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Thursday, September 24, 2009

My Favortie Dessert....Tiramisu



 I can’t tell you enough how much I enjoy this dessert. I had gone to and Italian Restaurant many years ago and ordered their Tiramisu. It was totally wonderful. I have never found Tiramisu that tasted like that again. They were either to sweet, to soggy or made with cream cheese. A few years ago I decided to make my own recipe. It took me three tries to get this to perfection.

1-1/2 lb. Mascarpone cheese
1 pint of heavy whipping cream
6 eggs
2 packages lady fingers
3 Tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons of powdered sugar
3 shots (3 oz) Cognac or Brandy
8 espresso sized cups of coffee (about 14 oz)
4 Tablespoons powdered unsweetened cocoa.

Dipping:
Combine the ingredients in a bowl. Espresso, two shots of cognac, one teaspoon cocoa. Allow to cool to room temperature.

Pour 1/8 inch of espresso mixture into a shallow flat-bottomed bowl. This step is very important because you don’t want to over soak your Lady finger so it becomes soggy. Set bowl aside.

Mascarpone cheese mixture:
In mixing bowl beat egg while tempering them, add sugar until creamy white. Let cool completely then add mascarpone, 1 shot of Cognac or Rum and mix until blended. Refrigerate until you are ready to assemble.

Prepare your heavy whipping cream by beating until it becomes stiff and then add powdered sugar. Fold in the mascarpone mixture and set aside.

Important tip: Quickly dip the lady fingers in the 1/8 inch espresso. Get the right amount of espresso on the cookie. Do not let the cookie stay to long in the Espresso mixture. If you soak the cookie in the espresso mixture to long you will end up with soggy cookie instead of it being firm & moist.

Assembly: Build a layer of dipped Lady Fingers across the bottom of the Glass pan. Spoon a layer of mascarpone mixture across the layer of cookies. Use about 1/3 of the mascarpone mix. The layer should be about (3/8in.) thick. Dip another layer of cookie in the espresso mixture and lay on top of the mascarpone cream. Spoon a second layer of mascarpone mixture across the second layer of cookies. Use the remaining mascarpone mix for a total of three layers. Sift cocoa on top of the final mascarpone layer. Hold the sieve over the tiramisu and tap the sieve on the side with your finger. The cocoa should sprinkle down in an even layer. Use this technique to cover the tiramisu with a very thin layer of cocoa. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving. serves 12 to 15
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The Mad Scientist is at work

The Cisco Kid decided what he wanted to be for Halloween.
He has been a fireman two years in a row for Halloween. I really wanted him to be something else this year. I know if I would have asked him what he wanted to dress up as, he would have said.....Fireman... again!
I knew that the costume he was going to wear had to be his idea. He really loves a few things besides being a fireman. He loves his laboratory and he loves his trains. Since he has been a fireman two years in a row and the train conductor costumes don't come in his size anymore. That left....Mad Scientist. I loved the idea!!! Now to convince The Cisco Kid!!!!! I came up with three costumes he might be interested in. Swamp monster, Mummy and the Mad Scientist. I showed him some pictures of all three and he picked, Mad Scientist. He didn’t like the scary masks for the other two. He liked the idea so much he started telling me how he wanted it to look. He said….mom I want it to look like one of my experiments blew up. That’s all it took for my creative mind to start oozing creepy Halloween ideas. This is what I have so far.

The Lab jacket. It's on order.
The safety gloves to conduct the experiments The Mad Scientist has to look mad. What better way than to have these crazy teeth. This is the oozing creepy part. These are going to be sewn all over his lab coat with some red splats, to look like his experiment blew up and parts went flying. My Challenge is going to be, finding a good pair of Mad Scientist Steampunk Goggles. These are really cool. If I can’t find a pair of Steampuck Goggles, I will have to improvise and get creative with a plain pair of goggles When we are done with the costume, I will post it.

Thank you so much for participating in "What would your children say?" Wednesday.

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Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Decisions, Decisions, Heaven or sugar!!!

Here it is again... The weeks just fly by. It's another "What would your children say?" Wednesday.
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I have made several posts about how much The Cisco Kid loves his sugar. This boy will do back flips for cake, chocolate and ice cream.

Over the past two or three months The Cisco Kid has been very curious about haven. He is asking lots of questions. This is how our sugar and heaven conversation went.

Him: When I go to heaven will I be able to come back home?
Me: No, baby once you go to heaven you will never be able to come back home.
Him: Can I see in heaven?
Me: Yes, you will be able to see.
Him: Will I know anyone in heaven?
Me: Yes, you will know Rex (our dog of 13 years).
Him: What’s in heaven?
Me: God, Jesus, Angels and all good people.
Him: What is an angel?
Me: A very special and extra good person who died.
Him: Am I a special extra good person.
Me: Yes, you are a very special and extra good person.
Him: What else is in heaven?
Me: That’s it. That’s all you will need.
Him: Really, that’s it.
Me: Yes, that’s it.
Him: Mom I never want to go to heaven.
Me: Why?
Him: There is no sugar in heaven.

See what I mean!!!!!



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Monday, September 21, 2009

Crisp Sugar Cookies

This is the fifth of twelve posts on my Family Heritage Christmas cookies. Every Monday from now until Christmas I will share my full collection of Christmas cookie recipes with you. My Christmas cookie collection consists of twelve different kinds of cookies. Every year I bake over 500 cookies and give them to our family and friends.

I have already posted about my Almond Crescents, no cook S’mores, Almond cups and Coconut Macaroons.

These cookies are crispy and almost taste like a sugar cookie with a butter taste.


1/2 cup butter softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tea. Baking powder
1/4 tea salt.
1 container of colored sprinkles.

GLAZE:
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
1 to 2 tbs. milk
Red, Green, Yellow Blue Past or liquid food coloring

Cream butter and sugar. beat in egg and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients: gradually add to the creamed mixture. Cover and chill for 1 hour. On a lightly floured surface, roll out to 1/8- inch thickness. Cut with 2-1/2 in. cookie cutters. Place 1 in. apart on Parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 1- minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on wire rack.

GLAZE:
In small bowl, combine confectioners sugar and milk until smooth. separate sugar into smaller bowls for individual colors. Stir in desired food coloring. Lightly spread onto cooled cookies. Let stand until glaze is set. Makes about 3 doz. You can also coat with melted bark chocolate coating

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