Valentine’s Day, Sickness, and Tiramisu
It has been an unusual 6 days since my last posting, which I believe was on Valentine’s Day.
I was terribly sick on that day, but quite determined to make
a special meal for my husband and I to share.
This was my menu:
As I write and share with you today,
I am feeling better, but now my husband is down with whatever sickness I had.
So, in-between working I am playing my part as nurse, hoping
that I can help him to get well quickly; with rest,
medicine, plenty of fluids; and of course, a pot of soup on the stove.
You can\’t properly care for someone without a big pot
of soup on the stove.
Now to get back to that Valentine Menu. The main recipe and photographs I want to share
with you today is the dessert – Tiramisu. This, for me, was a small challenge.
I had never made this decadent dessert and it is always a little
tricky when making a filling with eggs (instead of cream sauce,
you can come out with scrambled eggs.
you can come out with scrambled eggs.
This turned out to be a wonderful success (a couple of mishaps, but recoverable).
The recipe I am about to share is not my own but from
“The Culinary Institute of America’s –
Gourmet Meal’s In Minutes”
Tiramisu
(recipe makes 8 servings)
Ingredients:
1 egg 31/4 cups mascarpone cheese 48 lady fingers
6 egg yolks 3 egg whites 1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups sugar 1 cup espresso
1 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 cup Kahlua
Whip the egg, egg yolks, 1 cup of sugar, and the vanilla together in a large stainless steel bowl over simmering water for about 3-4 minutes, or until the volume nearly doubles and the mixture becomes a light lemon yellow.
Transfer the egg and sugar mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on high speed until the mixture has cooled to room temperature, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the mascarpone and blend on low speed until very smooth, about 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to blend evenly.
Beat egg whites with the remaining sugar in a clean bowl to medium stiff peaks, about 5 to 6 minutes. Fold the beaten egg whites into the mascarpone mixture in two additions. Refrigerate until needed.
Combine the espresso and Kahlua to make a syrup. (This is where I did something different from the recipe.) Because you can get the ladyfingers too moist and they will break apart – I poured the syrup into a 9 x 13 in. pan. One at a time I moistened each ladyfinger front and back by hand; laying them out on a piece of wax paper *(do not just lay the ladyfingers in the syrup. They soak up the syrup quickly and can get too wet, causing them to fall apart.) Dust each evenly with the cocoa powder.
To prepare the dessert I took small serving size glasses; placed 6 ladyfingers, standing on their side, inside the glass. Spoon the filling into the glass to the top (it will fill up the cracks). Finish with a dusting of cocoa powder on the top.
Hope you will try this Wonderful Dessert!
Never be afraid to try something new!
Lemongrass and Green Tea 
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