Changes coming....

Ok so it's been a while since I've posted, but with reason...the blog name will be changing, so will the format and the web address.  I will be moving from blogspot to my own website with a Wordpress format.  Hopefully it will be much better.  All this will also coincide with some awesome news I'll be sharing soon.

Tiramisu...and a Five Course Meal

So as I mentioned previously, this past weekend, my friend Scott and I had planned to fix a five course meal for some friends of ours.  The plan was for me to make the appetizer, Scott to make the soup and salad course, as well as the pasta course, and I would make the main course and dessert.  Scott did a great job on his courses...he made tomato-bread soup out of my Bottega cookbook (by Michael Chiarello), arugala salad, and homemade pasta with an alfredo cream sauce.  I made bruschetta two ways, roast leg of lamb, chicken all griglia, and tiramisu.  The leg of lamb recipe was out of Ad Hoc, and the chicken recipe was from Urban Italian by Andrew Carmellini.

The dinner turned out to be a success, however it was a little stressful trying to coordinate everything in order for everything to come out in order, but we made it work, and it was a lot of fun.

 I have good pictures of the tiramisu, which I will be sharing how to make tonight.  The pictures I have of the rest of the meal are from my phone's camera, so they aren't great, but you can see them below.

 One of the wine choices for the night.

The soup and salad that Scott made.

Pasta, also by Scott.  The pasta noodles were homemade by Scott that morning.

The lamb while it was being carved.  Bad picture, it makes it look very small for some reason...it wasn't.  It weighed in at 7 pounds.

A roast pepper dish I made as garnish for the meats.

Now, on to the recipe I have chosen to share tonight, the tiramisu.

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Tiramisu

6 egg yolks
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cup mascarpone cheese
1 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
2 (2 oz) packages of lady fingers
1/3 cup coffee flavored liqueur ( I used Kahlua)
1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
Semisweet chocolate (for topping)

First, you combine egg yolks and sugar in top double boiler over boiling water.  Reduce the heat to low, and constantly stir for 10 minutes.  Yes, the entire 10 minutes.  It's a good idea to set a timer.  The yolks and sugar will become somewhat thick and crumbly looking, but never fret, keep stirring, and eventually it will become smooth.  And yes, your arm will be very tired.  After 10 minutes, remove the pan from the from heat and whip yolks until they become thick and yellow in color.

Next, add the mascarpone cheese to whipped yolks, and stir until it is combined.  Set the pan aside for now.

 With a mixer, whip the cream until it forms stiff peaks.  This might take a while, and be sure to keep the speed of the mixer pretty high.

After the cream is whipped, add it to the egg and cheese mixture, and give it a good stir to combine.

Now, if you are using store bought lady fingers as I did (I know, I know, I cheated and didn't make my own for this recipe), tear off the lady fingers one by one, dip each side lightly in the liqueur, and place them in a single layer on the bottom of a 13x9 inch baking dish.  Spread half of the egg, cheese, and cream mixture evenly over the lady fingers.

Now, take more lady fingers, dip them in liqueur once more, and create another single layer of lady fingers.  Top that with another layer of cream mixture, spread it so it is nice and smooth, and top with cocoa powder.  Shave off some pieces of bittersweet chocolate, and refrigerate.  Serve the dessert cold.

I forgot to get a picture of the tiramisu cut into individual pieces, but rest assured, it looked good when it was served.  And tasted awesome, too.  This is a fairly easy recipe to make, but once you try it, I guarantee you'll make it often.

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The next dish will hopefully be Butternut Squash Soup with Brown Butter, Sage, and Nutmeg Creme Fraiche from Bouchon.