Raspberry Tiramisu

I watched Giada De Laurentiis prepare this recipe on TV, and since I love tiramisu and have never seen it prepared with raspberries I had to give it a try.

This is very fast to make and has a great presentation. It's also a heavenly dessert, and here are some pointers.

Use soft ladyfingers, the hard ones would need to be soaked. And it takes some time for the ladyfingers to absorb the flavors, so prepare it about 6-7 hours ahead. It can stay overnight.

But it doesn't make great leftovers, they can get too soggy. So you can halve the recipe if you don't need to prepare it for 8, and they do look great if you put them in individual bowls.

The taste of Grand Marnier can be overpowering, so you can use less alcohol if you prefer. You can also use Chambord instead of the Grand Marnier.

You can also use strawberries instead of raspberries, the taste is completely different, but it's still superb.

Enjoy:)

RASPBERRY TIRAMISU

Ingredients:
1 cup seedless raspberry jam
6 tablespoons orange liqueur (recommended: Grand Marnier)
1 pound mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
1 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
28 soft ladyfingers or 2 (12-ounce) pound cakes, cut into 3 by 1 by 1 1/2-inch pieces
3 (1/2 dry pint) baskets fresh raspberries (about 3 3/4 cups total)
Confectioners' sugar, for serving

Directions:
Stir the jam and 4 tablespoons of the orange liqueur in a small bowl to blend.

Combine the mascarpone and remaining 2 tablespoons of orange liqueur in a large bowl to blend. Using an electric mixer, beat the cream, sugar, and vanilla in another large bowl until soft peaks form. Using a large rubber spatula, stir 1/4 of the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture to lighten. Fold the remaining whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture.

Line the bottom of a13 by 9 by 2-inch glass baking dish or other decorative serving dish with half of the ladyfingers. Spread half of the jam mixture over the ladyfingers. Spread half of the mascarpone mixture over the jam mixture, then cover with half of the fresh raspberries. Repeat layering with the remaining ladyfingers, jam mixture, mascarpone mixture and raspberries. Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours or overnight.

Dust with the confectioners' sugar and serve.

Biba's Ricotta Squash Gnocchi

I found this wonderful gnocchi recipe which I love at Martha Stewart. I don't know who she is but according to Martha Stewart this recipe was passed down to chef Biba Caggiano from her mother. Thank God for that:)

It's a little time consuming, but you can prepare it a day ahead and cook it later on.

I love the fact that this is a gnocchi that uses a vegetable instead of traditional potatoes or just flour. It is really delicious.

There is really nothing to change or add to this recipe. Just grab a glass of white wine and enjoy:)

BIBA'S RICOTTA SQUASH GNOCCHI

Ingredients:
For the gnocchi:
2 pounds butternut squash
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 cup whole-milk ricotta
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
5 teaspoons coarse salt
1 1/3 to 1 2/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

For the sauce:
3 to 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
10 fresh sage leaves, torn
Coarse salt
1/3 to 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus more for serving

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut squash in half lengthwise. Place on prepared baking sheet, cut side down. Cover with parchment paper and aluminum foil. Bake until tender, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Let cool slightly; remove and discard the seeds, and scrape the pulp from the skin. Place the pulp in a large kitchen towel (not terrycloth), wrap it around the squash, and squeeze out approximately 3/4 cup of the juices.

In a large bowl, combine the squash pulp, egg, ricotta, Parmigiano, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 1/3 cups flour. Mix with a wooden spoon or your hands until thoroughly blended together. Transfer the mixture to a lightly floured wooden board, and, with your hands, work gently into a dough, gradually adding a little more flour if the dough sticks too much to your hands and to the board. Dust the dough lightly with flour, and place in a bowl. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel, and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours.

To form the gnocchi, cut off a piece of dough about the size of an orange. Flour your hands lightly. Using both hands, roll out the piece of dough with a light back-and-forth motion into a rope about the thickness of your index finger. Cut the rope into 1-inch pieces. Hold a fork with the tines against the work surface, the curved part of the fork facing away. Starting from the bottom of the tines of the fork, press each piece of dough with your index finger firmly upward along the length of the tines, then let the gnocchi fall back onto the work surface. Repeat with the remaining dough until all the gnocchi have been formed. Transfer gnocchi to a lightly floured platter or baking sheet. The gnocchi can be cooked immediately or refrigerated, uncovered, overnight.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add remaining tablespoon salt and gnocchi. Cover pot, and cook until water returns to a boil. Uncover, and cook until the gnocchi rise to the surface, 1 to 2 minutes. Let cook for just 20 to 30 seconds more.

While the gnocchi are cooking, make the sauce: Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. When it begins to foam, add sage, and stir a few times.

Remove the gnocchi from the pot with a slotted spoon or a skimmer, draining the excess water back into the pot, and place in the skillet. Season lightly with salt, and add a small handful of the Parmigiano. Stir over medium heat until the gnocchi are well coated with butter. Taste, adjust for seasoning, and serve immediately with a sprinkling of Parmigiano.

Makes 4 servings

Red Wine Pot Roast with Porcini Mushrooms

Wonderful pot roast recipe from Bon Appetit, which takes some time to cook. But because of the cooking time the meat comes out wonderfully soft, and almost shreds into pieces.

There aren't much you would change about this recipe, but there are some additions that I like

During the last 1,5 hours of cooking, add carrots or baby carrots. You can even add potatoes. It makes a complete meal.

The mushrooms almost disappear in the sauce because of the cooking time, so if you want to be able to see mushrooms, add half in the beginning and the rest the last half hour.

I also like adding pearl onions during the last hour. I like the way they look in the dish, and some more onion never hurts with this recipe:)

This is a great company dish. One of the reasons is that you can prepare it in advance. And the smell of this dish is divine. But if you are cooking for 2, just use less beef, but keep the sauce amount about the same. The cooking time also stays the same.

I like using thyme instead of marjoram. You can also go for herbs de provence. It gives great depth to the sauce. If you don't have fresh marjoram, dried also works.

The wine is important, because it really comes through, so choose it carefully. And you don't really need to boil the wine or the broth as they do boil down in the oven with all that cooking time.

I skip the celery, because I don't like celery, and I don't miss it in the recipe. So if you don't like it also, just skip it:)

RED-WINE POT ROAST WITH PORCINI MUSHROOMS

Ingredients:
1 cup low-salt chicken broth or beef broth
1/2 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
1 4-pound boneless beef chuck roast, trimmed
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
2 celery stalks with some leaves, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
3 garlic cloves, smashed
1 tablespoon chopped fresh marjoram plus sprigs for garnish
1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, drained
1 cup dry red wine

Directions:
Preheat oven to 300°F. Bring broth to simmer in saucepan. Remove from heat; add mushrooms, cover, and let stand until soft, about 15 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer mushrooms to cutting board. Chop coarsely. Reserve mushrooms and broth separately.

Sprinkle beef with salt and pepper. Heat oil in heavy large ovenproof pot over medium-high heat. Add beef and cook until brown on all sides, about 15 minutes total. Transfer beef to large plate. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon drippings from pot.

Place pot over medium heat. Add onion and celery. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and sauté until beginning to brown, about 8 minutes. Add garlic, chopped marjoram, and reserved porcini mushrooms; sauté 1 minute.

Using hands, crush tomatoes, 1 at a time, into pot. Cook 3 minutes, stirring frequently and scraping up browned bits from bottom of pot. Add wine; boil 5 minutes. Add reserved mushroom broth, leaving any sediment behind. Boil 5 minutes.

Return beef and any accumulated juices to pot. Cover; transfer to oven. Cook 1 1/2 hours. Turn beef and continue cooking until tender, about 1 1/2 hours longer. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Cool slightly. Refrigerate uncovered until cool. Cover and keep refrigerated.)

Transfer beef to cutting board; tent with foil. Spoon fat from surface of juices in pot. Bring juices to boil; cook until liquid is reduced to 4 cups, about 7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Cut beef into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Transfer to platter. Spoon juices over, garnish with marjoram sprigs, and serve.

Makes 6 servings.

Fried Zucchini

I took this recipe from Giada De Laurentiis, but when I tried it, it didn't turn out to be as crunchy as I thought it would be. So I made changes.

Panko is really great, but it doesn't adhere, so I used flour before the egg mixture. I have also heard that cornstarch does a great job, instead of flour. It comes out even crunchier with the cornstarch.

I serve it with a garlic yogurt sauce, which is very similar to tzatziki, but without the cucumbers. Actually I like it with cucumbers and use it in the sauce. You can prepare the sauce and see if you want to add them.

Enjoy:)

FRIED ZUCCHINI

Ingredients:
Olive oil, for frying
1 3/4 cups freshly grated Parmesan
1 1/2 cups panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3 medium zucchini, cut into 3-inch long by 1/2-inch wide strips

Directions:
Pour enough oil into a large frying pan to reach a depth of 2 inches. Heat the oil over medium heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 350 degrees F.

Stir 1 1/2 cups Parmesan, the panko, and salt in a medium bowl to blend. Whisk the eggs in another medium bowl to blend. Working in batches, dip the zucchini in the eggs to coat completely and allow the excess egg to drip back into the bowl.

Coat the zucchini in the panko mixture, patting to adhere and coat completely. Place the zucchini strips on a baking sheet.

When the oil is hot, working in batches, fry the zucchini sticks until they are golden brown, about 3 minutes.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer the fried zucchini to paper towels and drain.

Arrange the fried zucchini on a platter. Sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan and serve.