The Tiramisu Experiment

SB and I are going to a Ravioli party tonight. Our new friends here in the Windy City, Joe & Annie, are hosting a homemade Italian food night and were kind enough to include us. From what Annie tells me, what that basically means is, we show up, we get a few pointers on how to make ravioli, we watch, we drink wine (awesome!), the boys will do all the work (even better!) and we eat. I can manage to do that. I can really do that! I'm excited to be at a dinner party where I'm not doing the cooking. What an interesting concept! Nonetheless, being the self-proclaimed foodie that I am, I can hardly show up empty handed. I figured, we're having Italian food, hence the only logical conclusion is: I must bring Italian dessert. Tiramisu it is! What a superb idea! The only problem being, I have NEVER made Tiramisu in my life. There's a first for everything, right? This should be interesting. They will all be my guinea pigs and they won't even know it. Ha, I love it! (FYI - I'd never recommend making something you've never made before, and bringing it to a dinner party. But what choice to I have??). SB, as a matter of fact, tried to persuade me not to make it. He says to me "Babe, you realize they are all Italians, right? (Um, ya, I'm aware of that, Captain Obvious!) Are you sure making Tiramisu for the FIRST TIME EVER today is a good idea?" Thanks for the faith babe! I guess we'll find out if it's a good idea or not!

After doing a little research on different Tiramisu recipes, I've decided on a recipe by Ina Garten from the Foodnetwork. It seemed like the easiest out of all of them and her recipes are usually really reliable.

Ingredients

• 6 extra-large egg yolks, at room temperature*
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup good dark rum, divided
• 1 1/2 cups brewed espresso, divided
• 16 to 17 ounces mascarpone cheese
• 30 Italian ladyfingers, or savoiardi
• Bittersweet chocolate, shaved or grated
• Confectioners' sugar (optional)

Directions

Whisk the egg yolks and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment on high speed for about 5 minutes, or until very thick and light yellow.

Lower the speed to medium and add 1/4 cup rum, 1/4 cup espresso, and the mascarpone. Whisk until smooth.

Combine the remaining 1/4 cup rum and 1 1/4 cups espresso in a shallow bowl. Dip 1 side of each ladyfinger in the espresso/rum mixture and line the bottom of a 9 by 12 by 2-inch dish. Pour half the espresso cream mixture evenly on top. Dip 1 side of the remaining ladyfingers in the espresso/rum mixture and place them in a second layer in the dish. Pour the rest of the espresso cream over the top. Smooth the top and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.

Before serving, sprinkle the top with shaved chocolate and dust lightly with confectioners' sugar, if desired.

*RAW EGG WARNING

Food Network Kitchens suggest caution in consuming raw and lightly-cooked eggs due to the slight risk of Salmonella or other food-borne illness. To reduce this risk, we recommend you use only fresh, properly-refrigerated, clean, grade A or AA eggs with intact shells, and avoid contact between the yolks or whites and the shell.

Notes: To make espresso for this recipe in your electric drip coffee maker, use enough water for 4 cups of coffee plus 1/3 cup of ground espresso.

You can find savoiardi and mascarpone in an Italian specialty store. (Or Whole Foods, that's where I found it)

It is completed and it is now sitting in my fridge. I packed up some confectioner sugar and bittersweet chocolate and I'm bringing it with me. I'm going to dust it on, right before I serve it. Well - I hope it came out ok. Keep your fingers crosse for me. The pressure is on...

Happy eating!!

J

Crepes for every soul

I love crepes! I grew up near the Alcace region in Germany where crepes are quite common. I've therefore, been eating crepes since I've been a little girl. But as far as I am concerned, no matter which way you slice it or dice it, everyone loves crepes. I've never met a single person who hasn't loved them. You can make them for breakfast, dinner, dessert or even a midnight snack - and the beauty of it all is, that they are super simple and easy to make. I feel like there is a crepe for every person in the world because you can make whatever topping moves you at the moment and create your very own custom crepe.

When I went to Hilton Head to visit SB's family (along with my own) I made crepes for breakfast and they were a huge hit. My mom and I were the first ones to wake up one particular morning, so we decided to go on a little adventure and look for a grocery store to get all the ingredients. Well, to make a long story short, it took us longer to find the store than to make the actual breakfast for everyone! But after 8 U-turns and many miles driven way too far, we finally found and conquered a grocery store.

The crepe recipe I use I get straight out of the Pillsbury cook book:

• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil or melted butter
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Whisk all the ingredients together in a bowl by hand or electric mixer. Rest the batter for a few minutes so that the air bubbles have a chance to settle. Heat a little non-stick pan to a medium heat, melt a little butter or veggie oil (I also like to use Pam - makes life so easy!) in the pan. Try to stay away from olive oil - it has too strong of a flavor and will overpower the crepe. Scoop about 1/3 cup of the batter into the pan. Spread the batter quickly by swirling the pan. After a minute or so check the bottom side of the crepe for a lightly golden brown color and flip it. Play around with the heat a little. Usually it takes me 2 crepes to get the temperature of the pan just right. This recipe makes about 20 crepes. As far as the toppings go, you can top it with really anything your little heart desires. When I am making this for other people I generally make at least one savory and a few sweet option. Typically I will set up all the toppings buffet style and everyone can help themselves.

Here are some of my favorites:

• Sliced Black Forest ham and sliced Swiss cheese (melt it in the pan and then roll it up and serve)


• Mascarpone (or cream cheese / butter / ricotta cheese) with jam


• Mascarpone (or cream cheese / butter / ricotta cheese) with sugar or cinnamon sugar


• Sweetened mascarpone (or cream / ricotta cheese) mixed with lemon or orange zest and topped with sliced, sugared strawberries (or any other berry or fruit of your choice).

• Whipped cream with melted Nutella

• SB's personal favorites: with peanut butter and my mom's homemade blackberry jam or just nutella!
  

They are so succulent and amazing my mouth is watering just thinking about them!!!

Happy eating!!

J

Crust making demystified

After and extended hiatus I have finally returned to the world of blogging - and it feels so good to be back! As much as I love love LOVE blogging I got momentarily swept away by work, family, friends and all the other beautiful intricacies of life. I'm sure you all know what that sometimes feels like.

I however, come back bearing good - wait, let me take that back - GREAT news. During my sabbatical, if you will, I have become and American citizen! YAY! Wooohoooo!!!! It has been such a long, windy and sometimes challenging process that it still hasn't quite sunken in yet. There were definitely times I thought this day would never come. After being here for so long I have always felt like an American deep down inside but for it to be finally official feels pretty darn incredible!

Me outside the courthouse in New Haven, about to be sworn in :)

Now that I have shared some of my good news with you, back to the food. Even though I've been gone for a bit, I don't want you all to think that my blog has become crusty. So I thought it would only be appropriate if I dedicated this entry to crust - pie crust to be specific. And in keeping with the theme, is there anything more Americana than pie??? Now, I know that crust for some can be sort of a mystery. I used to feel that way too, but I discovered it doesn't have to be. I was watching Ina Garten on the Food Network one day and saw that she was using a food processor to make her pie crust. I had never tried that before and thought that it looked easy enough. At that point I had nothing to lose - all my other methods were less than desirable. Well, lo and behold, it was easy breezy! I have since then used this recipe a bunch and it has always come out beautifully. I use it for all kind of things: pies, tarts and chicken potpie to name a few. I use it all the time to make tarts because it is soooo easy and super delish! So here it goes:

For the crust:

• 3 cups of all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar

Pulse a few times to mix the dry ingredients together. Then add

• 12 tablespoons of very cold butter, cubed
• 1/3 cup of shortening

Pulse 8 to 12 times, until the butter is the size of peas. With the machine running, pour 1/2 cup of ice water down the feed tube and pulse the machine until the dough begins to form a ball. Dump out on a floured board and roll into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. I have found that I could keep the dough in the fridge up to 2 weeks. This recipe makes enough dough to cover a 13" by 18" cookie sheet, or 3 open-faced pies / tarts.

After the dough has chilled for at least 30 minutes I roll it out, butter a pie dish and line it with the dough. For the topping, I have used anything from peaches, plums and apples. For my go to tart I use about 3 tablespoons of my mother's blackberry jam to cover the bottom of the crust. I then slice enough plums and peaches to cover the jam in a scalloping manner. I then take about 3 tablespoons of sugar and sprinkle it on top. I have also used this recipe without any jam and it came out just as delish. When I use apples for this, I like to use cinnamon sugar to sprinkle on top.

To finish it, I top the tart with about 6-8 tablespoon of cubed butter before it goes in the oven at 425 degrees for about 45 minutes. Baking times will vary depending on how ripe the fruits are and what kind you are using.

I know it seems like a lot of instructions - but trust me this is easy breezy and your guest will be so impressed. Top it with a little whipped cream or vanilla ice cream and you are golden!

Happy eating!!

J

Easy, breezy dessert

I love dessert. I love it after a meal, I love it for breakfast, I love it as a midnight snack, and I admit, sometimes it even comes in handy as stress therapy (not that I've ever done that, ha ha!!). In my opinion there really is never a bad time for dessert. But I also love making it. The smell of baked goods is just so fantastic! It has a way of making its way into every nook and cranny of a house. It’s wonderful! It makes a house smell so homely, so welcoming. But sometimes I just don’t have the time or energy to bake from scratch. That however, doesn’t mean I want to sacrifice the taste of homemade dessert. Here’s a recipe for a quick dessert and you can take all the credit for it! In fact, I made it tonight and it was a hit. Make brownies out of a box and top it with this homemade frosting that I like to call: Mascarpone, Cream Cheese Decadence. And here’s the recipe:

• ½ pound mascarpone cheese
• ½ pound cream cheese at room temperature
• 3 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon pure almond extract
• 1 ¼ pounds confectioners' sugar

Mix all ingredients together with a hand-mixer until everything is well incorporated. I recommend that the butter and cream cheese is room temperature, otherwise you will have a hard time mixing it. The mascarpone is generally softer and doesn’t have to be warmed to room temperature. I love the flavor of mascarpone. Mascarpone is an Italian cream cheese and you can generally find it in the specialty cheese aisle in your grocery store. If you can’t find it, feel free to substitute it with regular cream cheese. NONE OF THAT LOW FAT CREAM CHEESE STUFF! Yuck!!! Use the real stuff with all the fat! You only live once, enjoy it :)!! Also if you bake the brownies in cupcake molds it adds a cute little touch. It's a great recipe if you are cooking for your date for the first time and looking to impress!

What’s so great about this frosting is that you can use it for multiple desserts. It’s also great on cupcakes, carrot cake, coconut cake, red velvet cake, or serve it in a bowl to dip fruit in! You can really put it on anything your little heart desires. The sky is the limit!

Happy eating!!

J

P.S.: I misplaced my camera cable so pictures are to follow soon.