Tiramisu for Valentines Day

For Valentines Day, I made Tiramisu for my sweetheart.   This is the first time I made Tiramisu, so I didn’t have a tried and true recipe.   Thankfully I think I found a winner! The recipe was surprisingly simple to make.  My only suggestion is to make the expresso a little bit weaker.  Not much,  but a little less.  One change I made was to assemble the recipe in trifle dessert dishes instead of a casserole dish.  It was more elegant and sophisticated that way in my opinion.   I also used Kahlua instead of whiskey,  brandy or rum.  I’m sure that you could skip the alcohol all together if you are not inclined to keep liqeur in the house. 

I hope you may enjoy this recipe as well!

Note: It is critical to make sure that the ladyfingers are properly moistened, but not saturated.   The recipe calls for rolling the ladyfingers in the coffee.  If you do this make sure you do this quickly.  If the ladyfingers seem to absorb the liquid quickly try just dipping in one side of the ladyfinger.

A suggestion: Do not allow the mascarpone to warm to room temperature before using it; it has a tendency to break if allowed to do so.

SERVES 10 TO 12

INGREDIENTS
Coffee Mixture (2 1/2 cups strong black coffee, room temperature plus 1 1/2 tablespoons instant espresso powder; alternatively you can use instant coffee using half volume of the suggested liquid)
9 tablespoons dark rum (or other liqeur)
6 large egg yolks
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1 1/2 pounds mascarpone cheese
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream (cold)
14 ounces ladyfingers (42 to 60, depending on size)
Cocoa powder, preferably Dutch-processed
1/4 cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate , grated (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Stir coffee, espresso, and 5 tablespoons rum in wide bowl or baking dish until espresso dissolves; set aside.
2. In bowl of standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat yolks at low speed until just combined. Add sugar and salt and beat at medium-high speed until pale yellow, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, scraping down bowl with rubber spatula once or twice. Add remaining 4 tablespoons rum and beat at medium speed until just combined, 20 to 30 seconds; scrape bowl. Add mascarpone and beat at medium speed until no lumps remain, 30 to 45 seconds, scraping down bowl once or twice. Transfer mixture to large bowl and set aside.
3. In now-empty mixer bowl (no need to clean bowl), beat cream at medium speed until frothy, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Increase speed to high and continue to beat until cream holds stiff peaks, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes longer. Using rubber spatula, fold one-third of whipped cream into mascarpone mixture to lighten, then gently fold in remaining whipped cream until no white streaks remain. Set mascarpone mixture aside.
4. Working one at a time, drop half of ladyfingers into coffee mixture, roll, remove, and transfer to 13 by 9-inch glass or ceramic baking dish. (Do not submerge ladyfingers in coffee mixture; entire process should take no longer than 2 to 3 seconds for each cookie.) Arrange soaked cookies in single layer in baking dish, breaking or trimming ladyfingers as needed to fit neatly into dish.
5. Spread half of mascarpone mixture over ladyfingers; use rubber spatula to spread mixture to sides and into corners of dish and smooth surface. Place 2 tablespoons cocoa in fine-mesh strainer and dust cocoa over mascarpone.
6. Repeat dipping and arrangement of ladyfingers; spread remaining mascarpone mixture over ladyfingers and dust with remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons cocoa. Wipe edges of dish with dry towel.  Enjoy!

If you try this dish,  please share any thoughts you have about it! I will post a picture of it soon.

Another Minestrone recipe

“To feel safe and warm on a cold wet night, all you really need is soup.” ~Laurie Colwin

For quite some time, I have been sick with a cold, cough, laryngitis – not fun!  So today, I decided to make some soup – a wonderful remedy for sickness.  Since I generally don’t eat meat, chicken soup is out – so I decided to try one of the soup recipes from the “Is it Soup Yet?” recipe book.  Thanks again to my sweetheart for the book! 🙂

The minestrone soup recipe I made originally called for beef stock, but I replaced it with vegetable stock.  Note that this isn’t a quick soup to make – but it makes enough for quite a few left-overs – especially if it is just one or two eating it.  I bagged the soup into Ziploc bags – and froze six and saved four in the fridge.   It will be great for a healthy lunch and for quick suppers!

Here is the recipe:

Minestrone Soup - from "Is it soup yet?"

Minestrone Soup from “Is it Soup Yet?”

Ingredients

1 (28-oz) can Italian style tomatoes
2 bay leaves
1/4 t garlic powder
1 t ground or dried oregano
2 t dried parsley
1/2 t dried basil
1/2 t salt
1/4 t black pepper
1 C chopped zucchini
1 C chopped green beans (I used a can since I didn’t have fresh green beans)
1 small onion, chopped
1 C celery, chopped
1 C carrots, chopped
1 8-oz can tomato paste
7 C vegetable stock (or for non-vegs, beef stock)
1 cup small pasta (recipe calls for small shell pasta)
1 (15-0z) can dark red kidney beans (if you don’t like beans, leave this out)
1 (16-0z) can sweet peas
2 T grated parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions

Pour the Italian style tomatoes into a 6 quart stock pot.  Chop the tomatoes into bite-sized pieces.  Add the bay leaves, garlic powder, oregano, dried parsley, dried basil, salt and ground pepper and cook over medium heat.  Chop the zucchini and add to the stock pot.  Chop the remaining vegetables and add to the stock pot.  Stir in the tomato paste.  Add the stock and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer for 1/2 hour.  While the soup is simmering, in a medium saucepan, bring 1-1/2 quarts of water to a boil.  Add pasta shells.  Return water to a boil and cook for 10 to 12 minutes (or as package directs), stirring frequently.  Drain and set aside.  Drain and rinse the kidney beans and peas.  Add to the soup and simmer for 1/2 hour.  Add the cooked pasta and Parmesan cheese (optional).  Cook until the pasta is heated, about 10 minutes.  Remove the bay leaves and serve.

Enjoy! 🙂

A New Recipe Book!

My sweetheart and I walked around a little town in New Jersey today, and visited a cute little bookstore.  He got me a new cookbook which has a ton of yummy soup recipes that I am looking forward to making!  Some recipes to expect in the near future on this blog…Sweet potato bisque, corn chowder, crab bisque, cheddar cheese chive, and many more soups!

Sweet Potato Salad and Delicious Berry Parfaits

Today, my parents came over for lunch.  I originally was going to make a more ‘dinner’ type meal, but I was running low on time.  I decided instead to have sandwiches (very versatile), homemade sweet potato salad, with berry parfaits for dessert.  I still was able to use my new fall-themed dishes!

My aunt and uncle got me the placemats, smaller plates, and bowls for my birthday.  When I was at TJ Maxx the other week, I saw the dinner plates and napkins, as well as the pumpkin centerpiece and couldn’t resist getting them 🙂  So now I have my first full seasonal dinner set.

Anyways, onto the recipes.  The sweet potato salad tasted very good – the sweet potatoes really added a unique flavor to the salad.

Sweet Potato Salad

Ingredients:

2 medium-size sweet potatoes
1/4 onion, finely diced
2 hard-boiled eggs
1/2 cup mayonnaise (add to taste)
2 stalks celery (optional)

Directions

1. Hard-boil 2 eggs.  After they have cooled, dice the eggs.
2. Boil the sweet potatoes in a medium to large saucepan until tender to the fork.  (The original recipes says to boil it for 30 minutes.  I coarsely chopped mine first, so it only took about 20 minutes.)  Peel the sweet potatoes, cool, and dice.
3. Finely dice about a 1/4 of an onion.
4. Chop celery (optional – I didn’t have any, so I just omitted it)
5. After the eggs and sweet potatoes are cooled, mix together all ingredients except for the mayonnaise (or Miracle Whip).
6. Add the mayonnaise or Miracle Whip to taste.  The amount varies based on the size of potatoes used.  It took a little over 1/2 cup for mine.
7. Mix everything together, cover with plastic wrap, and chill until served.  Enjoy!

Original Recipe found here.

For dessert, I made some berry parfaits.

Delicious (yet simple) Berry Parfaits

SERVES ~4

Ingredients
1 box pudding (vanilla or lemon)
1 carton Cool Whip
Raspberries (or any combination of berries)

Directions

1. Make a box of pudding according to the package direction.  Refrigerate until set, about 5 minutes.
2. Take four parfait glasses, and spoon in pudding to cover the bottom of the glass (about 1/3 of the glass)
3. Add a layer of Cool Whip (about 1/3 of the glass)
4. Top the parfait with berries to fill the rest of the glass.
5. If you have a large parfait glass – or if you want to use goblets or some other sort of larger glass, you can layer the pudding, cool whip, and berries multiple times.
6. Enjoy!

I hope some of you can enjoy these recipes!  My parents and I definitely enjoyed them 🙂

A Dinner Party

Tomorrow, I am having my parents over for dinner.  My mom doesn’t like fish, and she is limiting her carbs due to watching her cholestorol, so I tried to figure out a dish that we all might like.  Since I don’t really eat meat (except fish), it is more difficult to make a low-carb meal.  I have never tried sesame crusted tofu…or much of any tofu…but I would like to expand my tastes.  I decided that we will have that as our main course, as well as roasted sweet potatoes, asparagus, salad and garlic bread.  I might have some kind of rice or grain as well for me and my dad.  I will post the recipes after…hopefully it will be a good tasty meal!

Zucchini Casserole

I love veggies.  Sadly, living by myself, I often find that I can only use part of a vegetable when making a recipe – half an onion, half a zucchini, half a tomato, etc.  If I don’t have the right recipe later that week – these wonderful veggies start to go bad. 😦

Anyways, my coworker, knowing that I mainly eat vegetarian foods, came to me today with a casserole recipe.  I love the dish!  It’s a great way to eat lots of veggies, yet enjoy it.  You can either have it as a main dish for a vegetarian meal or as a side dish.

Below is the recipe:

Zucchini Casserole
2 large zucchini
2 large tomatoes
2 large green bell peppers (optional)
1 small clove garlic
1/4 cup chopped garlic
1/2 teaspoon basil (dried)
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions
1.  Saute onion and garlic; set aside
2.  Pour oil in a large skillet and cook zucchini until crisp tender.
3.  Layer zucchini, tomato, pepper, onion, garlic, basil and mozzarella in a glass baking dish
4.  Bake in a 350 degree oven until heated through and cheese is melted

I ended up not following the directions perfectly, as I wanted to try to make it within an amount that I didn’t have too many leftovers.  I used a very small onion, a small zucchini, small tomato, one garlic clove, basil and some mozzarella cheese.  I pretty much followed the directions after that. 

I’d recommend this recipe to anyone who wants to have a delicious, low-carb meal chock-ful of veggies. 

Zucchini Casserole

Potato Leek Soup in a Carton

Somedays – it’s just not feasible to make a soup from scratch.  Recently – I found a favorable alternative when I don’t have time to cook on my own.  The brand?  Imagine Natural Creations.  My favorite soup from them?  Creamy Potato Leek Soup.

This soup is delicious.  It has a delicate, yet creamy flavor, and tastes wonderful!  Plus – it has a serving of veggies in each serving, is only 100 calories, and is about half the salt (sea salt to boot) than most other packaged soups.  Plus – it is completely vegan!  I highly recommend having this as a back-up meal.

Minestrone (Part 2)

Well – I made the minestrone soup – and it was very good.  I might make some changes in the future – but it definitely is a good base recipe for getting some tasty homemade soup quickly!

I used whole wheat spiral noodles instead of the small shell noodles that the recipe called for (it’s what I had in my cupboard), and I used shredded parmesan cheese instead of the pesto.  Next time, I’d like to try using the pesto – but the cheese was delicious with it.  Of course, I like cheese with everything!  (If you are looking for a vegan dish, omit the cheese!)

Anyways, I remembered to take a photo (See below).  Now I just need to go take care of the kitchen! 🙂

Minestrone from Betty Crocker's Easy Everyday Vegetarian Cookbook

Minestrone

Prep: 20 min; Cook: 20 min.

4 servings

Pesto is delicious in this hearty soup, but if it isn’t available, shredded Parmesan cheese can be sprinkled on top.

Ingredients:

1 T olive oil or vegetable oil

1 large onion, coarsely chopped (1 cup)

1 medium green bell pepper, coarsely chopped (1 cup)

2 cans (14.5 oz each) ready-to-serve vegetable broth

2 cans (14.5 ounces each) Italian-style stewed tomatoes with garlic, oregano and basil, undrained

1 can (15-16 oz) dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 medium yellow summer squash or zucchini, cut lengthwise in half, then cut crosswise into slices (1.5 cups)

1 cup uncooked small pasta shells (4 oz)

1/4 cup pesto

Shredded Parmesan cheese, if desired

Instructions:

Heat oil in 3-qt saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook onion and bell pepper in oil, 3 to 5 mins, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender

Stir in broth, tomatoes and beans. Heat to boiling; reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer uncovered 5 minutes.

Stir in squash and pasta. Heat to boiling. Boil 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until pasta is tender. Top each serving with pesto; swirl in slightly. Garnish with shredded Parmesan cheese.

1 serving: Calories 355; Fat 13g, Cholesterol: 2 mg; Sodium 1600 mg; Carbs: 54 g; Protein 13g

Source: Vegetarian Cooking (Betty Crocker)

A Diary of Vegetarian Cooking

In an attempt to try new vegetarian recipes – I will be documenting different recipes I try and (hopefully) posting pictures and suggestions about each one. The recipes will mostlly be vegetarian – though I may have some seafood recipes mixed in. I hope that vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike can benefit from this! Otherwise – it will at least help me to keep trying new recipes!