Tiramisu is probably one of my favorite desserts in the whole wide world. This one is one of those that makes you wonder why in the world would you need anything else, when you have this sitting in front of you. It is a dessert experience!
1/2 cup chopped pecans
2/3 cup coffee liqueur (I just use strong brewed coffee)
1 1/2 (4 oz) semisweet chocolae bars, divided
3/4 cup butter
2 1/4 cups sdugar, divided
3 large eggs
1 cup all purpose flour
1 (8 oz) cream cheese or mascarpone cheese
1 teas vanilla
1 cup whipping cream
Preheat oven to 350. Arrange pecans in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake 5 to 7 min or until lightly toasted and fragrant. *I have to tell you, I skip this step. I don’t like pecans in the tiramisu, but for all you pecan lovers out there, eat your heart out.
Coarsely chop 1 chocolate bar. Microwave chopped chocolate and butter in a large microwave bowl for about 1 to 1 and 1/2 mins or until chocolate is melted, stirring at 30 sec intervals. Whisk in 2 cups sugar and eggs, whisking until blended; stir in flour, stirring just until blended. Spoon batter into a lightly greased 11×7 inch pan.
Bake at 350 for 30 to 35 min or until center is set. Remove from oven and cool in pan for 10 min. Pierce browne multiple times using a fork.
*See Below
Pour coffee mixture over brownie. Let cool on wire rack 1 hour until completely cool.
Whisk together remaining 1/4 cup sugar, mascarpone or chream cheese and vanilla in a bowl. Beat whipping cream at medium speed with mixer untill stiff peaks form. Fold whipped cream into cream cheese mixture.
Crumble half of brownies and divide evenly among 6 (8 oz) glasses. Spoon half of cheese mixture over brownies. Repeat procedure with remaining brownies and cheese mixture. Chop remaining half of chocolate and sprinkle over top of glasses.
*If you are in a hurry, buy brownies or make Duncan Hines Fudge brownies and preceed with pouring the coffee over warm brownies. Then proceed as directed.
Cookbook Clean-Out
Since we have moved and am having to “scale down” (two of my most unfavorite words in the whole world), Randy has “suggested” that maybe I might want to go through the Southern Living magazines, my Tea Time magazines, plus the Taste of Home magazines and just tear out my favorites so he could possibly sit down to watch TV at night instead of trying to sit atop of my stacks of magazines, that I just always said I would never throw out. Since I keep my magizines by seasons, I tend to pull out old ones to match the seasons, that way, it makes me continue to go through the old ones while standing and watching tv. But as we have gotten older (him, not me) we are missing having a place to sit, so hence, scaling down on the magazines. While going through a few of them each night, I have seen different recipes that I have made that became a sweet memory to us. It brought back the memory of all our adult kids and granchildren sitting around the table, after calling to request having chicken fried steak, all the while watching the grandkids sit and eat their McDonalds, while we, the adults, chomped away on chicken fried steak. Hopefully as the grandkids mature, they will realize that the CFS is so much better for you, (who are we kidding here) than the hamburger and fries from Micky D’s.
So after finding a few favorites last night, I couldn’t decide which of my two favorites to post, so am posting both of the ones I found last night. Hope they become a favorite at your house, like they have ours. First one will be Brownie Tiramisu and Country-Fried Steak with Creamy Salsa Gravy
Tuesday Troubles
I know….most of you think that we are just out here, laying around on the beach, learning to eat sushi and making appointments to go to the tanning booths for that California spray on tan, but let me just give you a quick little update on my day. It began just like all the rest, got Randy off to work, got my first call of the day from Jodi, got some things to take back to the store (which is about 18 miles away. Thought, well it is beautiful out today, maybe I will just take a book to read and stop somewhere to have a quick lunch before heading back home. As I was headed out the door, I thought to myself, “self, maybe you should just eat a quick Lean Cuisine so you won’t spend any more money, or use up my calorie count on fast food. So I got out the meal of choice and popped it in the microwave only to discover that it wouldn’t turn on, in fact, as I looked around, all the little cute lights that I leave on, weren’t on, so I quickly discovered that the electricity was off. I thought to myself, “oh, I bet it is just off because someone is working on something in the neighborhood,” so I decided to just go ahead and leave and run errands, thinking that by the time I got home in a few hours, it would surely be on. Well, I get home and still no electricity. Checking with the neighbors only
to find out that they had electricity, I started to panic. Was I suppose to be paying for the electricity? Since we have never rented before,I didn’t know if I was suppose to have it switched over into our name, or what, so I called Randy and he told me to check the fuse box in the hall. Checked it and it was fine. Then I called the man who is like the “repairman” for these condo’s and he told me to go out and look at the main fuse to see if maybe it had blown a fuse for our place. I had to go find a neighbor who knew where it was, and we discovered that indeed, there was a tag on it from the City of Pasadena saying that they had turned it off because they were owed $138.08. It is now 3:00 and I begin to think that we might not have lights tonight and get excited about the possibility of getting to go out for dinner, since we have all electric kitchen. After a few phone calls to the landlord, it seems that they thought that the HOA fees included the electric and gas and water and that in our contract, it states that they will pay for everything. So they make a call and assure us that it will be turned on by 6:00 tonight. In the meantime, because I have been on the phone trying to call so many people, my phone has no charge so I go to the garage, plug in my phone and sit in my car to read to let my phone charge for about 30 mins. One of the neighbors see me sitting in the car and ask me if everything is ok? I tell him what is going on and he tells me to let him bring my phone into his house and they will charge it for me so I don’t have to sit in my car. We get our electricity around 5:00 so I didn’t get dinner out, we had sandwiches. It was just so nice to know that people are still in the habit of helping and the neighbors who we have here are so sweet. The landlord even sent us over a gift certificate to
apologize for our inconvenience. The sweet neighbors who live under us invited us to come over tonight to watch TV if we still didn’t have the lights on. These California people are very hospitable, almost made me feel like I was back in the South again, except they didn’t offer us a glass of sweet tea or pie. Maybe they were in a hurry to hit the tanning parlor or go out for sushi.
Chicken Wild Rice Dish
Just finished going back for seconds on this one. It really was good. Was so easy to make and has a great flavor.
1 box (6.2 oz) package of wild-rice long grain and wild rice mix
2 tables butter
1 small onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1/2 can (8 oz can) chopped water chestnuts
2 1/2 cups chopped, cooked chicken
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 (10 3/4 oz) can cream of mushroom soup
8 oz sour cream
1/2 cup milk (I used whipping cream because I just wanted a little extra richness)
1/2 teas each, parsley, pepper, salt and also garlic powder
1/2 cup ritz crackers, ground up
Stir in rice, chicken, cheese, soup, sour cream and mix together. Pour into a greased baking dish (about 2 qt). Sprinkle breadcrumbs over chicken mixture. Melt about 2 tables butter and pour over crumb mixture and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes. Serve with hot rolls, fresh green beans which you have added baby carrots and cooked in a saucepan with a piece of bacon, salt and pepper and 1 teas garlic powder. Makes a very pretty plate. You can also freeze this and then when you thawed it out, add your bread crumbs and butter to top and bake as usual…
Prepare rice mix according to package; set aside. Melt butter in a skillet and add onion and celery and water chestnuts to butter; cook them until soft and tender, about 10 minutes.
Future Cook Book
Many of you have expressed to me that it would be so nice to have these recipes from the blog in book form to where you wouldn’t have to scroll through page after page to find what you are looking for. Several years ago, I felt that God was asking me to do just that, and began to work on one. It has become so heavy on my heart to complete the cookbook, so am going to be working on it until it is finished. The name of the book has already been on my heart for a couple of years, so please pray for me that I will have the dedication and determination to complete that which I truly feel God calling me to do. As most of you know, it is so hard for me to sit over 20 minutes, so this will take so much discipline. It will be filled with not only recipes, but stories of family and friends, hopefully bringing a smile to your face. There will be “God Stories” of how and when He has truly shown Himself to us in our different seasons of life. Thank you in advance for your prayers as I complete this. It is exciting to think about having so much of my experiences with learning how to cook, teaching children different recipes and mistakes that have been made, both in cooking and serving. Will keep you posted on the progress!
Spinach-Ravioli Lasagna
I was cleaning out my recipe books and trying to get organized and came across this one that I had torn out of an old Southern Living. It is so good and such an easy dinner to cook. Rachel Ray would love it, it can be done in 30 mins. Am headed to the store to stock up on a couple of items so thought I would get some ravioli and cook this for dinner tonight.
1 (6 oz) package fresh baby spinach, washed
1/3 cup refrigerated pesto sauce
1 (15 oz) jar Alfrredo sauce
1/4 cup vegetable broth (or chicken broth)
1 (25 oz) package frozen cheese-filled ravioli (do not thaw)
1 cup shredded Italian six-cheese blend
Garnish with chopped fresh basil if desired
Preheat oven to 375. Chop spinach, and toss with pesto in a medium bowl.
Combine Alfredo sauce and vegetable broth. Spoon 1/3 of alfredo sauce mixture into a lightly greased 11x 7 baking dish. Top wtih half of spinach mixture. Arrange half of ravioli in a single layer over spinach mixture. Repeat layers once. Top with remaining Alfredo sauce.
Bake at 375 for 30 min. Remove from oven and sprinkle with shredded cheese. Bake 5 more min or until hot and bubbly. Garnish if desired.
Banana Bread
This banana bread is truly the most moist banana bread ever. It is simple, easy to freeze and use as a cake if you are wanting cake. To change it up a little for different needs, here are a couple of suggestions.
1. Instead of making it in a loaf pan (actually it makes two). Bake it in a 9 x 13 and frost with cream cheese frosting (do not, I repeat even think of using canned frosting)
2. Add 1 cup mini chocolate chips and make it as a bread or as a cake and frost with chocolate frosting (my recipe for the best chocolate frosting is on the ole blog also).
Here is the recipe: Bake at 325 degrees
1 stick margarine, softened
1 stick butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar (or 3/4 cup granulated and 3/4 cup light brown sugar)
2 eggs
1 cup mashed banana
4 Tables buttermilk or sour milk
1 teas soda
1 teas vanilla
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup pecans, if desired
Cream margarine, butter and sugar. Add eggs and beat. Add flour and soda alternately with buttermilk. Add bananas and vanilla and mix well. Fold in pecans, if desired. Pour into greased 2 loaf pans or deep 9 x 13 pan. Bake until toothpick comes out clean, but watch it carefully and do NOT overbake. This should be very moist. Remember, they always keep cooking a little after you have taken them from the oven. So when the top feels firm, it is done.
Frost with chocolate frosting, cream cheese or just serve as banana bread. If you do use it as bread, you can cut it into little finger sandwiches and spread pineapple flavored cream cheese between two pieces.
Moving Motto
We have decided that the ten most dreaded words to hear is “oh no, here is another box that hasn’t been opened”
We sit down and see a box in the corner, or open a closet door and see a box and discover that we have not opened it to unpack it, so here we go again. Just when we think that we are done making trips to Goodwill or storage, we find another box. To let you know how much “stuff” we don’t have room for, well…..let’s put it this way, our storage unit is bigger than our condo. So….our new motto, we WILL NOT BUY anything, ever again…..ever……if I do, Randy says that if something comes in, 3 things have to go out.
Randy (or as he calls himself this week, “a pack mule”) is making a couple more trips downstairs with the last few items that are going to storage and Goodwill. The people at Goodwill know us by name now. In fact, I started thinking this morning and got so tickled about what the neighbors must think as they see us hauling down more bags. I think they see all the “stuff” and must wonder how much more is coming out of this place. It’s kind of like seeing how many people can get in a phone booth. I think they are looking out their windows and have probably taken bets as to seeing just how many more bags come down with us every time we walk out the door. FYI…if you ever send me any gift ever again, just be prepared to come out here and carry it downstairs when we move. Unless the gifts are diamond related, and I don’t mind carrying those myself at all.
Chocolate Chip Dessert Ball
Here is the dessert I was telling you about. A precious young lady named Laura made this for teacher training at church and everyone raved about it. She told me to pass it on as she got the recipe from a friend in Virginia. (you know, another state which is in the Butter Belt, so it has to be good). Thanks, Laura
8 oz softened cream cheese
1 stick butter, softened
4 teas vanilla
3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 Tables brown sugar
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
3/4 cup chopped and toasted pecans
Mix the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together and beat well. Add the sugars and mix well. Add chocolate chips. Shape into a ball and refrigerate for 2 hrs and then roll into crushed pecans. Serve with chocolate graham crackers.
I think this will be a marvelous dessert to sit in the middle of the table after a heavy meal. You can visit with family and friends and sip on your favorite coffee and just use this dessert to end the night on a sweet note…..your company will go away very impressed and with a great memory of a meal ending very well.
Cooking up a Storm
You know me, I have missed cooking so much that I am now just cooking all day long. Last night I made a chocolate chocolate chip pound cake with ganache and sent it off with Randy to his office. Today I am making Eggplant Parmesan, one of Randh’s favorites. Will be needing to go to the store to stock up on cream cheese and sour cream, after all, a little southern girl cannot exist without those two items being in her fridge. A neighbor has already asked me for the recipe for the apple cobbler I made the other night, so am feeling a little more like I am home. When I get permission from a friend who made an amazing dessert ball, will post that today. Am rocking and rolling and ready to get back to writing on a more regular routine. Thanks for staying with me and keep those comments coming. The eggplant parmesan is a new one I am trying,
so if it is as good as it sounds, will post it tomorrow because it is so easy.
