Bruschetta

From or our last party I first blogged the dessert,  but now it's time to go back to the beginning...one of my favorite appetizers.  Bruschetta.  YUM!

For the crostini:

Hearty Italian bread

1/4 olive oil

3 garlic cloves

Cut the bread into medium-thin slices. Heat the olive oil. Don't heat too hot, because you don't want to burn the garlic. Once heated, remove from heat and crush three cloves into the oil. Using a baster or kitchen paint brush, brush both sides of the bread with the garlic oil. Put bread under broiler and toast it on both sides. Watch it carefully or you'll burn it like I always do! I frequently buy extra bread because I always get so distracted that I'm famous for ruining the first batch!

For the mix:

4-5 Roma tomatoes

1-2 Tblsp finely diced red onion

1 garlic clove

1/3 to 1/2 cups chopped fresh basil

1/3 to 1/2 cups balsamic vinegrette dressing

Mozzarella cheese

Seed and dice the Romas.  I usually cut them lengthwise and then scrape the seeds out with my fingers, it's easier that way and I love getting my hands messy!  Once you've removed the seeds, dice them into small pieces.  Add the finely diced red onion, 1 clove crushed garlic, chopped basil, and the vinnegrette.  I make my vinegrette with red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, honey, and oil, but you can use a store bought version that you like. 

Put the tomato mixture on the bread.  I usually use a fork so I don't get too much of the dressing with the mixture so the bread won't get soggy.  Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top and place under broiler and cook until the cheese is bubbly.  Watch it closely so it doesn't burn.

Salute!

Tiramisu - the Italian way!

Last night we held another Italian Feast for a group of work friends. When I brought out the tiramisu for dessert, one of them said it was so good we should have started with it!  So, as I blog the entire feast over the next couple weeks, I thought I'd take his advice and start with the dessert!

There are about as many variations of Tiramisu as there are piercings and tattoos in most high schools and I think I've sampled just about every one of them, not all of them good!  My idea of a good tiramisu is to have a creamy layer that is not too light and airy like whipped cream, and that the alcohol flavors are subtle and not overwhelming.

What follows here is the culmination of my 3 year journey to create the best tiramisu ever, one that IF I were Italian, my Italian grandmother would be proud of!

This recipe fills a meatloaf pan.  If you want a smaller portion, you can cut it in half.

Step 1 - Make the Zabaglione

Ingredients:
10 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup Sweet Marsala wine

Add the sugar to the egg yolks and whisk together.  First I have to digress and talk about quality of ingredients.  I bought some farm eggs from the lady I bought the raw milk from, and I couldn't believe the difference in richness of the yolk and clarity of the whites.  Check out these pictures!  You can see ths difference of color and the icky white yuk clinging to the store bought egg.

Over medium heat stir and add the marsala wine. Stir constantly or it will get clumpy. It takes 10 to 15 minutes, but eventually it will come together into a firm custard like mixture. Once firm, put in bowl and put in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

Step 2. - Make the creamy layer

Ingredients:
1 pint whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla
1 tablespoon sugar
2 pints or approx 32 oz of high quality mascarpone

Whip the whipping cream, vanilla, and sugar until firm peaks form.  In a separate bowl, mix the mascarpone with the zabaglione.  Once mixed, fold in the whipping cream. Cover and let sit in the refriderator for at least 1 hour.

The whipped cream

Adding the zabaglione to the mascarpone

This is the blended zabaglione and mascarpone

  Fold in the whipped cream

Step 3 - assemble

Ingredients:
lady fingers
strong brewed coffee
3 shots of espresso
1/4 sugar
1/2 cup Godiva liquer
Ground chocolate (I use Ghiradelli ground chocolate, but you can use a chocolate bar and a cheese grater too.)

Brew the coffee, strong,  I usually use about 3/4 of a pot.  Add the espresso, sugar, and the Godiva liquer.  This is the liquid that the lady fingers get dunked in.  When dunking them you do it quick on both sides.  If they soak up too much they will fall apart.  If they don't soak up enough, you lose flavor. It's a fine art.

When I assemble I layer them upside down.  I line my pan with plastic wrap and then assemble upside down so that I can turn it out onto a platter and garnish with shaved chocolate.  So first I put in the creamy layer, then some ground chocolate, then the lady fingers.

Salute!
Julia