Tiramisu

Look at that! Now this is a really beautiful desert. Oh, do I love Tiramisu. Look at those gorgeous layers, just perfect. The espresso is just soaked in enough to leave that beautiful centre of sponge finger in the middle. This recipe has come from Stephanie Alexander, The cook's companion, with just a little tweaking from me. The recipe states to allow it to sit in the refrigerator for at least two hours, but I leave mine in overnight. It just gets better the next day. All those flavours just seem to enhance and meld together for maxium enjoyment. Gotta love it and you just have to try it. Another classic recipe.

• 6 eggs separated
• 2 tablespoons of castor sugar (or more if you have a sweet tooth, which I do)
• 500 g mascarpone
• 1/4 cup of cherry brandy
• 1 cup of espresso cooled (now this is the recipe, but I find that you need at least 400 ml to get the job done)
• 24 sponge finger biscuits
• good quality dark chocolate for grating over the top

Select a 2 litre rectangular dish that is at least 8 cm deep. Beat egg yolks with sugar until thick and pale, then mix with the mascarpone. Whip egg whites to stiff peaks and fold into mascarpone mixture. Combine cherry brandy and espresso and dip sponge fingers into liquid. Layer the biscuits in the dish then the mascarpone mixture, then another layer of dipped biscuits finishing with another layer of mascarpone mixture. I used a deeper dish and made three layers. Grate chocolate over the top using a micro plane. Refrigerate for at least two hours or overnight.

That's it, simple.

Enjoy! I do on a regular basis ;)

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Well it is that time of year again. Santa is getting ready to fill his sleigh with all those presents for little children and big children alike.

I am preparing for a gastronomic feast for just Chopper, Peanut and Myself.

With B and M away in Brisvegas with their father and J and A with their mother for Christmas day this year. This will be the first Christmas in a long time I won't have a bunch of people over munching out all day. The pressure is off. It's kinda nice actually. Chopper and I can have quite a lavish little gourmet feast on our own without food for the masses.

Croissants for brekky with bacon and eggs.

I have two lobsters in the freezer ready to be grilled in their shells on the BBQ

and I am making a nice Bearnaise sauce to top them off. Caesar salad to go with, Choppers favourite. Peanut has been munching out on home made rum balls for the past two days.

I have 2 dozen NZ oysters so we can have those done in a classic Kilpatrick.

Plum pudding of course with vanilla custard and thick double cream.

Otherwise some lovely cherries, mangoes and a gorgeous piece of seedless watermelon.

I think that makes for a great Christmas day feast just the two of us, adults. Not completely traditional, but quite satisfying none the less.

We will definately feel the absence of the majority of our blended family this Christmas, but they will be enjoying themselves with the X Husband and the X Wife and I hope they have an amazing day all four of the little midgets. We will have a second Christmas day when they are all home on the 1st of January.

I hope you all have had a wonderful year and have a safe time during this crazy Christmas and New Years period. Thank you all so much for your support with my Food Blog which is a little over a year old now.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

XoxoxoX

Love Squishy

Blueberry Arancini with Caramelized Balsamic and Vanilla Icecream

As promised. What to do with that leftover Blueberry Risotto. Place in the fridge and allow to go really cold. I would recommend overnight. The risotto will go very firm, so you can shape it into golf ball sized balls. The rest is easy.
All you have to do is flour them, roll them in beaten eggs

and then cover them with bread crumbs.
Allow them to rest in the fridge for at least half an hour.
Then fry to golden perfection in hot canola oil.

Serve immediately with this gorgeous gem Chopper picked up for me at the Del Santos deli in Ayr, caramelized balsamic vinegar and add a really big scoop of good quality vanilla ice cream.

Gorgeous just gorgeous, I tell you.

This is another sweet version of an Italian savoury classic people. Yummo!

Blueberry Risotto with Mascarpone

There are heaps of Blueberries out at the moment and what better way to use them as in a risotto for a twist on the norm. Really this is just a posh way to present rice pudding. I love risotto and Chopper loves Blueberries so this covers both of them. It is really simple to make and it worked out. I was a bit nervous to start with and was really thrown with how much milk I had to use, but it is worth it. I saw a chocolate risotto the other day on a TV show and I thought why not use Blueberries for a real difference. The pictures above really don't do justice to the gorgeous purple that this risotto is. Funky colour really. Try it, it is creamy and luscious. The whole Blueberries that you put in at the end just burst in your mouth and makes for a wonderful contrast of texture. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Chopper loved it!!!!!! Serves 4

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups Arborio Rice

A big knob of Butter

250 grams of Blueberries

6 Cups of Milk

2/3 cup of Castor Sugar

Pinch of Salt Flakes

1 teaspoon of Vanilla Bean Paste

Mascarpone to Serve

Warm milk in a seperate saucepan and but not boiling. Add your knob of butter to the frypan and allow to melt and bubble on a medium heat. Pour in your rice and cook for a minute or so in the butter. Then add half your blueberries into the pan. As with a usual risotto, add your liquid one ladle at a time until each ladle is absorbed, in this case, it's not stock, it's your warm milk. I added the sugar, vanilla bean paste and a pinch of salt about half way through the process. Just continue adding your milk until all six cups are absorbed. Your rice should be aldente at this stage. Then stir through the remainder of the Blueberries. Add a lovely big dollop of Mascarpone to cut through the sweetness upon serving this sweet delight and your done. Enjoy :)

But wait there's more, check out the next post. What to do if it serves 4 and you only eat enough for 2...................................................?