Chocolate Tiramisu

I love trashy relaity television. I realize I should probably be ashamed and keep this information under wraps but I do not care. I am not ashamed. I don't care who knows it. The trashier the better! There, I said it.

For the season premier of "The Jersey Shore" (yep, love it) my friends and I had an Italian Potluck (yep, we got made fun of). I don't care what anyone says, the show is HILARIOUS! Maybe I like trashy tv because it makes my life seem less crazy and dramatic, who knows. Anyways, I made this chocolate tiramisu.

Its to die for...really. And I am not even a huge fan of tiramisu (I realize that this too may be an unbelieveable Tarrah-fact that makes me crazy). It was the chocolate part, the chocolate intrigued me.

So much so that neither of the 2 grocery stores I searched up and down had lady fingers so I determined that I would make my own. How hard could it be right?

Wrong! This was an experience very similar to my angel food cake one. Aka: disaster. I attempted twice to make these seemingly easy little devils. The taste was right but the texture was oh so wrong. They were flat...like pancakes but I made do and layered them anyway and threw together with this semi-tiramisu.

I added whipped cream and if you ask me that covers any and all mistakes...that and sprinkles but shaved chocolate will do...sprinkles would be just silly.

I still don't know what I did wrong but I ate a very generous portion of this so I don't think it matters. I will probably never try to make ladyfingers again...although I am a firm believer in 3rd times a charm....so we'll see...

Chocolate Tiramisu
Adapted from foodnetwork.com

Ingredients:

8 ounces best-quality semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, shaved
2 cups heavy cream
8 ounces mascarpone
2 cups espresso or very strong coffee, cooled
1/3 cup coffee liqueur (recommended: Kahlua)
About 44 ladyfingers (available at supermarkets and Italian bakeries)
2 cups fat-free whipped topping
Powdered sugar

Directions:

Place the chopped chocolate in a large bowl. In a saucepan, bring the cream to a simmer over medium-high heat. Quickly pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let sit for 1 minute; then whisk together until the chocolate is melted. Whisk in the mascarpone, then strain into a bowl big enough to whip the mixture in the next day. Cover and refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight.

Remove the chocolate mixture from the refrigerator and whip until fluffy and slightly stiffened, being careful not to overwhip (like heavy cream, the mixture can turn to butter if whipped too long). Refrigerate.

Combine the espresso and coffee liqueur in a shallow dish. Pick up 1 ladyfinger, then place it in the espresso for just as long as it takes you to pick up the next 1 and place it in the espresso (about 10 seconds). Fish the first 1 out and place it in the bottom of a 9 by 13-inch baking dish. Repeat with the remaining ladyfingers, arranging them in rows in the bottom of the dish and continuously adding and removing the ladyfingers from the espresso mixture. (This will allow them to soak for the perfect amount of time without getting soggy--they should be wet on the outside but still have an unsoaked core at the center.)

When you have made a complete layer of ladyfingers, spread half of the chocolate mixture over the ladyfingers and cover lightly with some of the chocolate shavings. Repeat, making 1 more complete layer of ladyfingers, chocolate, whipped topping and shavings. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve, at least 2 hours.

Serve cold, dishing out spoonfuls with a large serving spoon. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired.

Buckeyes

Here in Ohio we have something that is totally amazingly wonderfully awesome. I don't know who came up with these but its genious and one of the things that I'm proud to claim as "Ohio's" and that is buckeyes. Not only does this include the Ohio State football team but the peanut butter chocolate candy...they are easily one of my favorite things ever.

I know football season has quickly passed before I had a chance to post this recipe but the Buckeyes ARE #1 in Basketball right now so I still deem it appropriate to show my pride and love of all things Buckeye. I make these any chance I get and anytime I go up to Minnesota to visit family because they are always requested.

If you haven't heard of or tried these...you haven't lived...get on it ASAP!

Buckeyes
Adapted from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups powdered sugar, or as needed
1 (12 ounce) package semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons Shortening

Directions:

Combine peanut butter, butter, vanilla and salt in large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on LOW until blended. Add 2 cups powdered sugar, beating until blended. Beat in additional powdered sugar until mixture, when shaped into a ball, will stay on a toothpick. Shape into 1-inch balls. Refrigerate.

Place chocolate chips and shortening in microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on MEDIUM for 30 seconds. Stir. Repeat until mixture is smooth. Reheat as needed while coating peanut butter balls.

Insert toothpick in peanut butter ball. Dip 3/4 of ball into chocolate, leaving top uncovered to resemble a buckeye. Remove excess. Place on wax paper-lined tray. Smooth over holes with finger or butter knife. Refrigerate until firm.

Sauteed Potatoes and Chorizo

This is a dish I made a while back for a potluck we had for the bakery. It was a "Merry Margarita Christmas" kinda thing. It was nice...we had lots of mexican food and strong margaritas. Mexican is my favorite so picking something to make was torturous. I kind of randomly selected these potatoes with chorizo because of the rave reviews on the Food Network.

Now this was good but I think I made a mistake. I think that perhaps I boiled the potatoes just a tad too long because they ended up more on the mushy side. It was still good, don't get me wrong but my heart was set on a crispy potato. My advice would be to boil the potatoes until just barely tender...maybe about 8 minutes.

The origional recipe did not have any peppers or anything, I just added some peppers for fun and color...this would be tasty even without.

Sauteed Potatoes and Chorizo
Adapted from Foodnetwork.com

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon canola or olive oil
10 ounces Mexican pork chorizo, casings removed
1 small onion, diced
1 poblano pepper, seeded and ribs removed, diced
1 red pepper, seeded and ribs removed, diced
1 jalepeno pepper, seeded and ribs removed, diced
1 pound red skinned new potatoes, cut into small (1/4-inch) dice, and boiled (about 6-8 minutes)
Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper

Directions:

Heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chorizo and cook, breaking up the clumps, until dry and crisp, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the chorizo to a paper lined plate to absorb any additional oil. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of fat from the pan and heat the pan over medium-high heat. Add the onions, peppers and boiled potatoes and saute until brown, about 12 minutes. Stir in the cooked chorizo and season with just a little salt and pepper, to taste. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve.

Spicy Sweet Potato and Chicken Soup

I don't know about anyone else but I am so over this winter thing. We have gotten so much snow lately and I feel like I am constantly freezing. Snow before January=nice...snow after january=torture. One of the few things that makes me feel warm and fuzzy during this long and terrible season is yummy homemade soup. This is one of my new favorites...it is delish.

Sidenote: my digital camera broke! Not that it took the best pictures but it was okay enough. Now I am left with one that takes terrible terrible pictures so I apologize ahead of time...it will have to do until I can afford a nice new one. Does anyone have any suggestions for cameras that take good food pictures but don't cost an arm and a leg?

Sidenote #2: I just dropped Kirby off at the Vet to get fixed today :/ he seemed so scared. I'm nervous for the little guy and my house is so lonely without him. When I dropped him off their power was out but hopefully it comes back on today so we can get this over with...my poor little baby :(

Spicy Sweet Potato and Chicken Soup
From Foodnetwork.com

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium carrots, peeled
2 ribs celery
1 large onion, peeled and halved
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 to 2 chipotle chili in adobo, finely chopped, plus a spoon of sauce from the can
Salt and black pepper
1 teaspoon dry thyme, eyeball it
1 bay leaf
1 cup dry white wine, eyeball it
5 cups chicken stock
1 large sweet potato
3/4 to 1 pound chicken tenders, cut into bite size pieces
4 scallions, white and green parts thinly sliced
1/4 cup cilantro leaves, a generous handful, roughly chopped
1/2 cup fat-free sour cream, for garnish, optional

Directions:

Heat a soup pot over medium-high heat with 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil, about 2 turns of the pan.

While soup pot heats, chop carrots in half lengthwise then slice into thin half moons. Add the carrots to the pot while it heats, stirring to coat the carrots in the oil. Chop and drop in celery and onion, chopping as small as you can, but don't make yourself crazy. Add the garlic, chipotle, and adobo sauce and stir to combine. Season the veggies with salt, pepper, thyme, and bay leaf. Cook the veggies together 1 minute. Add the wine and reduce a minute. Add the stock to the pot, cover the pot, and raise heat to high. Bring the stoup to a boil, remove the cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.

Peel and cut the sweet potatoes into quarters lengthwise, then thinly slice into bite size pieces. Add the cut chicken and sweet potatoes and simmer 5 minutes until sweet potatoes are tender and chicken is cooked through. Turn the heat off and add the scallions and cilantro. Serve each portion of stoup with a dollop of sour cream on top.

Apple Pupcakes

It has been a while since I posted a dog treat recipe. This might be because Kirby is spoiled and got tons of treats for Christmas...I scheduled Kirbys manhood-removal appointment for this monday. I'm worried for the little fella. Good thing Shawn has that week off and will be around in case Kirb's depressed or in pain. He likes Shawn more than me :(

Believe it or not, Kirb seems to have tripled since I last posted about him...my baby is growing so fast! For New Years I put a little bow-tie on him...Shawn thought I was mean but I thought he looked like a little man. It was cute, and he may or may not have gotten some extra treats that night.

Kirb is obsessed with apple dog treats so these are a favorite of his.

Apple Pupcakes
From Healthyrecipesforpets.com

Ingredients:

2 3/4 cups water
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 tablespoons honey
1 medium egg
1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup apple, dried
1 tablespoon baking powder

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, mix together water, applesauce, honey, egg, and vanilla. In a large bowl, combine flour, apple chips, and baking powder. Add liquid ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until very well blended. Pour into greased muffin pans, Bake 1 1/4 hours, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry. Store in a sealed container.