Tiramisu!

Ok so my first recipe post. Here goes...

I suck at baking. Period. Maybe it has something to do with me really disliking carefully measuring ingredients. That requires too much patience, something that I need to learn in the kitchen. But until then, I'm a total fan of NO BAKE desserts. And hello, what better no bake dessert than Tiramisu??

I always assumed that Tiramisu was made using lady fingers, until my Italiano started telling me one day about how his mother made the best Tiramisu in the world. So before he came to Toronto, I asked him to ask his mamma for the recipe so I can try to duplicate it. "Lady fingers, right?" I asked.
"E' schifoso!!", he replied (Gross!). Sorry, I didn't realize lady fingers could be "gross". He said mamma only uses something called Pavesini. Pave-wha?? Pavesini --They are these little Italian, lightweight-fluffy-but-cripsy cookie type things that are slightly sweet. So when he arrived in Toronto, he came with 2 packs for me. Then I discovered that I could actually buy them here at an Italian grocery shop for about 4 bucks a pop.

If this is your first attempt at Tiramisu, don't worry. You can't really go wrong. Remember, it's NO BAKING. So if you throw in a lil extra sugar, or forget to sprinkle extra cocoa powder on top, it will still be good!

Prep time: Approx 20 minutes. 

The ingredients:

• 2 packs of Pavesini (You may not use them all, depends on how big your dish is. You can always keep the extras for next time or dip them in coffee for a snack. Yum!) --if you're in Toronto, you can get them at Grande Cheese
• 4 large eggs 
• One 250g container of mascarpone cheese
• 4 generous teaspoons of sugar
• 1 small cup of strong coffee
• cocoa powder
• A small chunk of any chocolate of your choice (I like to mix milk and white chocolate--Bulk Barn is cheap!)

Utensils:

• a pyrex dish --for this recipe I would use a round one that's about 9" in diameter and 3" deep
• egg beater
• 2 large mixing bowls
• a spatula
• a grater
• a sifter

To prepare:

my first time making tiramisu, not bad!

1. Prepare a cup of coffee and let it cool in a bowl. Don't have a coffee maker? Go buy a cup! I ran down to Starbuck's my first time. =P
2. Separate the egg whites from the yolks and place each in its own bowl. Tip: I like to crack the egg in half and let the egg white spill into it's own bowl. Then you can gently pour the yolk back and forth into each half of the shell until all the egg whites have fallen out. If it's your first time, don't worry, I messed up a few eggs and had to do it again and again. So keep a few extra eggs handy.
3. Whisk the egg whites with the egg beater until they become completely fluffy and opaque. If you don't have access to fresh eggs, throw in a pinch of salt. When I first whisked egg whites, I got a little nervous because they didn't seem to fluff up. Don't worry, it doesn't happen in seconds. Takes a few minutes. They are ready when you can pick up the egg whites and they don't drip off the whisk.
4. Add the sugar to the egg yolks and beat them together. Basically, you're adding one spoonful of sugar for each yolk. 
5. Add the mascarpone to the egg yolk mix and mix it all together with the spatula.
6. Gradually add the fluffy egg whites to the mascarpone mix. Tip: Fold the egg whites gently into the egg yolk mix. You want to avoid beating it all together, then the egg whites will lose their fluffy texture and the mix can become more runny.
7. Take each Pavesini cookie and dip it in the coffee for a quick second then lay it in your serving dish. In and out, don't let it soak in the coffee otherwise it'll turn into mush. Repeat this until the bottom layer is covered.
8. Take your mascarpone mix and spread a good amount of it on top. Sort of like icing a cake.
9. Add cocoa powder in your sifter and gently tap it out so it sprinkles all over the first layer evenly. 
10. Grate some of your chocolate on top for added chocolate goodness.
11. Repeat steps 7-11 until you have 3 layers. The top layer of mascarpone should cover the entire dish, almost like it's sealing everything in.
12. I like to get a little more generous with the chocolate shavings on the top layer --looks pretty.
13. Cover the entire dish with saran wrap and leave it in the fridge for at least 5-6 hours. I usually make it in the morning to serve in the evening. Or you can make it in the evening to serve the next day.

This dish will serve about 6 people. If you want to make more, just double up. If you noticed, I skipped the traditional marsala wine that is normally added. I like mamma's version because it's simpler and it tastes damn good!

Enjoy!
xoT

Simple Italian cooking.

I've been getting a few requests from friends to start posting recipes or cooking tips. Now, let me preface this by saying I'm not in any way a professional chef. I don't even really have my "own" recipes because most meals that I cook are variations of recipes I find either on cooking shows, online or even from friends & family. While I don't consider myself innovative and super creative in the kitchen, I can tell you that I have passion. I love to cook at home and if one other person likes my cooking, then I'm a happy girl.

I finally got to put my Italian cooking skills to the test when my boyfriend came to visit me. He actually said my dishes were as good as his mother's. Now, if you've ever dated an Italian man, you know that's a compliment! Or come to think of it, maybe he was just being polite...hmmm. Either way, I was pleased! I used to be the girl who bought whole wheat or multigrain pasta as an attempt to be "healthy" and ready-made pasta sauce in a jar right off the shelf.  Then I started buying Italian brands of pasta and whoa....the difference was huge. After watching numerous Italian cooking shows, youtube videos and reading some amazing recipe blogs, I learned how simple it is to prepare a delicious pasta sauce from scratch! Pasta from scratch? Not yet, but I'll be sure to blog my first attempt at it.... =)

some of my homemade Italian dishes

In my opinion, Italians really seem to have the right formula for cooking. Simple & fresh ingredients with a lotta love. I think the trick is not to over-complicate, then cooking doesn't seem as intimidating or frustrating! Here are a few interesting differences I learned about "Italian American" foods vs "Italian" foods. And please correct me if I was misinformed, perhaps some of these can be based on the region? We'll see...


Italians do not serve spaghetti with meatballs. It's usually one or the other. So if you put both together, you'll get a look of disgust from your Italian boyfriend. 


Italians do not put chicken in their pasta or on their pizza. But I will admit, I still like slices of juicy chicken breast in my fettuccine cream sauce.


We commonly say "mozzarella cheese" in North America. However, in Italy they have cheese (formaggio) and they have mozzarella. Mozzarella has its own category, because it's a "fresh" cheese that hasn't been aged.


In Italy, pasta is more common as a meal at lunch, rather than a main course at dinner where it's usually served as a "primi", the first course.


Anyone heard of any others? I just thought these were interesting. While I am going to be living in Italy soon, diving right into their traditional foods & culture,  I don't expect I will lose all my "American" taste buds. I will probably cook myself a nice hot plate of eggs and bacon for breakfast every so often, or throw some chicken in my pasta...but what I won't ever do is lose my passion for food!

xoT

Vacanza booked.

I know it seems a little over indulgent to be moving away to Italy, yet planning a "vacation" for while I'm there. Most people seem to think my big move to Italia will be a never ending vacation. I beg to differ. I will be going to school, jobless, learning a new language, trying to make new friends.....well you get the point.

After almost 2 years of being in a long distance relationship, technically, we haven't been on a real "vacation" together. Any time off work we had was to visit eachother in our hometowns. Finally, yes FINALMENTE, thanks to my wonderful Italian stallion, we will be spending 8 fabulous nights in the Amalfi coast. Yes, you can be jealous.

xoT

4 nights in Atrani

Another 4 fabulous nights in Positano

Dov'è David??

Friday at work. Kind of a slow day. Raining outside. Which got me thinking about the last time I was in Florence. It was in February last year, every day it rained. Despite the gloomy, cold, wet weather, we decided to head over to the gallery, huddled under a tattered 5€ umbrella, to go gawk at the ever-so-popular statue of David. I mean, who goes to Florence and doesn't see the statue of David?

So after waiting in a surprisingly decent sized line for a rainy day, we enter this spectacular gallery. Mind you, it's not a quick 20 minute stroll in and out the gallery. We spent about an hour and a half walking, plus time in between to stop for breaks (yes, my lazy ass had to sit periodically), through this massive place looking at rows and rooms full of white statues. I was anxiously looking for David, "Is that him?"...."Oh! What about that one?!" Honestly, it's kind of hard to tell when there are hundreds of other white statues shaped like naked men with perfectly cut, 6-pack abs. When we finally got to the "uscita" (exit) sign, I stopped and looked at my boyfriend. He had the same look in his eyes, you know...the "where the *bleep* is David" eyes.

Whoops, did I forget to mention that we were at the WRONG gallery? I mean, who did I think I was? A local Florentine? Why didn't I think to pick up a tour book, or even ask the hotel concierge, or how about google? I just had some weird assumption that it was at the Uffizi gallery.

So we turned around thinking we MUST have missed it. This could not be possible. How in the world could we have missed the crowd of tourists surrounding the infamous David? We entered the tourist shop inside the gallery and found some book that wrote about the statue of David and other stuff......like how it is located inside the Accademia Gallery! There were approxmiately 10 seconds of silence. Then an outburst of laughter between the two of us. The only words that could come out of my mouth, "Wow, aren't we Dumb and Dumber". Doesn't matter who was which.

On the bright side, Uffizi was immaculate. I'm no art history major, but I can definitely appreciate the Renaissance arts. The gallery was filled with so much beauty and history, it was still worth the trip! At least now I know David is waiting for me....and he ain't budging.

;) T

I'll be seeing you soon....

 

This one's for you babe... =P

Now that's da-Bomba!

I don't think there is one blog about living in Italy that doesn't mention its wonderful foods. In fact, any time someone comes back from a trip to Italy, one of the top three things they will mention is how amazing the food was. This is why it is one of the things that gets me super excited about moving there, particularily, i dolci -- the sweets. Now I'm not one that normally craves sweets. Maybe it's because our sweets here don't even compare. But if you take fresh pastry, and stuff it with cream or nutella...now we're talkin. If there's one thing the Italians do well, it's i dolci. Of course I've enjoyed a croissant, or two, or ten, or ok, a few hundred in my life. However, I will never forget the first time I had a fresh cornetto (croissant) filled with cream from a local pasticceria in Terni. It was the absolute best tasting pastry I've ever had in my life. So good that I had to stop over once more before catching my flight back to Toronto.

Cornetto con panna -- made by Fittuccia, Via E. Chiesa, 34  05100 Terni

A few weeks ago, we had our weekly "treat day" at work. We were graced by these beautiful, perfectly rounded, sugared little pastries called "bomba" from an Italian bakery. Oh Mio Dio. There were three kinds of fillings: banana cream, caramel and, yes, Nutella. If they were that savory here in Toronto, I can only imagine how insanely good they will be in Italia.

Italian dolci --Bombe! made by Dolce Bombe Cafe, 7611 Pine Valley Drive, Woodbridge, ON

La bomba, filled with Nutella

When I first met my boyfriend, I discovered that his breakfast usually consisted of sweet pastries like, la bomba. I was a little put off, thinking "who would want something so overly sweet, first thing in the morning?!". Especially since the typical North American breakfast includes eggs, toast, and if you like your meat, some bacon or sausage. He was so repulsed by the fact that I cooked eggs in the morning for my weekend breakfast. It was pretty amusing looking at my plate full of scrambled eggs and toast next to his plate of a croissant, split in half with way too much Nutella spread on each side. Oh and while I like to enjoy black tea or juice with my breakfast, he enjoys hot chocolate with added sugar or warm milk with sugar.Uh....

It was even a little bit frustrating to try and plan brunch when he visited Toronto. When we do Sunday brunch, we sleep in, wake up, get ready and head downtown to a cute spot to eat around noon. My boyfriend had to eat a few cookies before heading out to get a few sweets in his belly to start. God forbid he eat any foods that weren't sweet to begin his day! Oh, and I can't forget the time we went for Dim Sum. I think he was slightly traumatized that we were eating shrimp dumplings and rice noodle rolls before noon!

At first I couldn't understand eating all these sweets in the morning. But then it kinda made sense. Why not eat these sugary sweets in the morning, so you have the entire day to burn them off. Beats eating them for dessert after a heavy dinner, then hittin' the sac a few hours later. I think I may convert eventually to a bomba or two for la mia colazione (my Rosetta Stone® is finally paying off). But before I do, I'm going to enjoy a few more dim sum dates with my buddies on Sunday afternoon.


Buon appetito!
xo T

Saying good-bye.

The time has finally arrived. I am moving out of my condo this weekend. Having been so busy since I got back to Toronto, I haven't really had time to think about my transition moving back home with my parents. Don't get me wrong, I love my family. My parents are super supportive and loving. But I have to admit, I've gotten pretty used to living on my own the last few years. I definitely will miss walking into a peaceful, quiet home after a long day at work. I will miss being able to have bad reality tv marathons alone on a Sunday afternoon without any judgment. I will miss having my own private fashion shows trying on a new pair of shoes at 1am, prancing around my place. Most of all, I will really miss living in the city. I think I sort of took it for granted the past few months. I am realizing now I good I had it and I am definitely thankful for the time and memories I had at my cute little condo.

Condo living...

View of Toronto from my den
(I know, poor quality pic taken from my Blackberry)

Maybe there's also a teeny bit of fear & anxiety kicking in of moving to a brand new city where I don't have the comfort of my own things in my own place. I'm a little bit nervous of being in places I can't really call "home", especially since I'll be moving to one city for 4 weeks, and then another. I find myself having worries lately now that this move to Italy is finally happening. Will I have creepy roommates? Will the bathtub make me want to gag? Will I ever get the guts to drive in Italy? Then I stop myself before I turn into a nervous wreck. Thank God for that little light at the end of the tunnel. It looks a little something like this....

Firenze: A breathtaking view from the top of the Duomo bell tower

Three and a half months and counting....
xo T

Back to reality...

Monday morning sucked, big time. Cloudy skies, gloomy weather, morning traffic, ugh. After spending 8 full days, waking up to the fresh sea breeze, lazying around on the beach while dozing in and out of sleep, it's difficult to sit here reading work emails. Time for my blog break.

I just answered a phone call, when a client started babbling about something I handled for her, and how she had more questions and issues, blah blah. I actually had to stop her and tell her "I'm so sorry, but I just returned from vacation yesterday and my brain is not fully functioning yet. Do you mind refreshing my memory and starting from the beginning?". Thank God she found me amusing.

laying down on the beach...

white sands and clear blue waters....*sigh*

where we went for our morning jogs