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Paola's Tiramisu -- Brava!

Meal Monday

My friend Paola is an amazing cook. She is from Naples and manages to whip up Neapolitan specialities the way I make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. That is, she is dazzling in the kitchen. Last night, after a delicious meal that she served to 16 people (!), she offered this homemade tiramisu. She rattled this recipe off of the top of her head (with her daughter chiming in). There are raw eggs in here, so either live dangerously, or use a substitute, but make this!

Paola's Tiramisu

1 lb marscapone, softened (room temperature)

5 egg yolks

1 egg white

scant cup of sugar

36 lady fingers

1 1/2 cups espresso (regular or decaf)

Sweetened cocoa powder

 

1. Cream egg yolks and sugar in an electric mixer

2. Add cheese and mix by hand until combined

3. Beat egg white until stiff and glossy

4. Fold in egg white to mixture

5. Dip lady fingers in the espresso 

6. Alternate layers of espresso'd lady fingers and mascarpone mix in pan until finished, mixture should be on top

7. Sprinkle with sweetened cocoa powder.

 

Coffee Talk

Truth Thursday

Last week on National Public Radio, as is often the case, there was a week-long series on a very serious topic – coffee. 

Java.
Joe.
Mud.
Mocha.
Cuppa.
Brew.
Regular. 

Probing journalism on where it comes from, who drinks it, as well as songs, shows and other art created as a paean to the world’s favorite drink.

In honor of this retrospective, I will reveal my secret.  My family and friends who visit my house already know it, but I will announce it here for the world to discover. 

I don’t drink coffee. 

Never have, never will. Don’t like it. Don’t like the flavor, don’t like the temperature, don’t like the caffeine. I like the aroma, but that’s about it. Don’t like mocha in my desserts. Don’t like coffee ice cream (although Ben & Jerry’s is passable.) The only thing I drink at Starbucks or, preferably, local coffee shops like the great Mayorga in Maryland, is iced chai lattes. Thank goodness for non-coffee drinks, with which I can still behave like a grown-up and throw away $5 on a drink just for the heck of it. 

Forced Creativity -- Roast Vegetables, Grilled Tofu and a Poached Egg Over Greens

Meal Monday

Sometimes it seems as if it's always almost dinnertime. As in, OMG, it's almost dinnertime already and I haven't thought about it/shopped/defrosted/prepared ANYTHING. Oops. 

But necessity is the mother of invention, as they say, and I usually find my most creative meals come about when I have to put something together using whatever I happen to have in the house.

French Onion Soup -- A Meal for All Seasons

Meal Monday

It's time to blog a main course and I've always wanted to capture a good French onion soup. I made this today and the house smells delicious. It's basic, easy and a hit with almost everyone loves it. This recipe is from simplyrecipes.com, though I've modified it a bit.

French Onion Soup

• 6 large red or yellow onions, peeled and thinly sliced.
• Olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon of sugar
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 8 cups of beef, chicken or vegetable stock or a combination of the two (traditionally the soup is made with beef stock. I used Pacific organic low sodium vegetable broth)
• 1/2 cup of dry vermouth or dry white wine
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 teaspoon of dry thyme
• Salt and pepper
• 8 slices of toasted French bread
• 1 1/2 cups of grated Swiss Gruyere with a little grated Parmesan cheese

1 In a large saucepan, sauté the onions in the olive oil on medium high heat until well browned, but not burned, about 30-40 minutes (or longer). Add the sugar about 10 minutes into the process to help with the carmelization.

2 Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Add the stock, vermouth or wine, bay leaf, and thyme. Cover partially and simmer until the flavors are well blended, about 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Discard the bay leaf. If you like, use a hand held soup blender to puree the onions and make the soup smoother.

3 To serve you can either use individual oven-proof soup bowls or one large casserole dish. Ladle the soup into the bowls or casserole dish. Cover with the toast and sprinkle with cheese. Put into the broiler for 10 minutes at 350 degrees F, or until the cheese bubbles and is slightly browned. Serve immediately.

Yield: Serves 4-6.

Fudge Cookies -- Delicious Solution for Extra Matzo Meal

Meal Monday

I realize it's a significant and common problem: what to do with leftover matzo meal? Instead of keeping it and hoping it won't go stale before next Passover (unlikely), I recommend using it to make these cookies. Passover or not, these are delicious and very satisfying.

The recipe is from Susie Fishbein's Passover by Design cookbook and she credits the original recipe to Rivki Shaulson. Sounds authentic to me.

As usual, easy to make.

Giant Zebra Fudge Cookies

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 cups sugar

2 cups matzo meal

2 cups good quality Dutch process cocoa powder

4 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tsp baking powder

confectioner's sugar, sifted

 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Line 2 large cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

3. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, mix the oil, sugar, matzo meal, cocoa powder, eggs, vanilla and baking powder until a soft dough forms.

4. Roll the dough into 18 balls slightly larger than golf balls.

5. Fill a small bowl with confectioner's sugar and stir with a fork to break up any clumps. Lower the balls, one at a time, into the confectioner's sugar and toss to coat heavily and completely. Transfer to prepared cookie sheets. Leave room between the dough balls, as the cookies spread during baking.

6. Bake for 18 minutes. If you like smaller cookies, form walnut sized dough balls and bake for 12 minutes.

7. Cool completely.