Mousse....again

In regards to my last post...I have NOT made the balsamic mousse yet. I'm actually kind of nervous to do it, consider it's a weird ingredient to work with for a dessert...or maybe I'll make it a savory mousse, but again, mousse isn't usually a savory dish. Anyways, to get back on track. I'm thinking of doing the balsamic mousse, and reducing the DELICIOUS tangerine-balsamic vinegar that I got from "From Olives and Grapes" In cocoa Village. Once it's reduced I'll whip 3 or so egg whites to medium peaks and fold them into the cooled reduction. Once the egg whites are well incorporated I'll beat cream with...say 1/2 cup sugar to 1 cup cream...to hard peaks, then fold THAT into the egg-balsamic mixture. I'll let it set for an hour or two in the fridge, covered of course, and then serve the interesting mousse in watermelon cups, since we all know watermelon and vinegar go so well together....we'll see. I promise I'll do it this week!

On another note. I DID make a Ricotta Mousse, which turned out much better than I expected. I took about 3/4 cup of whole milk ricotta cheese...use authentic Italian recipe ricotta(or make your own) because American ricotta has vinegar in it, which can de-stabilize the mousse. Gently stir the ricotta to break it up a little bit. DO NOT over mix, otherwise...you get canoli filling which is NOT what we're going with!! beat 2 egg whites to medium peaks using cream of tartar-about 1/2 tsp.-to stabilize the egg whites since the ricotta is so heavy. Beat 3/4 cup cream with about 1/2 cup sugar-more to taste if necessary...the cream should be sweeter than you actually want it to be since the ricotta isn't sweet...beat the cream to medium/stiff peaks and fold that into the ricotta-egg white mixture. Once all that is done, let the mousse settle for about an hour or two. And it's ready to enjoy! My favorite way to serve this mousse, since it is such a unique and subtle flavor that can adapt to many different uses, is to put down sliced strawberries then mousse on top of that, then MORE sliced strawberries, then melted chocolate on top of that. Put it in the fridge about 5 minutes, to harden the chocolate and ENJOY!!!!!!!!

Let me know what you think?!