Whether you need an easy pumpkin dessert for Thanksgiving—no baking, gluten free!—or feel like mousse at any time of the year, here’s a recipe from Straus Family Creamery of California.

National Mousse Day is November 30th. National Chocolate Mousse Day is April 3rd.

> The history of mousse is below.

> The history of pumpkins.
 
 
RECIPE: EASY PUMPKIN MOUSSE

This three-ingredient Pumpkin Mousse (plus pinches of nutmeg and salt) is light and flavorful.

Prep time is 30 minutes, plus chilling time of 3 hours.
 
Ingredients For 6 To 8 Servings

 
Preparation

1. HEAT the sweetened condensed milk over low heat for 10 minutes, stirring constantly until the color darkens.

2. ADD the pumpkin purée and stir until combined, bringing the mixture to a gentle boil for 2 minutes; then add the salt.

3. PRESS the mixture through a fine mesh sieve to strain out any solids; then cool completely. While the pumpkin mixture is cooling…

4. WHIP the cream to stiff peaks. Set aside 1/4 of the whipped cream.

NOTE: Consider setting aside the 1/4 amount before you whip the rest into stiff peaks. You can always re-whip an under-whipped cream, but once it becomes stiff, you cannot go back.

5. GENTLY FOLD the pumpkin mixture into the whipped cream. Once fully combined, portion into individual serving cups and place in the refrigerator for at least three hours prior to serving.

6. TOP each serving with a dollop of the remaining whipped cream and dust with nutmeg.
 
 
THE HISTORY OF MOUSSE

The first known reference to mousse, a French word that translates to “foam,” dates to the 18th century.

Unlike the sweet desserts we know today, those first mousses were savory, made with cheese, meat (including chicken livers and foie gras), seafood, and vegetables.

[1] An easy pumpkin mousse. The recipe is below (photo © Straus Family Creamery).

[2] Plain or candied pecans are a delicious garnish, as are spiced nuts (photo © King Arthur Baking).

[3] Embellish the dessert or snack with gingersnaps or other spice cookies (photo © Splendid Spoon).

The first documented recipe for a sweet mousse, chocolate mousse appears to be in 1750, in a pastry chef’s cookbook La Science Du Maître d’Hôtel Confiseur by Joseph Menon, the most prolific cookbook author in 18th-century France [source].

Whipping cream to incorporate air bubbles gives mousse its light and airy texture (and all that was done with a whisk and a strong arm, in the era before electricity and electric beaters).

Following publication, chefs nationwide began to create desserts consisting of whipped cream flavored with chocolate, coffee, fruit, and liqueurs called crème en mousse (“cream in a foam”), crème mousseuse (“foamy cream”), or just mousse. Modern mousses are a continuation of this tradition [source].

By the late 19th century, sweet mousses, including today’s standard-bearer, chocolate mousse, began to gain in popularity [source].

According to one source, the United States first became acquainted with chocolate mousse at a food exposition held at Madison Square Garden in New York City in 1892—although arguably, wealthy people with French-trained chefs might have enjoyed savory and sweet mousses before then [source].

Back to the savory side: A dip of fish mousse with “party slices” of pumpernickel or other brown bread and butter was a popular party food in American cuisine in the 1950s [source].

Why did it take this long? In 1977, New York chef Michel Fitoussi is credited with creating white chocolate mousse, in 1977. He was the chef at the Palace, Manhattan’s most expensive luxury restaurant [source 1] [source 2].

[Editor’s note: We were privileged to eat at the Palace several times, and remember Chef Fitoussi’s innovative cuisine. Some of our favorite dishes were sea urchin soup, a rolled slice of smoked salmon filled with crème fraîche and caviar—which we still make today—and fish pâte topped with foie gras (ditto). We also remember his pastry swan, filled with half chocolate mousse and half white chocolate mousse.]
 
 

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[1] SuckerPunch pickles are a convenient, low-calorie snack, shown here with Destihl SuckerPunch Dill Pickle Sour Beer (all photos © SuckerPunch Gourmet).

[2] Pickles at the pool.

[3] Pickles in the kitchen. Snack away1

Snack A Pickle Time, September 13th, is a more unusually named food holiday. There’s also Shape Up With Pickles Time, the first week in February; Pickle Time Week, the second full week in February; and National Pickled Peppers Month, October.

The more straightforward-named National Pickle Day is November 14th.

And what a great day for us to share the news from SuckerPunch, “makers of bolder pickles done differently,” that their SuckerPunch Pickle Pouch Snack Packs are now available nationwide in more than 3,100 Walgreens stores.

You can get your pickle-fix-in-a-pouch for just $1.79.
 
 
FOUR VARIETIES OF PICKLE POUCHES

The SuckerPunch Pickle Pouch Snack Packs are available in four varieties:

[1] Cacio e Pepe, a dish that dates to ancient Roman times (photos #1, #2, and #3 © DeLallo).

[2] If you make the recipe often, consider making compound butter to make the task quicker.

[3] While spaghetti is the classic cut, you can choose anything you’d like. Here, it’s gnocchi.

[4] Today’s DOP Pecorino Romano is the direct descendant of the sheep’s milk cheese that was the staple food of the Roman Empire more than 2000 years ago (photo © Talbott & Arding).

[5] Madagascar black peppercorns. Grind the pepper just before using it. Use a coarse grind, or if you prefer the texture, crack the peppercorns (photo © Aromatiques Tropicales).

National Cacio e Pepe Day, November 14th, celebrates a pasta dish from ancient Rome.

Traditional Cacio e Pepe (KAH-chee-oh ay PEP-pay, meaning cheese and black pepper) uses spaghetti. But over the years almost all types of pasta have been combined with the sauce of grated Pecorino Romano cheese. Go classic, or use an inspired cut of pasta.

The creamy sauce is called cremina, and the secret to a good Cacio e Pepe is finding the right balance between the cheese and the starchy cooking water. The original recipe does not include oil, butter, or cream to make the cremina—alternating the precise amount of ingredients and technique are crucial.

Some cooks argue that the best way to achieve success is to finish the cooking in a pan so as to allow the spaghetti to release its starch, which is fundamental for the sauce to amalgamate perfectly. Practice makes perfect!

> The history of Cacio e Pepe.

> The different types of Italian grating cheeses.

> The history of pasta.

> The different types of pasta: a glossary.

> A Cacio e Pepe recipe with zucchini noodles.
 
 
RECIPE: CACIO E PEPE

Prep time is 5 minutes and cook time is 15 minutes.

Here’s a video.

Thanks to DeLallo for the recipe.
 
Ingredients For 4 Servings

 
Mains

 
Potatoes

 
Vegetables & Grains

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