What Are You Having For Dinner

[SoJer]

OK, so.. Had some Awesome 'left over' (from last week, that we didn't grill, then..) Olive Oil / Rosemary / Garlic'd Lamb chops..

(..and No, we don't do 'fancy-pants restaurant portions', I just forgot to snap the pic before chowing 90% of it down, Derp..

..But that's fine, since that isn't really the 'salient point', here.. Which is, that, as I do every year for our Anniversary, made from-scratch Tiramisu..

(huh - wonder what 'Year they turned' last week? And yeah, the 'LED-clock 14' wasn't all that 'elegant' a topper, but.. When I black-lit-out the Kitchen and presented it wearing nothing more than a red plastic Devo hat and shiny-black vinyl apron - well, Then She was impressed! jk, but..

..In years past, I took a bit more 'care' with the deco, ie:

..She Liked it, hey Mikey!

..But even All That isn't really my 'Point', here.. (cuz, who really Cares.. It's all to share the following: ....

 

[SoJer]

Magical Scratch-Made 'Amarettomisu', by jd:

(hey, Somebody's gotta give Some 'photo competition' to Sir Hashbrown.. OK...

Ingreds:

Coffee 'Dip':
(Note: this is an absolute Min for a small-batch (ie: 9" x 9") Find it helpful to make at Least 1.5x these quantities (for the Dip, at least) and definitely Double them (all Ingreds) for a 13" x 9", or a 'triple layer' cake...)

1/2 cup (120 ml) brewed Espresso or very strong coffee ('Instant' is helpful for this / makes tailoring the strength easy)
1/8 cup (~30 ml) sweet Marsala wine...
1/8 cup (~50 ml 'mini') Disarrono Amaretto
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/8 cup granulated white / natural cane sugar

Filling:
3 large egg yolks (but not Too large.. Too much yolk > mascarpone ratio = sweet Elmers glue
1/8 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar, divided
8 ounces (225 grams) mascarpone cheese (about 1 1/4 cups)
3/4 cup (175 ml) heavy cream
18 to 20 Savoiardi Italian ladyfingers (the 7-ounce package, but Strongly suggest getting 3x Packages for a 9"x9" and 4x for a 13"x9" or if making a triple-layer..)
1 ounce (30 grams) Minimum bittersweet chocolate bar for grating / dusting (suggest 60% cacao or 'darker', to-taste.. and Freeze it..)

Prep:

Dip:
Combine espresso (or strong coffee), 2 tablespoons of the Marsala wine, All the Amaretto (50 ml), vanilla extract, and a tablespoon of the sugar in a wide bowl. Set aside to cool to room temp.

Ladyfingers:
Take out of package and 'pre-set' them in baking pan to see how they'll 'nest' - You may have to 'snip some' to get them to fit, length-wise. (but those snippets make great 'rewards' for any little helping-hands in the kitchen...

Filling:
Take mascarpone out of Fridge / let warm up to room temp so it is soft & 'blendable'. Vigorously whisk (Best by hand..) Egg yolks, remaining 2 tablespoons of Marsala, and 3 tablespoons of sugar in a pyrex bowl set into a saucepan of barely simmering water until tripled in volume, usually ~6 to 8 minutes.

(Note: You Can use a handheld electric mixer at slow speed, but.. a) Do not stop beating until expanded / removed from the heat and b) Do not 'overbeat' / whip, or use too-high a temp (Not 'boiling' water! That is, unless you Like sneaker-sole.

Meantime, if you have any 'helping hands', they can whip the heavy cream in a bowl until it holds stiff peaks. Add sugar / vanilla, to-taste, if you wish. Also, remind not to whip too-much / turn into butter.

Remove the bowl from heat then fold-in mascarpone cheese until just combined. If it 'lumps', simply keep stirring until it all blends in. Once the egg-mascarpone mixture has cooled a little, gently fold in half of the whipped cream into the mix, then the remaining half just until fully incorporated (the whipped cream will 'deflate' a little, but hand-whisking in such manner as to 'aerate', makes for a Really nice 'fluffy' cream, vs a heavy / paste-like one...)

Assembly:
Dip the ladyfingers very quickly into the coffee ('dip, roll, remove' in 1 sec.) and line the bottom your pan (this is where 'pre-fitting' comes in handy for expedient finishing..)

Spoon half of the mascarpone filling / spread over the ladyfingers in an even layer. Grate half of the bittersweet chocolate over filling. (Note: This is why you freeze the chocolate, so it'll 'withstand' the grating.. Grate 1 pile using the 'fine' holes, and a bit at the end using course, for the Top layer..)

Repeat above for the second (and, third, if you've Doubled the quantities for a triple-layer..) Grate more chocolate on top, and finish with 'course' choco-chunks. Cover with Foil and refrigerate at least 5-6 hours.

When ready to serve, dust with more grated chocolate (if you wish..) and / or decorate at-will, (ie: the above suggestions, etc..) Here's a 'two-layer' example:

Some say leave out at room temperature ~20 minutes before serving, but.. We like it 'chilled', served with Hot, strong coffee. Can be re-refridged up to ~2-3 days, but much after that, the ladyfingers turn into coffee-flavored mush, not as much 'curb-appeal'..

Yes, a 'spendy' / time-consuming dessert, and a bit tricky to make the first time, but.. Once you master it, believe me, this particular recipe is Well worth the effort.

Fwiw..
jd

 

[Peanut]

Lunch was last nights left over T-bone in the form of a steak sandwich. Got home to late to fix anything but a bologna sandwich for supper.

 

[hashbrown]

Ham, Tater cakes, green beans, sliced mater

Man, I love tater cakes! Tater cakes are a serious matter to me, I've been in a fist fight over them a couple of years ago.

 

[Bacpacker]

Man, I love tater cakes! Tater cakes are a serious matter to me, I've been in a fist fight over them a couple of years ago.

I love em. Only problem, I can't stay outta the mashed taters day before to have leftovers to make tater cakes with

 

[Peanut]

I went to the little place down the road for lunch. The meatloaf was great! Their cornbread is always good but their pepper sauce is a tad hot but still good. Supper was a sandwich, tired all day.

 

[Terri9630]

Steak and taters.

 

[Amish Heart]

Lasagna, salad, and bread

 

[MoBookworm1957]

Chili dogs, yogurt,coffee, maybe salad.
Never mind the lettuce greens were trying to go bad.
No they were bad.
In the trash they went.

 

[Haertig]

Grilled chicken breasts, grilled asparagus, spinach/vege salad, Sapporo beer. Macadamia nut/caramel/milk chocolate cluster for desert. Simplest thing on the planet to cook, but always good IMHO.

 

[SheepDog]

I'm sorry, I cannot confirm nor deny that I am having dinner.

 

[Amish Heart]

We had goulash, some leftover lasagna, texas toast, and fruit salad

 

[user 55]

Had a cheap frozen pizza.

 

[Terri9630]

Tried a Chick-fil-A copy cat recipe. It wasn't close to Chick-fil-A but it was good.

 

[Peanut]

@Haertig My first attempt at instapot spaghetti. I added to much broth but it was still good, looking forward to leftovers. I added broth because it didn't look right. I should have trusted my math, my math was correct. At least it wasn't a disaster. I'll definitely try this again.

 

[MoBookworm1957]

Pan fried ham, 2 eggs over easy, biscuits, unsalted butter on biscuits.

 

[Amish Heart]

Roast beef and potato burritos

 

[Haertig]

@Haertig My first attempt at instapot spaghetti. I added to much broth but it was still good, looking forward to leftovers. I added broth because it didn't look right. I should have trusted my math, my math was correct. At least it wasn't a disaster. I'll definitely try this again.

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The leftovers will probably soak up additional moisture while they're sitting in the fridge. If not, just run it over a strainer to drain off excess water. I guess you could try making a small amount of cornstarch and water paste and add that while reheating it in a pot, to thicken things. Don't know how that would work, I'd almost be afraid to try it. I'd go for the strainer method myself. The taste is probably fine, just a little too juicy.

That actually looks like the perfect "training meal" for dainty eating. Put on a clean white shirt and see if it's still that way after dinner.

 

[Weedygarden]

We had identical meals, Weedy. Except for dessert we had cheesecake.

You make scalloped potatoes, if I remember correctly. People always rave about them, but I rarely know of others making them, except you.
One time G wanted me to make them for Thanksgiving. I told him they don't go with turkey and gravy and stuffing. Mashed potatoes go with them, and sweet potatoes.

 

[Weedygarden]

We went to Easter lunch at my parents house today. Mom made a ham, duchess potatoes, 3 bean salad home grown corn Broccoli salad and homemade crescent rolls. Followed up with several types of desserts. I won’t be eating tonight!

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Duchess potatoes? Is that similar or the same as the hashbrown casserole with sour cream, cheese, and a can of cream of something soup? It looks similar. That was something I frequently took to pot lucks for many years. The dish was always empty when I took it home.

 

[Weedygarden]

Had a cheap frozen pizza.

Works for me occasionally. I keep a couple in the freezer for times when I don't feel like cooking. There is a cheap frozen pizza and then there is a good handmade pizza. I'll eat them both, and neither of them very often.

 

[Peanut]

Tonight was spaghetti with a salad and pie for dessert. Spaghetti is sort of like chili always better the second day.

 

[Terri9630]

Hamburgers.

 

[Bacpacker]

NY Strip cooked on a cast iron skillet with onions, garlic, corn, baked tater, and some fresh picked green onions.

 

[Terri9630]

NY Strip cooked on a cast iron skillet with onions, garlic, corn, baked tater, and some fresh picked green onions.

That sounds so much better than hamburgers.....

 

[Bacpacker]

I like a good burger, But that was a great meal. Wife has felt like crap today, but she made a killer supper.

 

[hashbrown]

 

[hashbrown]

It's that time of year when you have to endure me cooking outside. Tonight we did an open fire shrimp boil, a customer of ours brought me 5lbs of fresh gulf shrimp.

 

[Bacpacker]

WOW that looks good

 

[dademoss]

I can't find the drooling emoticon. YUMMMMM