into a mold and painting it?  The answer is Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code follow up, The Lost Symbol.  And as anyone who has read his books can attest to, Dan Brown is good at complicating things.   The Lost Symbol takes place is Washington DC and the focus of the book is the mysteries of the Masons and specifically a super secret super special pyramid, whose top is gold.  While I was dragging through The Great World Spins a few weeks ago (Genuine NYC pretzels and a review coming soon), I decided I needed something lighter for a few days - The Lost Symbol was exactly what I needed. I read it in a couple of days and was refreshed and ready to re-tackle and finish up the more serious book.  And, it gave me a reason to make chocolate mousse...

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Backseat Saints, Biscuits and Hot Pepper Jelly

This post has taken forever for me to get out!  I read the book weeks ago, then made the biscuits and bought the ingredients for the hot pepper jelly.  The biscuits alone were not right for the book - I needed the spunky and spicy jelly in order to represent the spunky and spicy (and slightly crazy) main character in Joshlyn Jackson's Backseat Saints, Rose Mae.  So I made the biscuits, photographed them, saved three and brought the rest to my sister, my brother in law reportedly quickly ate them all, but still, I could not get my act together to make the hot pepper jelly!  Finally, this weekend, after a few weekends away and friends visiting I got around to making the jelly. I think the process of sterilization is what held me up - I was just scared of it.   I will only give rough directions on this process after the jump, but will refer to you better sources - I don't want to be responsible for anyone getting sick!  More about the food and the fun book after the jump.

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Stone Fruit Pie

No book with this post, just an impromptu stone fruit pie, made with apricots from the farmers market, bing cherries, and a couple of other stone fruits I had in the house to fill it out.  This was my first time making a pie with cherries, and I found an ingenious way to pit them, which will make cherry pies something I tackle a lot more often.  For our next book recipe, I am doing biscuits and red pepper jam (the biscuits are in the oven as I type), but for now, follow the link for the recipe for  a simple summer pie.

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How did You Get This Number? And a Cool Cocktail

It was too hot in Boston this past week to do any real cooking.  Luckily, for Sloane Crossley's breazy second collection of essays, a cocktail seemed just as appropriate as food.  In general, I don't drink at home that much.  While I love a cocktail or beer or wine out, at home, I just don't get the urge.  So it was a fun treat to put together this fruity bourbon cocktail during the 100 plus heat wave we had.  Bourbon is definitely my hard alchohol of choice, it has the most character to me and has a little bit of sweetness that makes it easier to drink than whiskey or scotch.  And it has loads more character than vodka.  The recipe for this easy Cherry Smash cocktail after the jump, and more about "How Did You Get This Number?"

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