After deciding to teach cooking classes I realized I needed students so I shamelessly did some self promoting using the products themselves. The afternoon before a tasting at our local wine store I baked big batches of biscotti and grissini. My nerves steeled, I walked in with enough goodies for about forty people and found the place packed! There were over sixty folks--what else are you supposed to do on a frigid January night in Blackfoot! I hid my baskets under our table and started tasting. As the evening unfolded and the wine did its magic I started circulating in a very small way and offered my baked goods to people I knew and recognized. Like in story of the fishes and the loaves, people started sharing and soon the entire room was buzzing! I made a small announcement about maybe teaching some cooking classes and advised folks to check out the Wine Garden Newsletter for more information. Then one simple blurb in the newsletter and within days I had a full class.
The day before class I made a Tiramisu for tasting, plenty for sixteen. By that afternoon my class had outgrown the tiramisu and I was in a fix because I had only enough lady fingers for my demonstration. Living in the rural west one learns to be creative so I made my own. They turned out beautiful and were far superior to anything I had ever used before!
Tiramisu
8 oz. marscapone, or cream cheese at room temperature
5 tsp icing sugar
2 egg whites, stiffly beaten
½ pt cream, lightly whipped
2 egg yolks
1 c. strong coffee or espresso
1 oz. marsala wine
2 oz. brandy or Kahlua
24 sponge biscuits, lady fingers
Your favorite dark chocolate bar
Beat egg whites until quite stiff. Whip the cream until it holds its shape.
Beat cheese and sugar until combined and smooth. Add the egg yolks and mix until smooth and creamy. Add the whipped cream and combine until smooth and creamy. Using a clean spatula, gently fold in the egg whites until both mixtures are combined. Set aside in fridge.
Mix the coffee, wine and brandy. Stir until combined and taste. Gently soak a lady finger biscuit in this mixture, let it drain and then lay in the bottom of an 8 in. x 8 in. pan. Repeat with enough biscuits to cover the bottom of the pan.
Pour half of the cream and cheese mixture over the biscuits and spread it out evenly.
Dip and layer the rest of the biscuits to form a second layer of lady fingers. Pour the remaining cream mixture on top and smooth it out. Cover the pan taking care not to let the cover rest in the cream mixture and refrigerate for 24 hrs.
Before serving grate enough of the chocolate bar to cover the top of the tiramisu. Cut with a sharp knife into smallish squares and serve on chilled plates with a small glass of marsala wine, coffee or espresso.
Biscotti
¾ c. toasted almonds, chopped
½ c. butter
¾ c. sugar
2 eggs
2 tbs amaretto
1 tsp vanilla
1 ½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
2 c. flour
Preheat oven 325. Oil a large cookie sheet or use parchment paper.
Biscotti are double baked cookies. In Italian bis means twice and cotta is baked, therefore biscotti are baked twice. (The Italian for grandma is nonna and great grandma is bisnonna.)
Cream butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and mix until well blended. Add liquor and vanilla and mix. Combine all dry ingredients and stir. Gradually fold dry ingredients into egg mixture. Mix only until blended smooth. Fold in nuts. Dust you working surface and hands with flour and place dough on your working surface. (On a warm day you may wish to rest your dough in the fridge, letting it cool for 30 min.) Gently divide dough into two equal parts and roll each part into a long log—a thinner longer log will make smaller biscotti. Place the logs onto you cookie sheet allowing room for the dough to expand as it cooks. Bake for 25 min. Remove baking sheet from oven and let cool for 15 min. Cut the logs into biscotti—I usually cut it into ½ in. widths. Tip them onto their sides and arrange them on the baking sheet evenly. Return to oven and bake 20-25 min. more. Cool on a rack and store in airtight containers.
Variations: Drizzle melted chocolate over the biscotti or dip one end in the chocolate.
For wine biscotti: Substitute the zest from one orange for the almonds and add 1 tbs. of finely cracked black pepper to the mix. Substitute Grand Marnier for the amaretto. Excellent with red wine!
Parmesan and Cracked Pepper Grissini
1 pkg dry yeast (2 ¼ tsp)
1 c warm water (110 degrees)
3 c flour
1 ¼ tsp salt
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
½ c grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1 tbs cracked black pepper
Cooking spray
Parchment paper
Dissolve yeast in warm water, let stand 5 min.
Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cup, level with knife. Place all but ¼ c. flour into a mixing bowl with the salt. Mix to stir. Gradually add the yeast/water while mixing on lowest speed. Mix until dough forms a ball. (If you do not have a mixer put the flour and salt into a large bowl. Make a well in the center and pour in the yeast/water and stir until dough forms.) Add the rest of the flour if needed to form a nice dough, not too sticky or wet.
Scoop the dough out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and silky. (About 8 min.) Put the dough into a well oiled covered bowl and let rest until doubled—45 min to an hour. (Gently press 2 fingers into dough. If indentation remains, dough has risen enough.)
Cover two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
Punch dough down. Cover and let rest 5 min. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, roll into a 12 x 8 inch rectangle about 1 in. thick.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. (If you have a baking stone place it in the oven before preheating.)
Add a teaspoon of water to the beaten egg. Using a pastry brush, cover the surface of the dough. Sprinkle with cheese and pepper. Lightly coat the dough with the cooking spray. Cover with plastic wrap and gently press the toppings into the dough, remove the plastic wrap.
Cut the rectangle of dough into 1 in. strips. Working with one strip at a time roll each into a long thin rope on a lightly floured surface. Cut it to length and place on baking sheet. Repeat until all dough is rolled. Spray grissini lightly with cooking spray. Lightly cover the sheets with clean tea towels and let grissini rise for 20 min.
Uncover dough and bake at 450 for 6 min. with one pan on an upper rack and one on the lower rack. Rotate pans and cook for an additional 6 min. until grissini are golden brown. Remove from pans and let cool completely on wire racks.
Variations: Substitute coarse sea salt or fresh minced rosemary for black pepper.
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