Tiramisu

My all time favorite Italian dessert. I always thought this particular dessert was extremely difficult to make. But, I was wrong. One day I was watching this show on TV called Kitchen Boss and the host of this show who is a renowned pastry Chef was showing how to make Tiramisu. It looked so simple and easy that I had to give it a try.

Last month, I had organized a party for about 30 people where I cooked everything at home right from starters to dessert. I decided to make this particular dessert for the first then. It was a big challenge for me because, I never made it before and I decided to try it out for the first time and that too make 2 trays of the dessert. But, the end result was phenomenal. I was extremely happy and both the trays were swiped clean. Everyone simply enjoyed this dessert, more so because I put a lot of booze in it :) I have used Buddy's recipe and added a little of my own personal touch to it.

Preparation Time : 1 hour +

Serves : 12 - 15

Makes : One (9x13) tray

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups american strong coffee / espresso

11/4 cup sugar

6 tbsp plus 1 tbsp coffee liqueur (Kahlua)

4 extra large egg yolks

1 pound marscarpone cheese

2 tbsp sweet marsala

1 cup heavy cream

48 store bought saviordari biscuits

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 slab of milk chocolate

Method:

• Put the espresso / american coffee, 3/4 cup of the sugar, and 1/4 cup of the coffee liqueur into a heavy saucepan, and bring to a simmer over medium high heat. Whisk until the sugar dissolves, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let the syrup cool.
• Put the yolks, marscapone, marsala, remaining 1/2 cup sugar, and remaining 1 tbsp of coffee liqueur in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment and whip on medium speed until light and airy, approximately 7 minutes. You can also do this using a hand mixer. Transfer the mixture to another bowl and clean and dry the stand mixer bowl and the whip attachment, returning them both to the mixer.
• Put the cream in the bowl of the stand mixer and whip until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the cream mixture into the marsala mixture.
• First spread some cream mixture at the bottom of the 13 inch x 9 inch pan.
• Then one by one, dip the saviordari biscuits in the espresso syrup / american coffee syrup and arrange a layer in a the bottom of a 13-inch x 9-inch pan. Spoon a layer of cream over biscuits. Sprinkle some cocoa powder over top of cream. Dip and arrange another layer of biscuits over the cream, with the second layer perpendicular to the first. Spoon the remaining cream over the top.
• Dust the tiramisu with cocoa powder. Finally, grate some milk chocolate all over the cocoa powder. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or upto 2 days.
• To serve, use a kitchen spoon to scoop out portions into small bowls or glass dishes.

Mango and Pepper Salad

It is summer season in India and it is time for my favorite fruit which is "Mangoes". In Canada, we don't really get nice mangoes but I found the Ataulfo mangoes pretty good for this recipe. This is a Mexican variety and I found this particular variety of mangoes simply perfect for this recipe. But, you could really use any ripe mango. This recipe was passed down to me by a close friend of mine and I really liked it and hence decided to share it with you all.

Preparation Time : 15 minutes

Serves: 3- 4

Ingredients:

1 medium yellow bell pepper

1 medium red bell pepper

2 medium sized mangoes

3 small shallots sliced or you could use 1/2 red onion

3 tbsp of Jufran hot banana sauce (easily available in No frills)

2 tbsp of roasted salted peanuts chopped

1 green chilli chopped

a few coriander leaves finely chopped

Method:

• First cut the peppers lengthwise into thin strips and after you have finished cutting them, try to pat them dry using a kitchen towel. Make sure you remove all the excess water from the peppers.
• Once you have done that, combine the rest of the ingredients with the peppers and garnish with some peanuts on top.
• Serve it chilled.