Wednesday, June 18, 2008

WWWT

Tonight's WWWT food theme was Italian, so I decided to make some tiramisu (something I've never made before). I chose a Barefoot Contessa recipe from foodnetwork.com. I've also posted the recipe below because the Food Network describes this as "available for a limited time only".

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6 extra-large egg yolks, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup good dark rum, divided
1 1/2 cups brewed espresso, divided
16 to 17 ounces mascarpone cheese
30 Italian ladyfingers, or savoiardi
Bittersweet chocolate, shaved or grated

Confectioners' sugar (optional)

Whisk the egg yolks and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment on high speed for about 5 minutes, or until very thick and light yellow. Lower the speed to medium and add 1/4 cup rum, 1/4 cup espresso, and the mascarpone. Whisk until smooth.

Combine the remaining 1/4 cup rum and 1 1/4 cups espresso in a shallow bowl. Dip 1 side of each ladyfinger in the espresso/rum mixture and line the bottom of a 9 by 12 by 2-inch dish. Pour half the espresso cream mixture evenly on top. Dip 1 side of the remaining ladyfingers in the espresso/rum mixture and place them in a second layer in the dish. Pour the rest of the espresso cream over the top. Smooth the top and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.
Before serving, sprinkle the top with shaved chocolate and dust lightly with confectioners' sugar, if desired.

RAW EGG WARNING
Food Network Kitchens suggest caution in consuming raw and lightly-cooked eggs due to the slight risk of Salmonella or other food-borne illness. To reduce this risk, we recommend you use only fresh, properly-refrigerated, clean, grade A or AA eggs with intact shells, and avoid contact between the yolks or whites and the shell.

Notes: To make espresso for this recipe in your electric drip coffee maker, use enough water for 4 cups of coffee plus 1/3 cup of ground espresso.
You can find savoiardi and mascarpone in an Italian specialty store.
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I think the recipe turned out great. The only thing I would change is to dip both sides of the ladyfingers in the espresso/rum mixture. I'd rather have slightly soggy ladyfingers than have dry, hard ones.

Mixing the egg yolks and sugar...
Egg yolks, sugar, espresso, and rum...

The finished product...
We didn't coordinate very well because when we arrived someone else had already brought a dessert, a very yummy almond cake with whipped cream and a strawberry-rhubarb compote from Thomas Keller's Bouchon cookbook. (my poor photography doesn't do it justice)
As for the wine, we had four Cabernet Sauvignons, all of which were under $10. The wines are arranged by their rank, the best being on the left.
We watched the season finale of Top Chef tonight, so we might not have another WWWT post for quite some time.

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