LeMoyne House and Bovine Winery

Sue and I had another special day yesterday. We drove over to Little  Washington to take a tour  of the LeMoyne house. We’ve been reading some Civil War books together and when I found out that the LeMoyne House was once part of the Underground railroad we decided we wanted to go see it.

The stately stone house, located at 49 East Maiden Street in downtown Washington, Pennsylvania, was built in 1812 by John Julius LeMoyne, the father of Francis Julius LeMoyne. Both father and son were practicing physicians, but it was the courageous Francis Julius LeMoyne who, despite the strict Fugitive Slave Law of 1850, risked his personalfreedom and fortune to do what he knew was morally right — take a stand against the institution of slavery. This successful 19th Century doctor, reformer and builder of the first crematory in the western hemisphere, opened his home and properties as stops along the Underground Railroad, the series of safe hiding places for runaway slaves as they trudged north on their precarious journey to Canada and freedom.

http://www.wchspa.org/history.html

The house was beautiful and our tour guide was amazing.

The house is full of period pieces and some of the original furniture. It was also beautifully decorated for Christmas

Our next stop was the Bovine Winery

All the wines are cow themed and the winery is decorated with cows everywhere.

I got Phil’s mom the cutest bottle of wine

I’ve been  back to baking some again

I made these wonderful  

Chocolate and Amaretto Mousse in Almond Lace Bowls

CHOCOLATE AND AMARETTO MOUSSE:

½ cup heavy cream

1 cup good-quality dark chocolate, shaved

2 large eggs, separated

2 tablespoons amaretto liqueur

¼ cup raw sugar, pulverized

ALMOND LACE BOWL:

½ cup unsalted butter

½ cup light corn syrup

½ cup brown sugar

⅔ cup all-purpose flour

½ cup almonds, ground

½ cup toasted almond slivers

For the chocolate and amaretto mousse: Heat the cream in a small pot over medium heat. Once it starts to steam, remove from the heat and whisk in the chocolate until melted. Let cool. Carefully add the cooled chocolate cream, 2 tablespoons at a time, into a bowl with the egg yolks, mixing continuously. Stir in the amaretto. Beat the egg whites and sugar in a bowl to form a meringue, and then fold into the chocolate mixture. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour.
For the almond lace bowls: Combine the butter, corn syrup and sugar in a pot over medium heat until simmering. Whisk together the flour and almonds, and then stir into the butter mixture, 1 minute. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate covered, 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Scoop tablespoons of batter and roll into balls. Place 3 inches apart on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet (only 4 balls per row), and bake until golden, 10 minutes. Let cool until they can be touched, but are still warm enough to be pliable. Place on top of a small inverted bowl to shape, and then let cool until hardened completely, 2 minutes.
Transfer the chocolate mousse to a piping bag and pipe into the almond lace bowls. Garnish with toasted almonds.

I also made

Amaretto Crème Brulee

• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons Amaretto
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 4 large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus 4 to 6 tablespoons for topping
• sliced almonds, lightly toasted, optional
• fresh mint, optional

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350°.

In a saucepan, bring cream, Amaretto, and almond extract to a boil.

Meanwhile, whisk egg yolks with 1/2 cup granulated sugar. Slowly whisk the hot cream into the egg yolk mixture until well blended. Place 6 to 8 shallow individual 6- to 8-ounce baking dishes in a large baking or roasting pan. Pour cream mixture into the baking dishes. Pour boiling water into the baking dish to about halfway up the small baking dishes. Carefully place the pan in the oven. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the centers barely move. You may have to adjust baking time, depending on the size/depth of the baking dishes.

Cool the creme brulee then chill for about 4 to 6 hours or overnight.

Sprinkle each creme brulee with 2 to 3 teaspoons of sugar. Carefully torch to melt the sugar, moving and taking care not to burn. Or, place under the broiler, turning and watching very closely, until sugar turns a darker brown, about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. A cooking torch is good to have if you make this often. You have much more control on melting the sugar, which forms the famous crust.

Books I’ve read lately