Tiramisu

Approx. 500 g / 18 oz / 1 lb mascarpone cheese

6 eggs

2 Tbsp sugar

Approx. 1.5 cups strong coffee

5 Tbsp coffee liqueur

2 Tbsp Rum extract

An ounce or two of dark chocolate

A package of savoiardi/ladyfinger biscuits

A few Tbsps of unsweetened cocoa powder

Beat 6 eggs in stand mixer with whisk attachment.

Add 2 Tbsp sugar.

Add mascarpone cheese and beat some more.

Add 1 Tbsp coffee.

Add 1 Tbsp coffee liqueur.

Set aside bowl of flavoured cream.

In a small bowl, mix 1.5 cup of coffee with 4 Tbsp coffee liqueur and 2 Tbsp rum extract.

Dip the lady finger biscuits in the coffee mixture and layer them on the bottom of your container. If your container is small, you may have to break a biscuit into smaller pieces. Then add a layer of cream on top of the biscuits. Then sift cocoa powder on top of the cream. Repeat these steps twice more so that you have three layers of each substance (or as many as is suitable for your container), ending with a layer of cocoa. 

Fridge overnight or longer. When removing from fridge, grate dark chocolate over the top of each dish. 

REFERENCES:

How to make the perfect tiramisu | Italian food and drink | The Guardian

COMMENT:

I agree with adding Kahlua to the coffee (Tia Maria is a bit too sweet), although I think Toussaint is the best coffee liqueur all round.

For the cream I use 6 whole eggs to 2 cook's spoons of sugar; when that's beaten to a peaky consistency, I beat in 500g of mascarpone as lightly as possible after adding a slosh of Amaretto.

Over time I have tried all sorts of biscuit alternatives without marked success, so my failsafe is to use two layers of shop-bought flan sponge cases (sponge-cream-sponge-cream). These are firmer than homemade sponge and are very forgiving of the drizzled boozy coffee, plus they can be cut to fit the dish.

As for chocolate, pure cocoa powder sprinkled on each layer of sponge (after the coffee) then on the top layer of cream.

Nobody - and I mean NOBODY - has ever been anything other than complimentary after tasting my version.

Quick Cole Slaw

3 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp mayo

1 tsp mustard

l Tbsp cider vinegar

2 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt 

blk pepper

14oz cole slaw mix bag heb

Scottish rolls

From my English friend Ian. 

800g strong white flour (I use 400g of AP and 400g of Bread flour, King Arthur)

50g oil (I use canola or olive)

9g instant yeast 

500ml warm water 

1 tbsp sugar (approx 17g)

11g of salt

Semolina powder (for dusting). You can also just use regular flour or sesame seeds.

Dissolve the sugar into your warm water, then add your yeast and allow to sit for 5 minutes to activate. Mix in the oil.

While waiting for the yeast, mix the flour and salt together.

Mix by hand or with a stand mixer and dough hook. Add liquids to your flour in 3 stages, allowing time for the liquid to be absorbed each time. Once fully incorporated, knead for 10 minutes then allow to rise for 1 hour, or until doubled in size. You can also let the mixer do most of the kneading then hand knead for a couple of minutes afterwards. You may need to adjust the amount of flour during the stand mixer phase, but the dough should be quite soft.

You can get 12 normal sized rolls out of this amount of dough, but if you wanted bigger rolls you could do 10 or 8 instead. Use a scale to get same sized portion of dough; they should be around 112g (roughly) for 12 equal sized rolls. Roll into balls and lay out on a baking tray, on top of baking parchment.

Allow to rise for about an hour, then dust the tops generously with semolina powder (this gives them that distinctive texture of morning rolls). Heat your oven as hot as it'll go (mine is set to 475F). Cook the rolls on the top shelf for around 10 to 12 minutes, or longer if you like darker tops. You may need to rotate the baking tray halfway through for even baking.

Cole slaw

 

• Notes:

This was not my favourite. I'd used less mayo and perhaps oil and vinegar instead. Also less sugar.  It made more dressing than was needed for the amount of veg. I did triple the recipe cause it was for a potluck, maybe that affected it. I tend to prefer a lighter-dressed, less creamy coleslaw - something more sour and crunchy. That said, I have eaten a lot of this. It's still cole slaw. 

• FROM: 
• Southern Style Coleslaw (barefeetinthekitchen.com)

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon onion powder or 1 tablespoon finely grated onion
• 2 teaspoons celery seeds
• 1 16 ounce bag of coleslaw mix plain cabbage or tri-color deli style
• 
  
• In a large bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar, sugar, salt, onion powder, and celery seeds. Add the shredded cabbage and toss until well coated. Refrigerate for an hour before serving and up to 2 days. Toss again right before serving. Enjoy!
• 
  
• Note: This coleslaw can be made in advance. However, it will release more liquid the longer it is stored in the refrigerator. You’ll want to drain off some of the excess liquid prior to tossing again and serving.
• • 
    
  • 
    

Granny Ada's Rolls

 Granny Ada's Rolls

Granny Ada worked a tobacco farm with her husband in East Texas in the 1900s. She fed her husband and the farm hands three times a day, and filled tables with food when family visited. She made these rolls at least once a day. When asked by her granddaughter to provide a recipe, she wrote what's on these index cards. 

I tried to recreate them for a family Easter brunch, with mixed success. The dough wasn't as tender as I'd have liked. Perhaps I should have used more butter! I did notice after baking that I only used half of what was called for. Next time I'm also going to make a single batch, not the gigantic 1.4kg of flour I made for the big brunch (it was more than needed - I froze 1/4 of the dough and we brough home extra rolls). 

Ada's Rolls 

2 cups lukewarm water

1/2 c sugar

1.5 tsp salt

1/2 cup shortening

2 packages yeast

5-6 c flour (rise 1.5 hours each time)

Add enough flour to make medium batter. Beat well with mixer, after adding yeast to a little flour before adding to liquids. After beating, continue adding flour until can be handled. Let rise until double in size, then make into rolls. Let rise and bake. 

Hot Rolls

Mix l tsp sugar with 1/2 c water. Add 2 packages yeast and let stand for 10 mins. Warm 1 cup milk. Add l/2 cup sugar, 1 tsp salt, and 4 Tbsp butter. Mix well, then add yeast, then 3-4 cups flour (enough to make a thin batter). Beat well with a mixer. Then add enough flour to make a really stiff dough. Knead well. Cover and let stand until double in size. Then knead down and roll out into rolls. Place in greased pan. Rise again. Bake at 350

MY ATTEMPT ON 3/29 (for Easter Sunday lunch)

I've updated these: using quick, bread-machine yeast which doesn't have to be dissolved in water ahead of time, using a microwave, using bread flour which I believe wasn't widely available in the mid-1900s and all-purpose.  I also baked mine at 400. I wasn't getting enough action at 350 - it looked 1ike they were just drying out. I used sour milk cause I had a bunch lying around. So there are lots of ways I could try to make these more traditional. 

Put 1.5 c sour milk and 4 tbsp salted butter (original recipe calls for 8 Tbsp) in Pyrex container.

Microwave for 2 mins til 120-130F (both were cold from fridge).

Pour liquids into bowl for stand mixer. Add 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 cup sugar.

Use whisk attachment and mix for a bit.

Add 4 1/2 tsp bread machine yeast and keep mixing. 

Add 3 cup bread flour and mix on high for a bit.

Switch to dough hook

Add 2.5 cup all purpose flour, gradually

Stir on 2 until firm

Knead on counter a bit.

Oil, cover, and let rise for about an hour, til double in size. Punch down, form into balls, and place close together on a oiled, high-sided pan. Let rise again, until puffy. Bake at 400 for 20-25 mins. 

2nd attempt

(125g flour = 1 cup - this is a 4x recipe for a crowd)

Mix 1000ml milk and water and 1 stick salted butter (original called for twice this)

Microwave for 3-4 minsunti 120-130F

Pour into stand-up mixer bowl. Add 9 Tbsp yeast and 1 cup sugar.

Mix with whisk attachment.

Add 1400g flour and 1 tsp salt gradually, switching to dough hook when it gets stiff

Rise in fridge overnight.

In morning, warm up dough on counter.

Notes:

-They were nice but not every batch rose spectacularly and they weren't super tender. 

-Need more salt (even with salted butter). 

-Don't rise overnight to see if they're fluffier.

-Try AP flour, or mix of bread and AP. 

-More butter (famous last words)