Happy Birthday Dad!

Today is Dad’s birthday and unfortunately I will not be there to celebrate with him. I did get home last weekend though and while I was there I made this Chocolate Mousse Cake from Fine Cooking magazine. Chocolate mousse is actually Dad’s specialty dessert. He rarely makes sweets, but when he does, it’s usually in the form of a rich chocolate mousse. I switched things up by making it in cake form but as good as this cake was though, it’s got nothing on Dad.

To start with, Dad is funny. Really funny. I don’t think everyone gets his sense of humour, (or mine) but then again, some people are dumb. I happen to think he’s hilarious. Who else would name their two turkeys, Licious and De? Or answer the phone in a Seinfeld voice when my friends call? (Tell me you’ve all seen the episode where Jerry does a voice for his girlfriend’s belly button and makes it say “helllloooooo la la la!”) Or position carved gnomes outside my window looking in, to scare the bejesus out of me? The thought of Mr. Smiles still creeps me out but at least now I can laugh at him too. Dad’s jokes never get old for me.

It’s partly because he’s so funny that I like hanging out with my Dad so much, but it’s also because we enjoy the same things. In the summer we go on bike rides and play tennis together, (he even lets me win sometimes…). Then in the winter we go snowshoeing and cross country skiing, (and he races to the top of the hills faster than I’ll ever get there). Regardless of the season, on weeknights we compete against each other in Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy and on Sunday nights we always watch Iron Chef. Oh yeah- this is a food blog, did I mention Dad loves to cook? Not only does he love to cook but he loves to try new things and experiment in the kitchen and as a result we have made some amazing things, like bacon! It was after I read a few of Michael Ruhlman’s books and told Dad about them that he promptly read some Ruhlman books of his own and ordered Charcuterie so that we could make bacon, chorizo sausage and smoked salmon, (among other things).

Dad has certainly encouraged my love of playing in the kitchen and for that I’m grateful. I’m also very lucky that we share a love of gadgets. All it takes is one of us to mention a new kitchen toy and the other will be on the bandwagon immediately. That’s the only way I can explain how I ended up with my Kitchenaid, ice cream machine, BlendTec and pasta machine. And the best part is that we didn’t pay full price for any of them! A man of many talents, Dad is also the master of a good deal and always knows just where to go to find what you’re looking for. To top it all off, he’s a talented artist who carves in wood and stone. He’s a handyman who can find a solution to any problem. And most importantly, he’s extremely supportive of everything I do.

They say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree and I sure hope that’s true because if I become even half as awesome as my Dad is, I’ll be doing just fine.

Happy Birthday Dad!

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Chocolate + Mousse + Cake + Fine Cooking