The mister left Global Headquarters early yesterday to renew his driver's license. He opted to go to the Bellevue DMV, only the busiest in the state, where he sat for 2 1/2 hours - calling me to report on his boredom every 15 minutes. I believe I have already told you how I loathe the phone and as much as I hate it, the mister loves it. He calls for NO REASON to tell me things like it's raining at his office, what he had for lunch, and that there's a new guy in his building who sells kitchenware. All breaking news in his world. Yesterday he called to tell me about the guy who shot his TV because he was mad Bristol Palin was not voted off DWTS! He's like my very own personal Hollywood Reporter and earthquake prognosticator...Did I hear about Charlie Sheen's hotel rage? Did I see who Oprah has on today? Did I hear about the earthquake that hit Southern Washington? 4.2 on the Richter!!! It's very exciting for him when the Earth moves! When he called to tell me he finally got his license renewed and was on his way home I thought I would have 30 minutes or so of quiet before he walked in the door...nope...he called to tell me about the traffic...then he called to tell me about the price of gas...and finally, he called to ask what was for dinner. Since I had spent SO MUCH TIME on the phone with him the only thing I had ready for dinner was the Pumpkin Mousse!
Light and airy, velvety smooth with just the right amount of spice and a hint of rum - which is optional but the alcohol cooks out so just go for it! Crushed ginger snaps line the bottom of the goblets, so every bite has a nice surprise - it's a nice substitute for pumpkin pie if your oven is filled with rolls or turkey and you just can't bear the thought of rolling out one more pie shell...Pumpkin Mousse is the way to go!
See those roses? They were part of the toss bouquet from last weekend's wedding...no, I didn't catch it, that would have just been rude! But I did make the bouquet because Bridezilla asked me to and when she didn't use it I brought it home...last week's wedding cured me of EVER helping with another...yeah, I know, I've said that before but THIS TIME I MEAN IT - I'm out of the wedding business! Okay, now that I got that out of the way, just take a gander at the mousse...so creamy and rich, 5 dangs my friends...it's dang, dang, dang, dang, dang good! Roll me over and bring on the coma, this one's a keeper!
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine pumpkin and 1 cup of cream with sugar, spice and rum, if using. Bring almost to a boil, but do not boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in 1 teaspoon of vanilla and allow to cool completely. Meanwhile, whip the remaining two cups of cream, powdered sugar and remaining teaspoon of vanilla until soft peaks form. When pumpkin mixture is completely cool, fold whipped cream into pumpkin until there are no visible streaks. Spoon a heaping tablespoon of crushed ginger snaps into the bottom of each goblet, if making individual servings or put all of the crushed ginger snaps in the bottom of a large serving bowl. Spoon mousse into individual goblets or large serving bowl. Garnish with additional Ginger snaps. Serves 8.
May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey be plump,
May your potatoes and gravy
Have nary a lump.
May your yams be delicious
And your pies take the prize,
And may your Thanksgiving dinner
Stay off your thighs!
Author Unknown
