Bare Foot Contessa's Tiramisu - served in individual ramekins

Bare Foot Contessa's Tiramisu - served in 6 individual ramekins

SteamyKitchen.com had a great adaptation that I borrowed this from.

The first time I made this recipe was on a hot summer day. Due to variety of reasons, the mascarpone creme curdled. I have tried to provide additional information where necessary on what measures I took the 2nd time around.

Ingredients:

Mascarpone Creme - 

6 extra large egg yolks, at room temperature

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup dark rum

1/4 cup espresso or strong coffee - make sure it is completely cool before you use it

16 oz mascarpone cheese - softened to room temperature

Espresso Syrup for dipping - 

1/3 cup dark rum

1 1/2 cups espresso or strong coffee - make sure it is completely cool

30-40 Italian lady fingers

Topping - 

Shaved Dark chocolate bar

Directions:

1. Mascarpone Creme - Spoon out the mascarpone into a bowl. Whisk the mascarpone by hand just a bit to soften - do not use mixer to whisk. In your mixer with whisk attachment, whisk yolks and sugar on high for 5 minutes. It should be creamy and light yellow. Add the cooled espresso, rum and mascarpone. Lower speed to medium and whisk till just mixed - do not over mix.

2. Espresso Syrup - In a bowl, mix all of the ingredients of the Espresso Syrup together. 

3. Set up your assembly line - from left to right:

Ladyfingers - Espresso Syrup - Pan/Indiv Cups - mascarpone Creme

Note : Count for a 2-second dip of the ladyfinger in the Espresso Syrup otherwise the ladyfinger will get too soggy to lift out of the bowl. It's ok if the ladyfingers looks a little dry - it will soak in more moisture as it sits in the refrigerator. 

Line the dipped ladyfingers on the bottom of the cups. Place a thin layer of mascarpone creme

Follow this with another layer of dipped ladyfingers. Finish with remaining mascarpone Cream. 

Sprinkle chocolate shavings on top. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Macaroni Egg Salad

Taken from Better Homes and Gardens, the recipe is Americana at its best with its clever use of pickles and egg yolks. According to the magazine, this will make about 5 servings, 273 calories per serving.

I prefer home made mayonnaise in my pasta or potato salad., but feel free to use store bought.

Ingredients:

1/4 red sliced onion

2tbsp cider vinegar

1/2 tsp sugar

4oz elbow macaroni

6 hard boiled eggs

2 tbsp mayonnaise ( preferably home made)

2 tbsp Dijon-style mustard

Pinch of salt & pepper

1/4 tsp smoked paprika

1/4 cup chopped sweet pickles

1 cup thinly sliced celery

1. Combine onion, vinegar and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer, stir and remove from heat. Let the quick onion pickle cool down.

2. Cook macaroni, drain and rinse well with cold water. Let the excess water drain through colander.

3. Chop one egg and set it aside. Half and de-yolk ( not sure if it's a word) remaining eggs. Chop the whites and put yolks in a small bowl. Reserve 1 chopped egg white for garnish.

4. Prepare dressing - mash yolks. Add mayonnaise, mustard, 1tbsp water, salt, pepper and paprika. Mix well.

5. In a large bowl, combine onion pickle, macaroni, chopped eggs, sweet pickle and celery. Add dressing, stir to combine. Top with reserved egg and sprinkle more paprika and pepper for presentation.

Salad should be consumed right away or refrigerated for up to 6 hrs.

Mushroom Tart

I got a large box of mushrooms from Hay Market in South Boston and looking for ways to use it. This recipe for tart was pulled from Everyday Food and modified to add some edge to it. I served it with baby spinach salad for brunch. According to the recipe, it has 219 calories per serving with total of 4 servings per tart.

Ingredients:
1 sheet thawed puff pastry
1 medium red onion, sliced thinly
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
6 cups of white mushrooms (about 18 oz), halved and thinly sliced
4 cups fresh baby spinach (6-8 oz)
4 tablespoon soft goat cheese (about 2 oz)
Olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon Garam Masala

Preheat oven to 400 degree.

Roll out the puff pastry on a floured surface to 16x10 inch rectangle. Place it on a baking tray. Lightly scour the dough around the perimeter about 1 inch from the edge. Using a fork, prick dough through to the bottom all over. Bake for 15 minutes or so, rotating half way through.

In a pan, heat about a tsp of olive oil and cook garlic till golden. Add onion, sprinkle salt, cover and cook for about 15-20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Onions should get caramelized.

Scrape onions into a bowl and reheat another teaspoon of olive oil in the same pan. Add mushroom, cover and cook till all liquid has evaporated. Fold in spinach; season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook until wilted. Drain any liquid.

Top dough with cooked mushrooms and spinach. Scatter onion and goat cheese. Sprinkle garam masala all over the tart. Bake for about 15 minutes.

Salmon Cakes

Salmon fillets can be served simply baked with a light seasoning of salt, pepper, extra virgin olive oil & lemon juice. However, if you are in a mood for something elaborate, then salmon cake is the thing to try. Since it gets quite rich with all the additional condiments, I prefer this in winter time, with a side of quinoa salad or a fresh garden salad. I came across this recipe in Everyday Food a few years ago and have used it a few times. This recipe will make four salmon cakes. Calories per serving is 291 calories

Ingredients:
For Salmon Patties:
1 lb. skinless salmon fillet
Coarse salt and freshly crushed pepper
4 scallions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
4 tablespoon spicy brown mustard
2 tablespoon prepared horseradish
1 tablespoon minced capers
1/4 cup dried breadcrumbs
1 egg
Lemon juice from 1/2 a lemon

For Lemon Herb sauce:
4 tablespoon Fromage Blanc
Juice from half a lemon
1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
Coarse salt to taste



Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place salmon on a greased rimmed baking sheet, sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake for 18 minutes. Move it to a plate to allow it to cool down. Meanwhile, mix scallions, parsley flakes, mustard, horseradish, capers, breadcrumbs, egg and lemon juice in a bowl.
Flake salmon with a fork and mix with the other ingredients in the bowl. Shape them into 4 patties and place them in the refrigerator for 15 minutes allowing them to firm up.
Turn the broiler on high. Place the salmon patties on aluminum foil covered rammer baking sheet. Broil for 5-8 minutes till the top is golden brown.

Prepare the Lemon Herb sauce while the patties are cooking. Mix the ingredients of the sauce together and serve on side.

Kheer - South Asian Rice Pudding

After a few culinary disasters in the area of Indian desserts, I had given up on this delicious area. However, after watching my Mom spin out this delicate pudding with no effort, I decided to give her recipe a try. Turned out to be quite simple.

Ingredients:
1 cup rice, cooked with 2 cups of water (for how to see Simple microwave rice)
4 cups 2% milk
2 pinches of saffron, crushed lightly
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 each of almonds, cashews, unsalted pistachios and raisins
Couple pinches of crushed cardamom
A small pinch of salt

Cook rice. While it's cooking, soak almonds, pistachios and raisins separately in boiling water. Chop cashews into small pieces. Pistachios take no more than 5 minutes of soaking to release their skins. Drain them, Peel them and chop them into small pieces. Do the same to almonds. Drain raisins and reserve all these dry fruits. Rice should be ready by now. Fluff it with fork and reserve.
Heat up milk in a heavy bottom pan or pot on a medium high heat, stirring constantly. Add crushed saffron and continue stirring. Milk should start to boil in 6-7 minutes. Add the rice and continue cooking for another 8-12 minutes. Rice will release starch and the Kheer will get thicker. When there is a thin layer of milk remaining at top and rice is visible, then the Kheer is ready. Couple lessons I learned from my earlier tries - Kheer continues to thicken as it cools, so cooking longer will yield a lumpy pudding, and remember to stir constantly or the milk will burn at the bottom. Reduce the heat, add sugar, cardamom, chopped almonds, cashews, pistachios and raisins. I usually reserve some of these chopped dry fruits to use as garnish while serving. Increase heat, stir and cook for another couple minutes and the Kheer is ready to serve. You can serve it hot or cold.

Crème Brûlée

Make 6 ramekins

1 cup heavy cream
1 cup half and half
1 vanilla bean
2 tbsp sugar

3 egg yolks
1 egg
1/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Warm cream, half and half, vanilla bean and 2 tbsp sugar over medium heat just until steam rises. Let sit for 5 minutes. Remove the bean and scrape the contents of bean into the mixture.
Whisk yolks, egg, 1/4 cup sugar and salt in a mixing bowl.
Slowly add hot cream mixture into the egg mixture. Strain into a cup with spout.
Put water to heat.
Divide into the six ramekins. Arrange ramekins into a baking tray and put the tray in the oven. Add hot water to the tray and hake for 35-45 minutes.
Remove ramekins from the water, cool, cover with plastic wrap and chill - preferably overnight.

Top with a mixture of brown sugar & plain sugar (2:1 ratio). Tap out excess sugar. Burn until the surface is caramelized. Let stand 3-5 minutes so the topping hardens.

Variation - Instead of vanilla, add 1/4 cup fresh ginger - chopped and blanched in boiling water for 1 minute and then drained.

Chicken Tagine

Flavorful chicken, chick peas and olives add a lot of character to the dish.
Serves 4.

Moroccan Spice rub
4 chicken thighs, rub moroccan spice and let stand for an hour or 2 in refrigerator

1 small onion, diced
1 inch piece of ginger, grated
4 cloves garlic, minced
pepper flakes to taste
1 cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf

1/4 white wine
1 tsp tomato paste

1 cup tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted and halved
1 tbsp honey
1 lemon cut into 8 wedges
Salt to taste

Chopped fresh parsley

Toasted Pita bread

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a skillet over medium, add chicken, skin side down. Saute until brown on both sides, about 10 minutes total. Remove chicken.
Add onion and saute for 3 minutes. Add ginger, garlic, pepper flakes, cinnamon sticks and bay leaf and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Deglaze with wine and tomato paste and simmer till liquid evaporate.
Add tomato, chicken broth, chickpeas, olives, honey, lemon & chicken. Cover & reduce heat to medium-low. Cook until chicken is cooked - 20-25 minutes.
Add salt to taste and garnish with parsley.
Serve with toasted Pita bread.