Half an Hour Crows Nest

My mother always used to make us this when we were at home. I always loved it especially when she fried the bread extra crispy. Now my kids love it too. They can't get used to the name because its just too out there to be comparing a yummy breakfast dish to a crows nest! You can really cook it in less than half an hour depending on how much you are making. In this particular case I made it with a day old baguette that had to be gotten rid of. I happened to make it for lunch because I needed something quick and my kids don't eat much for lunch right now.

Preparation time: 30 min. Serves 4 (as a side dish)

Ingredients:

8	Eggs
8 cups	Cubed, stale (at least not fresh!) bread
1/3 cup	Milk
1/4 cup	Oil
	Salt and pepper

Method:

Put a large skillet or frying pan on the stove on high heat. For best results use a cast iron pan. If you use any non- non-stick pan you will be fine. With a non-stick you will not get the bread to be as golden brown and crunchy and you also run the risk of ruining the surface of your non-stick pan. Eggs tend to have this nasty way of ruining the non-stick surface.

While your pan is heating up cube, or dice, your bread. Around 1.5 cm cubes are good.

Once the pan is hot add the oil and then the diced bread. Toss them in the oil so that all the pieces of bread get some oil. If the bread does not have oil on it it won't become crunchy and golden brown. You can always add some more oil if it doesn't seem to be enough. I think I might have added a bit more (my memory says a quarter cup more but its not very reliable!). Then fry them until golden brown. They need to be stirred every now and then to make sure they brown evenly and depending on your cooker and pan you might need to reduce the heat to medium to prevent it from burning.

While the bread is frying beat the eggs together with the milk, salt and pepper.

Once the bread is golden brown pour the egg mixture over the bread and mix until all the egg is cooked. Remove from the heat and serve immediately. Definitely best hot!

As you can see, not all of my bread was golden brown. It doesn't have to be all golden brown because that would take you forever and a whole heap of oil!
And here is the finished product which was devoured within a few minutes!!

Oh and I tried sprinkling it with Parmesan cheese (that's the white stuff you see on the side) but the kids did not like it although they do love Parmesan cheese and find it an absolute treat to be able to eat it by itself.

Simple, Delicious Chocolate Mousse

Have you ever eaten something that was so simple to make and yet so extremely godly?

NO? The only things that are godly are sooooo difficult to make...

Well then you really need to try out this amazingly simple chocolate mousse. You should be warned... it is extremely unhealthy. Although I was told by my German friend who gave me the recipe that "it's all good fat!" Whether you believe this or not the mousse is heavenly.

I only make this recipe when I can get ultra fresh eggs because the list of ingredients includes RAW EGGS. My "ultra fresh eggs" come from my friend who keeps hens as pets. She picks up an egg box, walks out to the hen house, fills the box with eggs and then drives to work. I then get a phone call, or a text, or a Whatsapp message to come and pick up the eggs. The eggs are divine.

Last week I received such a message and went to pick up my eggs. Immediately when I got home I put together my mousse so it would set in time for dinner.

This recipe makes 8 servings (servings size - VERY SMALL - as seen in the above photo). I usually make half the recipe because I don't like to keep any in the fridge owing to the raw eggs.

Ingredients:

200g	Dark chocolate (otherwise known as semi-sweet)
4	Eggs
1/2 l	Whipping cream

Method:

Melt the chocolate. I like to do this in the microwave but you have to be very careful that you don't burn the chocolate. You also have to be careful that you don't make it too hot because if the chocolate is hot it will cook the eggs and you will not have chocolate mousse for dinner tonight!

I leave the microwave on high and put the chocolate in for 30 seconds. Then I take it out and look to see how far it is melted. If more than half of it is melted, and the bowl is hot, then I stir the chocolate and let it sit. If not, I put it back in the microwave and keep heating it until enough is melted. By the time I'm done with the eggs the chocolate has completely melted and it's not very hot. If your microwave has hot spots I would recommend using a double boiler (Fill a pan 1/4 with water and suspend another bowl with the chocolate in it over it. Let the water simmer and stir the chocolate until it is melted. Allow to cool).

Oh and one other thing, make sure you get absolutely no water/moisture into your chocolate. If you do it will seize and again... there will be no chocolate mousse for you tonight!

Melted Chocolate

Next beat the eggs until they are fluffy.

Note there are only two eggs in the photo

Add the melted chocolate to the beaten eggs and mix until well combined.

Add the whipping cream and whip till the cream gets thick. This is the only step that is a bit tricky and how tricky it is depends on what cream you are using and in which country you live in. In the USA I've beaten heavy whipping cream for ages and nothing bad ever happens. If you do this in Germany with regular "schlagsahne" it will curdle i.e. turn into butter, so one has to be really careful. I rather under beat it than over beat it. If you use Kothmale fresh cream it will also curdle. 

Another trick to beating your cream quickly is to make sure it is cold. It's not a problem if you are using fresh cream because it would have been stored in the fridge, but if you use a long life variety make sure you chill it first. It's a real time saver. Since I never know that I'm going to make mousse in advance I just stick a pack, or two, in the freezer before I begin and by the time I get to using it, it is decently chilled. 

At the end the mixture looks like this:

You can then be lazy and put this directly in the fridge to set or you can pipe it into individual bowls as in the photo all the way at the top. Then chill the mousse for 2 - 3 hours. You can serve it how ever you like but mine like it with a bit of fruit a dollop of fresh whipped cream and a few pieces of grated chocolate.