Thursday, April 30, 2009

Turkish Treats : Badem Ezmesi Tadinda

This will be my first posting on Turkish treats. I’ve the luxury of tasting different Turkish treats, thanks to Seyda who has occasionally introduced me to different Turkish sweets. Prior to this, all I know are Turkish delights, which I love but have over time find it a bit too sweet.

Seyda brought back 2 treats for me after her recent trip to Turkey. She brought back a packet of Ulker Hanimeller- Badem Ezmesi Tadinda. There’s not a sign of English on the front of the packet, but I spotted on the side of the packet, “Cookies With Almond Cream Filling”. And thanks to Google, I found out that “Badem” means Almond in Turkish! I can’t figure out the little white bits of something on the bottom left corner of the packet. Nuts? Cream? Chocolate? BademInside this packet are bite size semi soft/crumble cookies with grounded nut filling. When you bite into this cookie, you will be greeted by a strong almond aroma followed by a subtle taste of hazelnut. This is really yummy and surprisingly not overly sweet. I could easily finish the whole packet of this “almondy-hazelnutty” cookies. Yums! Definitely not for someone who dislike or are allergic to nuts! =)  Badem-1I’m not sure where you could get this cookie, try your nearest Middle Eastern store perhaps or online stores?

Cocoa Powder

I knew I had a can of Hershey’s Cocoa Powder in my pantry somewhere when I ran out of my Ghirardelli Cocoa Powder needed for the Black Magic Cake. I ended up finding a can of Cocoa Powder by the local store instead which conveniently sat in front of my eyes on the pantry shelf. All this while, I thought I had hallucinated myself buying a Hershey Cocoa Powder until I found it tucked in the corner of my pantry while I was rummaging for snacks today.

Anyway, I got a brilliant idea to do a color test on the 3 different Cocoa Powder I now have in my pantry. It doesn’t surprise me that when I opened the Hershey one, the Cocoa wasn’t as rich as Ghirardelli’s. I almost always use Ghirardelli Chocolates in my baking and will only use other brands when I can’t find what I want. Cocoa Powder-1 I “finger-tasted” all three cocoa powder, I can’t really tell if there’s a significant difference between 3 of them; they all tasted bitter. =P. The prices were for sure different and I bought all 3 from the same local grocery store. The darkest Cocoa Powder is Ghirardelli (left) @ $4.99 for a 10 oz can. Store Brand (Market Basket) has the lightest Cocoa Powder but cheap @ $1.50 for 8 ox can. And the Hershey Cocoa Powder was the middle guy both in color and price @ $2.50 for 8 oz can. Cocoa PowderI haven’t done a baking test using each Cocoa Powder to see the end result of the baked product. I should probably do that one day, when I feel like experimenting! As for now, I am going to kinda jump to conclusion that the darker the Cocoa powder, the richer, the more decandent and the darker your Chocolate confection will be? No?

My baker friend Ween @ Love-A-Cupcakes swears by Valrhona Chocolates. I’ve not seen Valrhona chocolate at my local grocery stores or specialty baking stores (coz there’s none near me), but I know you can get them online and they are pricier than Ghirardelli…So,anyone care to send me a little care package of Valrhonas? =).

This cocoa powder talk reminds me our grandpa’s cocoa trees in Malaysia….I wonder if grandpa or my uncle still has or still harvest cocoa beans. I remember how those fermented cocoa looked and smelled like when they were being “tanned” under the sun. It’s truly amazing how those stinky fugly beans can be processed into delicious chocolates!

Read more about Cocoa Powder HERE.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Roti Canai Hot Dog Rolls

The past Monday was a day of trying out recipes posted by 3 different fellow bloggers…. It started out with making Roti Canai Hot Dog and before I know it, came San Bei Ji (3 Cups Chicken) and Tomato & Egg Stir Fry. The recipe try outs were somewhat quite successful, even though for my San Bei Ji, I lacked 2 some what vital greens; scallions and fresh basil. =P

My friend, Charlene posted this delicious Roti Canai Hot Dog Roll on her blog and after reading her posting, I was left catching my drool! It looks so yummy, seems to easy to make and since I have the ingredients… I made some to snack on! Charlene’s posting (and blog) is definitely better than mine, as she included step by step pictures of making this yummy snack and other delicious creations. As for me, I just take pictures of the finish product…=P

In this recipe, frozen Roti Canai is used and this can be found at most Asian grocery stores. The roti canai when baked gives an almost similar texture to puff pastry, but in my opinion a little less flaky. Never the less this snack is still yummy, great for breakfast (if you have time to spare), perfect as appetizers (just cut it up into smaller pieces) or as a just-because-I-feel-like-snacking thing.

Charlene and I used “Chinatown” brand frozen roti canais. She used a spring onion flavored one, while I used a plain one. Refer to Charlene’s posting for more information, explanation and step by step pictures. =) 

Roti Hotdog

MALAYSIAN (ROTI CANAI) HOT DOG ROLLS RECIPE

Ingredients:

  • Frozen Roti Canai
  • Hot Dogs, Thawed
  • 1 Egg
  • Sesame Seeds (**Optional)

Method:

Preheat oven @ 350 F. Leave frozen roti canais at room temperature to thaw until it’s a little flexible. This should take about 10-15 minutes. Do not thaw it for too long as the roti canai dough will be sticky and hard to work with. 

Slightly grease a baking pan or lined it with parchment paper and set it aside. Crack egg in a bowl and beat it with a fork or chopsticks. This will be the glaze for the rolls.

Once the roti has been thawed, lightly brush with egg mixture, place a hot dog at the edge of the roti canai and roll it tightly. One hot dog per roti canai. Repeat until you think you made enough. =)

Place assembled rolls, seam side down on baking dish leaving at least 1” space between each “dogs” to puff up! Make 3-4 slits on the top of each assembled hot dogs, then brush them with the egg wash glaze. Sprinkle top with some sesame seeds if you like for some extra texture. Place them in the oven to bake for about 45 minutes. Enjoy them while warm! =)

 Roti Hotdog-4Roti Hotdog-2

June’s Notes: I got impatient hungry as I was making these to snack on…so I up-ed the oven temperature to 375 F and baked the hot dogs for about 20 minutes. It wasn’t a smart move, as you can see my hot dogs had some what an ugly burst/split. I added sesame seeds on the top and I love the taste and texture of those toasted seeds.

Use any regular size hot dogs of choice for this recipe. If you are vegetarian, look out for those vegetarian (soy?) dogs!!

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Aunt Sally’s Creole Pralines

The only pralines I’ve ever had are in ice-creams (Yums….I love!!) and pralines by Godiva. Kelvin’s friend, Jolene who visited us after her trip to Louisiana gave us some Aunt Sally’s Creole Pralines; New Orleans’ most famous praline.PralinesPraline (pronounced PRAH-LEEN or PRAY-LEEN) was inspired in France and is a sweet confection made from sugar, nuts and vanilla. The early French settlers brought Pralines to Louisiana where pecan nuts are abundant. Check out Wikipedia for more information on Pralines.

Aunt Sally’s Praline came nicely packed in a plastic wrap and in individual boxes.The praline looked like a 2-1/2” – 3” cookie with exorbitant amount of Pecan nuts. Every corner you bite on, there will surely be a piece of pecan! I’m not sure why it’s called “Creole” Pralines though… maybe coz of it’s origin in the South? I’m sure it’s not coz of Creole seasoning used, as Creole seasoning are a mixture of spices and are used in savory dishes in the South. Pralines-1Anyway, Jolene gave us 2 packets of praline; Original Praline and Triple Chocolate Praline. The original praline tasted almost like vanilla fudge, but not as smooth. The sugary sweet candy is slightly chewy and grainy, something I did not expect as I was expecting a crunchy smooth candy. The pecans were also soft. it was overall not bad, and can get pretty addictive! It would have been awesome if the Pecans are a little more toasty and crunchy! Pralines-2The texture and all for the Triple Chocolate Praline was exactly like the Original Praline except you’re hit by the chocolaty taste. This one felt a little weird to me as I was expecting the smooth creamy chocolaty taste of a Godiva or some other chocolate but was also greeted with the same grainy texture.

Original pralines win hands down for sure! Aunt Sally’s Pralines are definitely different from the Godiva’s Pralines. This candy is not for anyone with diabetes or doesn’t have a sweet tooth!

Well, if you’re interested to get yourself from Pralines, check out their online store…no need to fly all the way to New Orleans to get some, though it would be nice to check out the French Quarters in New Orleans! While you’re there, enjoy some Louisiana Crawfish too!! =)

Tomato & Egg Stir Fry

Terri of Hunger Hunger posted yet another delicious dish. I am soooo loving her blog and the food she makes…YUMS!!! This posting is based on Terri’s Tomato Egg Stir Fry recipe and I made some changes to it according to my preference.

I’ve eaten something similar back home, scrambled eggs in tomato sauce bake beans….**Drools**.. And the recipe posted by Terri reminded me of that dish, something I’ve not eaten for quite a while. Terri’s right about this dish being easy to make and very affordable! And it taste so hearty and yummy! This dish would be an excellent way for me to consume more tomatoes….as I dislike tomatoes especially raw ones…

So, here’s my version with some changes made to Terri’s Tomato & Egg Stir Fry.  Terri has step by step pictures and method of making this dish!

Tomato Egg

TOMATO & EGG STIR FRY RECIPE

Ingredients:

  • 2 Large Roma Tomatoes, Diced 1/2” Cubes
  • 3 Large Eggs
  • 1/4 Tsp Salt Plus More If Needed
  • White Pepper
  • 3 Tsp Sugar Plus More If Needed
  • 2 Tbsp Oil
  • 3 Tbsp Ketchup
  • 1/2 Cup Water
  • 1 Tbsp Cilantro, Chopped Plus More For Garnish

Method:

In a bowl, beat eggs and add 1/8 Tsp salt and a dash of white pepper. Heat frying pan (medium heat)and pour 1 tbsp of oil into it. Make sure the oil coats all surface of frying pan so that the egg won't stick. Pour in egg into the pan and cook egg like how you would a dry scrambled egg. You can let eggs brown a little before removing from pan and place on a clean plate.

Add remaining oil, chopped tomatoes, 1/8 tsp salt, sugar, ketchup and water. Cook under high heat, until tomatoes are soft. Then add in scrambled egg, stirring well and coating eggs in sauce. Cover and lower heat to medium-low and let simmer for 1-2 minutes to let the eggs absorb the tomato juice. Season with more sugar and salt if desire. If you like less sauce, increase heat to high so that the sauce dries and thicken up a little.

Stir in chopped cilantro and transfer dish into serving bowl. Sprinkle more cilantro for garnish if desire. Serve piping hot with warm white rice. Enjoy!Tomato Egg-1

Monday, April 27, 2009

Potato Egg Salad

I almost always make potato egg salad whenever I have a BBQ. They are pretty easy to make and is a refreshing dish to accompany those grilled stuff. I have different ways of making my Potato Egg Salad and this is one of them!

BBQ 

POTATO EGG SALAD RECIPE

Ingredients:

  • 10 Small Red Skin Potatoes (Size Slightly larger Than Golf Balls)
  • 1/2 Cup Celery, Chopped
  • 3 Large Eggs, Hard Boiled
  • 1 Sprig Green Onion / Scallion, Chopped
  • 1/4 Cup Thousand Island Dressing
  • 1/4 Cup Mayonnaise
  • Salt
  • Black Pepper, Freshly Cracked Preferred

Method:

Wash and clean potatoes thoroughly. Remove parts of skin if there’s ugly blemishes or dark spots on it. Put potatoes in a pot filled with cold water, then turn on heat to cook potatoes. Boil potatoes till fork tender. Remove potatoes from pot and set aside to cool. Cut potatoes into quarters, and cut again to get 2-3 pieces out of each quarter.

Roughly chop eggs and transfer into a medium bowl. Add potatoes, celery, green onion, Thousand Island and Mayo into the same bowl. Mix all ingredients and season with salt and fresh cracked pepper. Cover with a plastic wrap, and chill this until ready to serve. Make this a few hours before the BBQ. This will give you 4-5 servings!

Notes: It is important to put potatoes in a pot of cold water instead of warm or boiling water so that the potatoes will cook evenly through out. If you do not like green onions, feel free to use 1-2 tbsp of chopped fresh parsley in the salad. Good luck!

Lets Get Grillin’!

The weather was so cooperative and totally summery over the weekend. It was just so sunny, so warm and so comforting to be able to leave the house without bundling up like an Eskimo!BBQ-7Hubby and I thought it would be a wonderful opportunity to get our faithful Weber Grill fired up and invited a couple friends over for some surf and turf grilling! We got our little “backyard” set up for the little party, lounged, soaked in the nice warm weather while sipping ice cold beer, eating grilled food and enjoying each other’s company!  Yours truly forgot to take pictures of some of the grilled food served last night as I was busy going in and out of the house to get everyone more beer, etc.

Here are pictures of some of the food I managed to capture before they end up in 7 hungry tummies! Potato Egg Salad (recipe to follow!) and Fruit Salad; Strawberries, mandarin Oranges, Pineapples, and Peach.

 BBQBBQ-1

Steak, marinated with fresh black pepper, salt and truffle oil. I’m so loving truffle oil!! We also had grilled large tiger prawns, marinated in Tandoori Masala spice….YUMS!

BBQ-5BBQ-2 

Some vegetables cooked in foil packets…. Mushrooms, Asparagus and Assorted Peppers (no pics).

BBQ-6BBQ-4

We also had Lemon Butter Pollock also cooked in foil packet. There were other food that made it into our tummies before I managed to snap pictures of them. There were also grilled teriyaki wings, grilled tandoori wings as well as salmon in foil packet, marinated with truffle oil. Oh yeah, not forgetting the Kielbasa Sausage, a definite must at BBQs, at least my BBQ!!! It sounded like there were plenty of food, but we managed to gobble down everything….no leftovers! I wished I marinated more chicken wings!!BBQ-3As for dessert, it was Cake Truffles..this time with Nutella Hazelnut Chocolate (I love!) Cake Filling as well as Tiramisu! =) I coated the Cake Truffles with Semi Sweet Chocolate and topped them with different decorations. I thought the sesame seeds were a delicious combination though! Upon tasting my tiramisu, Seyda immediately asked if I had lots of liquor in it….the answer was YES! =)

 Kissables-4 Tiramisu-4

Sunday, April 26, 2009

New England Clam Chowder…Our Version!

Hubby and I love New England Clam Chowder and have been trying to make Chowder since hubby’s Valentine dinner attempt. We’ve been using more affordable clams without sacrificing the flavor too much. Fresh clams are surprisingly pretty costly at about $5 per pound and with the thick heavy shells, you probably end up with 1/4 lb or less of actual clam meat! And you really really need lots of clam meat to make clam chowder yummy and hearty! For a soup to feed 4, you would need about 3-5 lbs of clams! Unless the clams are in season and are super duper cheap, we will definitely stick to more affordable alternative! After several trials with different kind of clams (as well as different potatoes), we thought that canned chopped clams (6 cans @ $5.99 from Costco) were quite a good substitute. Hubby and I would love to try frozen clams next time and see what yummy chowder we can make out of it! Clam Chowder-5The recipe we’ve been using is based on Kim’s Country Clam Chowder. And we’ve made changes to her recipe according to our preference! We added more cooking wine (cheap @ $2 per bottle) than the recipe asked for. Hubby teased that I should start a food blog with food recipes with lotsa liquor and wine used in cooking..since we do love alcohol in our dishes! And no, we’re not alcoholics!! =P. Here’s our version of the New England Clam Chowder…. won’t bother renaming it as I’m not that creative in making new names! =p

Clam Chowder-3 

NEW ENGLAND CLAM CHOWDER

Ingredients:

  • 4 Strips Hickory Smoked Bacon,
  • 2-3/4 Cup Red Skin Potatoes, Skin On & Diced Into 1/2 Inch Cubes
  • 1 Cup Yellow Onion, Chopped
  • 3 Cloves Garlic, Minced
  • 3/4 Cup Celery, Diced
  • 3 x 6.5 Oz Cans Snow’s Chopped Clams In Clam Juice
  • 1/2 Cup Clam Juice
  • 1 Cup Dry White Cooking Wine
  • 1 Cup Milk
  • 1/2 Cup Heavy Cream
  • 1/2 Tsp Black Pepper
  • 1/4 Tsp Dried Thyme
  • Salt (**Optional)
  • 1 Tbsp All Purpose Flour
  • 1 Tbsp Butter, Room Temperature
  • 1/2 Tsp Chopped Parsley
  • Oyster Crackers

Method:

In a large pot, fry bacon strips until crisp (no oil needed). Remove bacon from pot, drain on paper towel and leave bacon grease in pot. Add potatoes to pan and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add celery, onion and garlic and cook for an additional 5 minutes.

Strain canned chopped clams and set clam juice aside. There should be about 1-1/2 cups of clam juice from the canned clams. Give the clams a rough chop. Add chopped clams, clam juice and white wine. Cover and cook over medium heat for about 15 minutes until potatoes are tender. Stir in thyme and pepper.

Reduce heat to low and gradually add milk, then heavy cream, stirring frequently until chowder begins to thicken slightly. Season soup with salt if needed. In a separate bowl, combine butter and flour until smooth then add tiny dollops of it into the soup to thicken the soup a little more. If you like your soup very thick, repeat the butter and flour mixture until you get the consistency you like. Remember to let the soup cook for a minute or two before adding more flour mixture.

Ladle soup into individual bowls and top with crumbled crispy bacon as well as pieces of oyster crackers. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley and serve this piping hot! If you have a warm crusty bread….that would be awesome! This serves 4-5 people!

June’s Notes: I would not recommend the use of Baby Clams… the texture is just not right!! You should be able to find chopped clams and clam juice at the aisle where they sell canned tunas.

Clam Chowder-2

PS: I was the sous chef last night, helping hubby cutting and prepping the ingredients for the chowder. Hubby was the “executive chef” for this pot of chowdah!

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Seafood Night…Louisiana Meets New England!

Crawfish-4

Chen and Janet invited us over to feast on 15 lbs of Louisiana Crawfish! They love crawfish and miss eating them so much that they decided to overnight 15 lbs of “mini-lobsters” from down south! I think they had eaten a couple pounds of crawfish the night before and had about 10 lbs of it to serve tonight!  The live crawfish were cleaned and cooked in Creole seasoning. YUMS!!!And we contributed New England Clam Chowder for dinner….another YUMS! Recipe for the Clam Chowder to follow!

Crawfish-5 Clam Chowder-5

Hubby and Chen took over the sink, brushing and cleaning each crawfish. It was a tedious and never ending process as the pile of crawfish never shrunk! Poor hubby even got pinched by those little rascals twice! I stayed away, and just watched the boys clean them crawfish. I had enough of injuries for the week!

Crawfish-2Here are some pictures of our little Crawfish Feast, Louisiana style!

 CrawfishCrawfish-1  Crawfish-3  Crawfish-6

Friday, April 24, 2009

Legal Sea Foods.…If It Isn’t Fresh, It Isn’t Legal!

Hubby’s primary schoolmate, Jolene dropped by Boston to visit us for a few days before flying back to Singapore. And trying our best to shower her with our hospitality, we offered her our guestroom in our humble pad for a couple nights and treated her to somewhat a “must-go-to”/ “must-have” meal when you’re in Boston.Legal SeafoodLegal Sea Foods…is one of the most popular seafood joint in Massachusetts with branches in other Eastern states. The Clam Chowder from Legal Seafood has been served at the Presidential Inauguration since 1981! This restaurant is slightly upscale, yet still quite affordable. It’s definitely not your Apple Bees, Chili’s or Friday’s!

Here’s what we ordered….. Our all time favorite soup  at Legal Seafood is unfortunately not their Clam Chowder…we both love their Lobster Bisque hands down! A Cup is at $6.95 and a bowl of the bisque cost $9.95 with bits of lobster meat for garnish. YUMS!! My brother and his gf said that they prefer the Clam Chowder from Faneuil Hall / Quincy Market.Legal Seafood-1Jolene ordered a cuppa Clam Chowder; hey if they have been serving this Clam Chowder at the Presidential Inauguration…It must be good right!!!!?? I wished they sprinkled a little chopped parsley or other herbs for some garnish. Looked a little blaahh like that!Legal Seafood-2And all three of us had fish…. all different kind of (wood) grilled fish, paired with different sauces and favorite sides! Yours truly ordered grilled Arctic Char ($22.95) with Lemon Chive Butter sauce (which came on a separate dish) and paired with with Mashed Potatoes and Steamed Broccoli. It was pretty good. It was my first time eating Arctic Char and even though it looked quite similar to Salmon, the flesh was a little different, not as firm maybe flakier and maybe contain less oil compared to Salmon.Legal Seafood-6Hubby ordered grilled Rainbow Trout ($17. 95) with Red Thai Coconut Curry and paired it with Rice Pilaf and Steamed Broccoli. The coconut curry was quite good. IN fact I think it tasted a tad better than mine! The curry is also served on the side and unfortunately was not very generous with it. Just a little saucer of sauce and knowing hubby…he would love a bowl full of curry! Hubby did not enjoy his fish, as there were many bones still left in the fish!Legal Seafood-4Jolene ordered grilled Salmon ($21.95) with Lemon Chive Butter and paired with Onion Strings and Mashed Potatoes. The salmon portion was pretty huge, and the onion strings were quite yummy!Legal Seafood-5All 3 of us did not finish the meal (we packed the left-overs home), especially yours truly after she gobbled down 3 warm dinner rolls slathered with lotsa butter before the meals came. Hubby can vouch for me that I’m a “bread girl”, I love all kinds of bread…. and once ate 6 dinner rolls at Legal Seafood before dinner came…. Hey, a hungry girl must be fed!!! No desserts as I have tons of Tiramisu waiting for us at home!

Check out your nearest Legal Sea Foods and their menu HERE. And if you really really really wanna get your hands on some Legal Sea Foods, check out their catalog HERE where you can order and have them ship it to you! 

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Tiramisu……Anyone?

I adore Tiramisu and will definitely order a serving of it at restaurants provided I still have room for desserts! Sometimes, I will check out the dessert menu before I start on my entree to see what yummy desserts they offer. And if I see something I like especially tiramisu on the menu, by all means I will try my best to leave some room for TIRAMISU!!

I have always thought that it’s a complicated dessert to make, until I decided to try it myself! I’ve been making this tiramisu for about 2 years now, using the same recipe since and never looking back or searching for another Tiramisu recipe! I dare to boast that my friends who had the chance to taste my tiramisu absolutely love it and my #1 fans are my hubby and my brother! My brother loved it so much, he even requested the recipe from me and made it! HE EVEN TAUGHT MY MOM HOW TO MAKE IT!!!!! =). Tiramisu-5Anyway, I made some again after having a “Tiramisu Itch”; it’s been quite a while since I made some and with a guest visiting, it was a great excuse to whip up “my signature” Tiramisu. With 1/2 pound of Mascarpone at $2.99, and 1 pound at $3.99….I just had to get the bigger container and double up my Tiramisu…….as usual!! =)

 Tiramisu Tiramisu-1 Tiramisu-2 Tiramisu-3

This recipe came from the Food & Wine Annual Cookbook 2006: An Entire Year Of Recipes, a birthday gift from my friend Nency a couple years ago. You can also find the original recipe posted by Food & Wine HERE.51RRMH10A3L__SS500_

CLASSIC TIRAMISU RECIPE

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 Cup Heavy Cream
  • 2 Large Eggs, Separated
  • 1/3 Cup Plus 1 Tbsp Sugar
  • 1/2 Pound Mascarpone (About 1 Cup)
  • 1 Cup Strong Brewed Espresso(At Room Temperature)
  • One 7 Oz Package Dry Ladyfingers, Preferably Italian Savoiardi (see Note)
  • 1/4 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder, For Dusting
    Method:

    In a medium bowl, whip the heavy cream until it is firm and refrigerate. In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks with the 1/3 cup of sugar until light in color. In another bowl, using a whisk or an electric handheld mixer, beat the egg whites until they hold soft peaks. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar to the whites and beat until they're firm and glossy. Using a rubber spatula, fold the whipped cream into the beaten yolk-and-sugar mixture, then fold in the mascarpone and one-third of the beaten egg whites. Gently fold in the remaining egg whites.

    Pour the espresso into a shallow bowl. Dip both sides of half of the ladyfingers in the espresso and use them to line the bottom of an 8-by-10- or 8-by-11-inch glass or ceramic baking dish. Spoon half of the mascarpone mixture over the ladyfingers and spread it in a smooth, even layer. Dip both sides of the remaining ladyfingers in the espresso and arrange them on top. Spread remaining mascarpone mixture over the ladyfingers in a smooth, even layer. Cover and refrigerate the tiramisu overnight.

    Just before serving, sift the cocoa powder over the top of the tiramisu. Cut the tiramisu into squares and serve.

    Make Ahead: The tiramisu can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.
    Notes : Savoiardi ladyfingers can be found in Italian specialty food shops.
    June’s Notes:  I substitute about 1/2 cup espresso for 1/2 cup dry Marsala Wine. (Yes I LOVE LIQUOR in my dessert..lots of it!!). For my strongly brewed espresso; I used about 4 tsp of instant coffee powder to 1/2 boiling water. It sort of take practice soaking lady fingers as you do not want to over-soak it, yet you want enough coffee mixture in it so that the cake it just moist. After each layer of mascarpone mixture, I dust cocoa powder on it before layering with the soaked lady fingers. And remember to use GOOD COCOA POWDER; i.e. Ghirardelli! I got my lady fingers from my local grocer(Market Basket) near the bakery aisle. Sometimes you can find them at the International / Italian aisle. If you cannot find dry lady fingers, you could use freshly baked ones (which I have used before). Before I soak the lady fingers in coffee mixture, I toast them in the oven to remove some of the moisture so that it will be able to take in the coffee mixture without being over mushy later.  Tiramisu-4

    Now if you get adventurous, here are some Tiramisu I’ve done in the past. These are made in a spring foam, kept overnight for Tiramisu to set and is decorated prior before serving. An extra effort, but it’s all worth it to take the Tiramisu up a notch!!

    Top left : X’mas Tiramisu 2008, Top Right : Thanksgiving Tiramisu 2008, Bottom left: Thanksgiving Tiramisu 2007, Bottom right: Hubby’s Birthday Tiramisu 2007. 

    Tiramisu-7 Tiramisu-6  Tiramisu-8Tiramisu-9

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