Anil’s Cheese Crisps with Goat Cheese Mousse

For the crisps – preheat the oven to 325 and line a baking sheet with parchment.  As per Anil’s advice, make only 4 crisps at a time…otherwise they harden before you can shape them properly!  Place a 2 1/2-inch ring mold on your prepared pan, fill it with 1 tablespoon of grated cheese and use your finger to spread it into an even layer.  Repeat to make 4 rounds (or more if you dare), leaving at least an inch in between each.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the crisps are a lovely golden brown.  It took us a couple of tries to get this right – I didn’t want to burn them, but if they’re not browned enough then the cup will shape, but it won’t be crunchy…and you want it crunchy.  When you remove the rounds from the oven, let them sit for about 30 seconds to firm up a titch, then one by one, gently remove them from the baking sheet and press into your mini muffin tin to shape them into a cup.  Allow the cups to set for a few minutes and then you can get back to baking more.  These can be made ahead, but I would make them the day you’re serving them.

For the mousse – place the goat cheese and 4 tablespoons of cream into your food processor (I just used my mini), and process until smooth, adding in more cream if needed.  Add in the parsley, salt and pepper to taste and mix until just combined.  This can be made a couple of days in advance and refrigerated.  If you’d like to be fancy then scrape the mousse into a piping bag to fill the cups – (I just used a little spoon) – then fill each cup with 2 to 3 teaspoons of mousse.  My only other suggestion is to make as many as you can, everyone loves them, and they’re a perfect one bite appetizer!