Tiramisu

Yan March 10, 2016

中文：提拉米苏

Tiramisu, even the name sounds so beautiful! I love making tiramisu for parties. It is always gone before you know it. Sometimes I would make it just for myself. With a cup of hot coffee and a good book in hand, it feels like heaven! O(∩_∩)O~

You can make it whatever shape you want. Tiramisu in dessert cups are so cute and pretty.

Ingredients:

8 oz mascarpone cheese
2 egg yolks
1 1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons rum and coffee liqueur (recommend Kahlua)
2 shots of espresso

18 to 20 lady finger cookies
1/3 to 1/2 cup sugar (use more if you have a sweet tooth)
1 teaspoon gelatin powder
2 to 3 tablespoons water
unsweetened coco powder

Directions：

Get a 6 inch round or square cake pan ready.

Add egg yolks and half of the sugar to a double boiler bowl. Beat the yolks and sugar until yolks turns creamy white color with electric mixer on medium low speed when the double boiler is simmering over low heat.

Remove from heat and allow the yolks to cool down to room temperature.

In another medium bowl, add mascarpone cheese. Beat with electric mixer until the cheese is smooth. Add the cheese to yolk mixture. Beat until well combined.

Sprinkle the gelatin powder over water in a bowl. Let it sit for a couple minutes and then microwave it for 20 to 30 seconds or until it completely melts. Cool until it is no longer too hot to touch. Add to the yolk and cheese mixture. Whisk until well combined.

Replace the electric mixer with a clean pair of beaters.

Beat the heavy cream in a medium bowl just until it begins to hold it shape. Gradually add the other half of sugar in between.

With a rubber spatula, gently fold the whipped cream into yolk and cheese mixture.

Mix rum and coffee liquor and espresso coffee in a small bowl or deep plate.

Deep the lady finger cookies in the coffee mixture for a few seconds. And then layer them at the bottom of glass cake pan.

I didn’t find lady finger cookies in my local grocery store. The closest ones I got are Stella Doro margrite cookies. I did a quick online research when I was standing in the cookie aisle. These cookies would work too. You just need to soak them in the espresso mixture a little bit longer than the regular lady finger cookies.

Top with 1/3 cheese mixture and smooth it out with a spoon.

Add another layer of lady finger cookies.

Top with cheese mixture again. Repeat the process until the cheese and cookies are done.

Chill in the refrigerator overnight.

Sprinkle with shifted unsweetened coco powder on the top.

I make a square one and another two cute mini tiramisu in dessert cups.

My afternoon gets so much better with a piece of tiramisu and a cup of black coffee! O(∩_∩)O~

Beef Noodle Soup with Beef Shank and Tendon

Yan March 8, 2016

中文：清汤牛肉牛筋面

I enjoy making all kinds of soup from scratch at home. They are great right off the stove. Sometimes I use them as the soup base for Asian hot pot. Most times I use them to use noodle soup and rice noodle soup.

The picture above is beef rice noodle soup. And the picture below is beef noodle soup. Can you tell the difference? O(∩_∩)O~

Ingredients for beef soup:

2 to 3 pounds of beef shank
1 1/2 to 2 pounds of beef tendon
2 to 3 star anises
2 to 3 tablespoon rice cooking wine
1 small piece of ginger root, smashed with knife
4 to 5 dried chili peppers , cut into small pieces
8 to 10 black peppercorns
2 to 3 bay leaves
1 black cardamom pot
2 to 3 cloves
1/4 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns
2 to 3 pieces of dried rhizome/ dried ginger slices
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4teaspoon ground white pepper
chopped cilantro
a few drops of sesame oil
chili oil sauce
water for stewing
salt to taste

Ingredients for noodle：

1 cup of bread flour
1/4 cup of water
a pinch of salt

Directions：

Soak both beef tendon and shank in cold water for at least an hour. Change the water twice in between.

Here are the spices for beef soup: star anises, dried peppers, black peppercorns, dried rhizome/ dried ginger slices, Sichuan peppercorns, black cardamom pot, bay leaves and cloves. Wrap them with a piece of coffee filter paper.

Tie it up

In a 5.75 quart Staub cast iron pot, add water, beef tendon and shank, rice cooking wine, spice bag and ginger root.

Heat the cast iron pot over high heat. When the soup comes to boil, remove the white gray bubbles on the top with a spoon.

Cover with lid and reduce to simmer for 3 to 3 1/2 hours. Beef tendon might need longer time to cook.

In the last 15 minutes cooking, add salt, sugar and ground white pepper to taste.

Now we have a pot of wonderful beef soup.

When the soup is being stewed, I make the noodle.

In a medium bowl, add bread flour, water and salt. Whisk with a pair of chopsticks or a wood spoon. When everything starts to come together, transfer the dough to a dusted wooden board.

Knead with hands until the dough is smooth.

Cover with plastic wrap and allow it to rest for at least 30 minutes.

Flatten the ball of dough with a large rolling pin. And then feed it through the pasta roller for KitchenAid stand mixer for several times. At the one last time, set the thickness to 3.

Remove the roller, and put on the spaghetti cutter.

Run the thin dough sheet through pasta cutter.

I do enjoy this moment.

What to do next is pretty easy and simple because most of the hard work is done by now.

Cook the fresh noodle in a large pot of boiling water for 30 to 45 seconds. Drain well and add it a medium bowl, along with beef soup, sliced beef shank and tendon, a couple teaspoons of chili oil sauce, chopped cilantro and sesame oil.

The beef tendon and shank are sliced hot so they are kind of impossible to slice thinly.

The next morning, I made another bowl of beef rice noodle soup exactly the same way. I allow the beef shank and tenon to completely chill in the refrigerator before slicing them. Now they look much better in the soup. O(∩_∩)O~

Time to enjoy!

Espresso Coffee Made with Moka pot

Yan March 5, 2016

中文：用摩卡壶煮一壶好咖啡

Both my husband and I are really into coffee recently. Just simply enjoy a cup of freshly ground and brewed coffee and the lazy cozy Sunday afternoons in the street coffee shop with a good book. O(∩_∩)O~

I pick up the habit to make espresso coffee with moka pot http://amzn.to/1nzUBj5 from a couple Italian friends. Whenever I hang out with them, there is always a pot of freshly brewed coffee on the stove. It goes so well with cookies and other sweets!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons coffee beans (use more if prefer stronger darker coffee)
1 /1/2 cups water

I use decaf coffee beans bought from starbucks store.

Add coffee beans to a coffee grinder. Grind for a few seconds

Add water. There is a maximum water mark on the moka pot. Be careful not to add too much water; otherwise you might end with a coffee mess on the stove.

Mine is small. One and a half cups are the maximum capacity.

Load the ground coffee.

Heat over medium high heat

Soon, the coffee will come out from the top.

More and more coffee comes out. You will need to cover it now or it will splatter everywhere.

When it stops, remove the moka pot http://amzn.to/1nzUBj5 from heat.

Now enjoy it whatever way you like. My favorite choice is macaroons!

Chocolate Ganache Glazed Donuts

Yan March 2, 2016

中文：巧克力甜甜圈

I suddenly crave for fresh donuts, but the only donut place in town went out of business two years ago. So I decide to make my own chocolate ganache glazed donuts. O(∩_∩)O~

I make a batch of donuts. The inner circle dough balls cut from donuts don’t go to waste either. I fry them along with donuts, top with icing sugar and sprinkle with ground cinnamon and sugar, yum!

Ingredients：

2 cups of all purpose flour
1/2 cup luke warm whole milk
1 1/2 teaspoon yeast
1 large egg
3 to 4 tablespoons sugar
2 to 3 tablespoons melted butter
1/8 teaspoon salt
oil for frying

Donuts toppings：

Chocolate ganache
sugar
ground cinnamon
icing sugar

Directions：

Add flour, sugar and salt to the bread machine. Mix together. Make a well on the top of flour mixture. Add milk, sprinkle with yeast and let it sit for 5 minutes.

Add egg and melted butter.

Start dough process.

The bread machine finishes kneading.

It also automatically proofs the dough.

Transfer the dough to a well-floured wooden board. Gently knead it with hands to get rid of any big air bubbles. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for 10 minutes.

With a rolling pin, roll the dough to about half inch thin. Use round biscuit cutters to cut it into donut shapes. When done, cover them with plastic wrap again and let them rest for about another 20 minutes.

Add oil to a wok or pot. Heat it over high heat. When the oil gets hot, fry the donuts until both sides are golden brown. Each side takes about 1 minute, more or less.

Dip them in the chocolate ganache.

Cool on a cooling rack.

Now it is time to enjoy！O(∩_∩)O~

I know you want a bite of these too!

Do not waste the center part cut from donut dough. Fry them to golden brown too. Top with icing sugar and sprinkle with ground cinnamon and sugar.

They are surprisingly tasty too! O(∩_∩)O~

Coco Macarons

Yan February 28, 2016

中文：可可马卡龙

Coco powder and chocolate go so well with macarons. Whenever I make macarons, I have to make it with one of them. O(∩_∩)O~

Ingredients:

2 large egg whites
110 g powder sugar
45 g granulated sugar
50 g almond flour
10 g coco powder
a pinch of cream of tartar

Direction:

Combine powder sugar, coco powder and almond flour. Pour the mixture into food processor.

Run the process for about 10 seconds.

Shift the flour mixture through a flour shifter or strainer.

Discard any big almond pieces.

Add cream of tartar to the egg whites. Beat the egg white with an electric whisk.

Beat at low speed for about 1 minute. Switch to medium speed for 3 to 4 minutes. And then beat at high speed for 1 to 2 minutes. Add sugar in three batches in between. Stop beating when the stiff peak forms.

Add shifted almond flour mixture.

With a rubber spatula, gently fold the flour mixture into egg whites.

Fold it gently until the batter can fall smoothly like a silky ribbon.

Prepare a 14 inch decorating bag with Wilton NO. 12 tip. Use a wide mouth drinking glass to help the bag to stand up straight which will make it so much easier to pour the batter.