Tomatoes and Tiramisu

...but not together. That's just gross. I apologize for not updating sooner, but I've been absolutely SWAMPED with things to do around here. I have been able to cook amidst the chaos, however, I haven't had much time to sit down and type this up.

That being said, let's get started! I did another "Tricolore" recipe from the "Everyday Antipasti" chapter which was rather familiar. Who hasn't had some version of a Caprese Salad before?

You may notice the picture of the gross looking cheese accompanying my beautiful salad above. Allow me to explain. While I was home, I bought some boccinni (I know I butchered the spelling) to use along with grape tomatoes for this recipe. I thought it would be cool to have the ingredients all the same size. Well, I really should have used my ingredients sooner. Upon retrieving my cheese from the refrigerator, I think it's pretty obvious that it had become inedible.

A minor setback if you ask me. Instead, I opted for two sticks of light string cheese. Sure, it's not the same as fresh mozzarella, but desperate times call for such actions.

To make the salad, I sliced up the tomatoes and cheese and tossed them in a bowl. I then whisked together some EVOO (actual, not spray of course), lemon juice, salt and pepper. I then tossed the dressing with the salad and BAM, there you have Caprese Salad. It's so simple, but so flavorful. I never thought to incorporate the lemon juice in the dressing before, but it really made a difference especially in comparison to say a balsamic vinaigrette.

And now, my second recipe that I need to write about: Tiramisu. As I mentioned in my previous post, I needed to go out of order in this cycle so that I could use my Chocolate Zabaglione before it went bad. I broke my rule, but I really don't mind considering it was delicious.

I started by stirring some mascarpone cheese until it was smooth. I then whisked together some Cool Whip Free and sugar. The recipe, as always, called for me to make my own whipped cream using full-fat cream, but considering how fattening Tiramisu is to begin with, I decided to give it a little makeover.

I folded the cheese into the cream, then folded in my Chocolate Zabaglione and refrigerated the resulting cream. Next, I made some instant espresso thanks to the ever-so-strong Starbucks Via. This was used to coat the lady fingers (for those not in the know, these are light, pretty much flavor-less cookies. A softer type of biscotti). I lined the bottom of my pan with a layer of dipped lady fingers, then topped that with some of the cream. I repeated this step, then ended with a layer of semi-dipped lady finger because...I ran out of coffee. These cookies soak up liquid like its going out of style leaving me with little to work with by the end.

The Tiramisu was supposed to be to be refrigerated, then flipped upside-down to be served after sifting some cocoa over the top. This is far too complicated for a dish that's just going to be devoured by college students. I didn't have a chance to take a picture of the Tiramisu because by the time I thought to do so, there was little of it left and being the child I can be at times, I kind of destroyed it by mindlessly poking at it with a fork.

It wasn't the prettiest Tirsmisu anyway, so I'll save a picture of it for when I have it perfected.

That's all I have for tonight. I plan on taking a couple of cooking days off in order to make a bigger dent in my declining balance and to give myself some time to get ahead on my work. Don't you hate when priorities get in they way of fun?