• About
  • Blog Journal Index
  • Recipes
  • The Team

10 Legs in the Kitchen

~ Food. Dogs. Life!

10 Legs in the Kitchen

Tag Archives: dessert

Even the best laid plans…

08 Saturday Nov 2014

Posted by Stacey Bender in family gatherings, From the journals, the kitchen

≈ 22 Comments

Tags

cooking, dessert, tiramisu

hat top

Cook what you know.

A good motto to live by when entertaining; one I try to uphold.  This is especially true for me when it comes to dessert.  A course often overlooked as I scramble to prepare all of the others.  Simple is good!  Something in my repertoire and something that requires little to no baking is even better.  For me, that could mean tiramisu.  My recipe for tiramisu dates back to 1998 from my first journal, yet I was making it before I started documenting my kitchen, uh-ventures.  It was my thing.  I could always woo people with my tiramisu; my rendition was golden (and it was the 90’s after all, where it even stole a few lines in “Sleepless in Seattle”).journal cover Journal #1

Okay, so my rendition of Buongusto’s tiramisu was golden.  I came to acquire their rendition specifically from watching (on many occasions) the pastry chef at the long-time defunct, Buongusto Ristorante on Queen Anne, make this dessert for dinner service.  It was often late at night, after hours (because it needed to be prepared a day in advance).  I would watch him work his magic while he told me about the ghosts that haunted the kitchen of the old house in which the restaurant resided… I watched, I learned, I repeated (on a scale more compatible to our small Queen Anne Hill duplex kitchen).  It became my go-to birthday (or special occasion) cake.  I hadn’t made it in years.journal open The entry

Facing the quickly approaching birthday affair we were hosting at our house for my Mother, it seemed appropriate to make this as a birthday cake.  After all, spaghetti and meatballs had been her dinner request and tiramisu seemed like the right thing to make.

I made a very bad birthday cake.

I don’t know that I should apologize about it, because I was not actually making a cake.  As I said, I was making tiramisu.  For my Mom’s birthday (she just turned…well, we were forewarned not to say which birthday it was).

Bad birthday cake nonetheless.

I am blaming it on the eggs.  I cracked open the 7 perfectly large, brown eggs slated for this effort, but was rewarded with a meager bit of yolk in each of them.  I had virtually 1/2 the amount of yolk that I should have had.  However, this did not stop me from proceeding, diligently following each bit of scribble in my dog-eared and tattered journal.

Rather than a thickened, creamy cloud that should have spread loosely over the top of each layer of ladyfingers, I had what “spread” with the consistency of buttermilk.  I added another 8oz of mascarpone, along with two more egg yolks, (happily for them, the whites were cooked for Buddy and Ginger) and I took my hand blender to it again.  Ironically, it was even thinner than what I had before, but it was midnight and I had to move on.

Next, I slopped down a layer of this wet cream, topped it with the first layer of fingers, and poured, as evenly as I could, more of the cream over top.  It disappeared into the pores of the fingers but I topped it with the next layer of fingers nonetheless.  Now it was time for a little, big chill, overnight, in the fridge.  I learned to always make this a day ahead.  Perhaps the new day would show a fluffier reward?

The new day did not reward me with fluff.  Instead, the big chill looked like a big shake.  I should clarify this; it was like the aftermath of a BIG shake, like the kind from a big dog that was left to do their business out in the rain.  There was a puddle of cream slopping out the edges causing a very unsightly mess, and a completely exposed, un-topped layer of cake.  I mopped it up from the sides with a paper towel.  Cake sitting on the counter, I stood over it, deliberating on what would be my next move.  Mom was hanging about the kitchen now and I tried to hide the misery under a wrap of foil until I could formulate a good plan.  Family would be arriving shortly and I was still up to my elbows in mess.  Messy kitchen, messy clothes, messy hair.  Luckily, in my frustration at the state of the cream the previous night, I did not use it all, deciding to wait on topping the last layer until the next day.  Instead, I held it in it’s glass container overnight to see if it would thicken.  It did not.

I had one more 8oz tub of mascarpone and a fresh batch of eggs (because I anticipated making a fix and asked Tom to pick some up at the store).  What I did not have was time, to start over.  Into the Blendtec my extra batter went, along with two more egg yolks.  Yup, you guessed it, the result was thinner yet again.  I thought that surely, the egg yolks plus high Blendtec velocity would produce the equivalent texture of heavy whipped cream.  I was wrong.

So in desperation, I took that (newly purchased) last tub of mascarpone and emptied all but a few spoonfuls into the Blendtec container after transferring the batter back to it’s glass dish.  I then added a modest amount of cream batter back in with the mascarpone, say 3/4 cup.  Whiz, whiz, whiz…but not enough in the container to blend it well so I dug in with a rubber spatula and beat it around a little until it was finally, a lovely, little thick bit of mascarpone cream.  Yes, key word here is little (as in just enough to do the trick, but modest enough to leave exposed ladyfingers).  I spread it over top anyways and then dusted it with carob power to cover the inadequate amount of cream.  Not too shabby.  Not sexy, but not shabby indeed.  A few clever birthday candles, a dimly lit room, a festive table filled with balloons, flowers and dinner aftermath…we had a birthday-worthy cake.  It didn’t hurt that my sister-in-law had also donned the table with a double-tiered plate of Italian dolce (cannoli, amaretto cookies and biscotti).  Added a few perfectly-frothed cups of espresso and we were in business.

Sometimes, you can cook what you know, but you find you need to get reacquainted once more.  Sometimes even the best-laid plans require a change of plan and often times, they work out just fine, nonetheless.

tiramisu (candles edited)
A little rough but…still festive (and tasty).

Tiramisu

I have eaten many versions of tiramisu, some dense and thick, others light and fluffy.  There can be espresso or not, booze or not, but there really should be both.  It is important to use high-quality ingredients (as it always is), but with this dish even more-so due to the minimal flavors that are brought together to sing.  A good, thick espresso will provide a deep flavor and a gentle “pick me up”.  For the booze, a nice brandy is what I prefer, mixed with a small amount of Kahlúa and Meyer rum.  Some people use only rum or (gasp), no booze at all.  The booze is not meant to overwhelm the flavor but to add a nice sweetness and rich complexity that without would be apparent if missing.  I prefer the fluffy over the dense, indicating to me, that it has been delicately constructed with fresh eggs, whites whipped separate from the yolk and not replaced by a commercially convenient concoction.  The ladyfingers should be dipped quickly, not soaked, in the espresso and booze mixture so as to keep them from becoming soggy.  Most importantly, as mentioned earlier, it needs time to chill, preferably overnight, to allow the flavors to connect and the cream to firm.  The result should be a perfectly balanced flavor of coffee and cream with chocolate and spice.  The texture should be soft and fluffy, leaving your palette cleansed and your stomach less than over-indulged.

INGREDIENTS

5 egg yolks
1/2 cup Turbino sugar
8 oz Mascarpone
7 egg whites

1 cup espresso
1/8 cup Brandy, plus a drizzle for the cream mixture
2 TB Kahlúa
1/4 cup Meyer rum
Several grates of fresh nutmeg (or about 1/8 tsp grated)
Cocoa or carob powder

2 packages of ladyfingers

PREPARE

In a large bowl, whip together the yolks and sugar with a mixer until they are pale yellow.  Pour in a few drips of brandy and add the mascarpone.  Mix until blended.

In a separate bowl, mix the egg whites until stiff peaks form.

Pour the egg whites mixture into the cream and stir to blend.  It should be stiff enough to thickly coat the back of a spoon.

In another bowl, combine the espresso and the booze.  Set out a large platter with shallow sides or a sheet pan.  Quickly dunk the ladyfingers into the espresso mix, one side at a time.  Lay each one down on the platter or pan, forming rows until you have a single layer.

Top with half of the cream, spreading it evenly over the first layer.  Sprinkle with carob or cocoa powder then repeat the process again with another layer.

Carefully cover, trying not to let the cover touch the surface of the cream (rigid aluminum foil works well).  Chill for at least 8 hours.  It is best to make 12-24 hours in advance.

If it is an occasion cake, I make it directly on the platter since it will not transfer well other than to individual plates when serving.  Candles look festive and espresso served with is a must (at least for me).

Godere!

hat fullThe traveling birthday hat!

When I turned 40, I had a small outdoor party and my brother, Scott, gave me this hat.  Under (slight) protest, I wore it that night and then passed the torch to the next family member up on the birthday docket.  It became a tradition, passing the hat from one to the next for their birthdays.  I even took it on the plane to Hawai‘i one year and made Tom wear it for most of the flight on his birthday (he wasn’t under protest, the photos show him with a glass of Champagne and guava in his hand).  There is a little pocket on the inside of the hat and I had grandiose plans of each person leaving a picture of themselves wearing the hat, and tucking it into the pocket before sending it down the line.  Now that it is x years (I’m not talking either) later, I wish that we had done that; it would have been lovely to see them all now.  My Mom, under more than slight protest, did wear the hat too.  She looked marvelous.  “No pictures, please“.

Mirror, Mirror

11 Sunday May 2014

Posted by Stacey Bender in family gatherings, the kitchen

≈ 36 Comments

Tags

dessert, family, food, Goat cheese cheesecake, lemon curd, Mother's Day, recipes, strawberries

20140511-093523.jpg

I sometimes feel like a broken mould. A fish that feels out of the water. A unique character that is looking to be told that she is okay, or perhaps, okay is what she is? Life can take us in many directions; one way may not necessarily be better than the next, and that way, not necessarily worse than the last. Life’s paths are often twisted and sometimes it is hard to steer them straight. Many years ago, I seemed to have lost touch with a piece of my family, one that I never really knew all that well since our connection was lost through the early death of my natural mother. Sadly, despite my adopted mom’s attempts at keeping us all in contact (she was the one who raised Scott and I from a very young age and is the only mother we ever really knew). As kids we traveled every summer to California to visit them, until we didn’t. Another path.

I have always thought it would be fun to have a twin, an identical twin like my mother had, but I would have settled for a sister. I have two brothers who, don’t get me wrong, I love very much; one slightly older, one younger, and all of us quite different from one another, but then in some ways, not too much. Through the years I always wondered if my cousin Julie, daughter of my mother’s twin sister, would be like me? I heard about her on-and-off through the years and although we had similarities, we didn’t seem to be the same.

Yet, I met a version of myself last week. A version that felt familiar, yet one I didn’t know. She was different enough, yet strangely quite the same. Her hair was longer, a bit lighter (perhaps because this version lives in the sun), her jawbone more pronounced, and without that bump in my nose (Tom was sure she’d have it too!). A version that was possibly more articulate and perky, more humble and less vain. This version, was my cousin Julie. I had only seen her once since childhood. She was only one and a half years older, but when you are under the double-digits in age, that year and a half is much grander than it is when the decades begin to multiply.

20140511-093625.jpgCousin Julie on the left.

So here we were this past weekend, talking and carrying-on about family, memories and life. Looking at her I realized that time goes by fast and we better take care not to let another 30 years slip by! Generously, she brought me a handmade year book that my natural mother had made, filled with black and white pictures and handwritten captions that I had never seen. When I opened the brown, rabbit-eared craft-paper pages, I thought I was looking at photographs of my young self, but realized they were photographs of our twin mothers.

Julie also brought me a silver hand mirror that our mothers were each given for their sixteenth birthday. I picked it up in my hand and felt the weight of the silver, saw the tarnish and crazing of age and understood the irony it implied. We are only versions of ourselves and in life, nothing is ever just the same, but sometimes objects are closer than they appear.

20140511-093739.jpg

Lemon (goat) cheese cake
Makes 5 mini and 1 small cake (or would likely make 8 mini cakes or 4 small cakes)

The name of this cake might immediately turn my brother, Scott, away from this blog page. Not because he wouldn’t be interested in letting me finish my thought, but because he saw the title and felt he need not read more. I hope he does (read more that is).

Dinner, the night that Julie and her charming (and unknowingly witty) husband, Joe came for dinner (a mere three hour plane ride and 30 years later); my brother Scott also joined. My week at work, well, let’s just say it was challenged. My best laid plans had not been laid. I came up with a menu based on, well, unlike me, not much other than… just because. I didn’t know what Julie and Joe liked, or didn’t like (something I pride myself on knowing of my dinner guests).

Julie called me the night before our dinner. Having gotten only the polite response that “they were easy and ate anything” via email to my inquiry of their culinary discerning, I felt compelled to ask, “really, what don’t you eat”?

Mistake? No. Challenge? Maybe. I had just the night before braised a pork belly, in red wine and rhubarb for our first course. “We are easy” she replied. “Oh, well, there is just one thing”, she said, “if you must ask, I don’t like pork”.

Okay, so I could adapt. I bought her fresh scallops to replace the pork. The other diners would now get both because I decided they go well with pork belly too. I mentioned this casually as I was prepping our plates and Scott chimed in, proudly describing my knack for choreographing the food based on individual preferences; how his two dislikes are cilantro and goat cheese and if serving either, I always provide him a version without. Yes, that was true. I began feeling guilty because, well, for obvious reasons, if you remember the title of this cheesecake. I did have a back-up carton of ice cream ready to step in, but in the end, he ate every bite without mention. I’ll let him chime in again and tell us if he noticed?

Next visit, no pork for Julie, no salmon for Joe (especially not rare). There will be cosmopolitans (and/or Italian cocktails with Prosecco); most importantly, Scott, I promise, no goat cheese for you (even if you admit to having liked the dessert).

INGREDIENTS

8 oz chèvre (goat cheese)
1/3 cup natural turbinado sugar
Juice of 1/2 small lemon plus zest
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 TB whole wheat pastry flour
4 eggs separated

Ramekins wiped with butter on the inside and dusted with turbinado sugar.

Fresh strawberries and lemon curd for garnishing (I use purchased “Thursday Cottage” lemon curd).

COOK

In a large bowl. Using a hand mixer, combine the chèvre with the sugar, lemon/zest, vanilla and flour. Add the egg yolks, one at a time and beat well.

In another bowl (smaller), beat the egg whites until stiff. Add these to the yolk mix and stir to combine.

Pour the mixture into each of the prepared ramekins. I like using the mini ramekins but found that I was either short of them or long on batter. It doesn’t really matter what size you use as long as you can cook them in a pan filled partly up of water. Like I mention in the title, this particular batch made up 5 “mini” and 1 “small” ramekin.

Set the ramekins in a pan of water filled 1/3 (-ish) way up the ramekin. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30-45 minutes or until cooked through so a toothpick comes out clean (you know that ‘ol trick) and slightly golden on top.

Let them cool in the water bath. Remove from the water and set the ramekins aside until ready to serve (keep refrigerated if made a day in advance).

SERVE

Carefully run a butter knife around the edge of each ramekin and turn them out onto individual plates. Top with a thin layer of lemon curd and garnish with fresh strawberries (as artsy or bohemian as you see fit).

Happy Mother’s Day, Mom!

and…

Happy Mother’s Day to Linda, Lois, Talita, Doris, Cousin Julie (Barb & Bev), Irma, Christine, Laura and Beth

20140511-100851.jpgPictured is the “small” sized ramekin. I think the “mini” is a better individual portion but I only require a “little” dessert.

20140511-104715.jpgTreasures.

More treasures…

20140511-192336.jpgLucky me, she signed my card

20140511-192508.jpgand house of cards as sun screen.

47.535753-122.054806

Follow Blog via Email

Care to join us in our food and life adventures? Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 184 other subscribers

Archives

  • October 2021
  • August 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • August 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • November 2017
  • August 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013

Recent Posts

  • Squash Blossoms and Dad
  • Pork (for Dad), Polenta (for Linda) & the Apple Doesn’t Fall Far From the Tree
  • Snow Day Chili, an Update
  • A Man with a Can and a Plan – Pig in a Pinwheel
  • Fireworks, Firetrucks, Pancakes and the Fourth!

Recent Comments

Jamie Bryan on A simple past: lots of garlic,…
Maria on One fish, red fish, fresh fish…
The Healthy Epicurea… on Squash Blossoms and Dad
Lois Bender-Casto on Squash Blossoms and Dad
Linda Brown on Squash Blossoms and Dad

Archives

  • October 2021
  • August 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • August 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • November 2017
  • August 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013

Categories

  • at the holidays
  • beach mode
  • Beverages
  • Breakfast/Brunch
  • cooking basics
  • Eating Out
  • family gatherings
  • From the journals
  • Ginger + Buddy
  • Ginger + Winston (and Buddy too)
  • Health
  • holidays
  • Reviews
  • the kitchen
  • Uncategorized

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

© 2013–2023 Stacey Bender. All rights reserved.

Powered by WordPress.com.

 

Loading Comments...