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?

Moon Over Chicken Parm-a

I'm a sucker for terrible puns and wordplay. I apologize. If you can't tell by the title, I made Chicken Parmesan tonight. This was the first recipe from the "Everyday Cutlets" section of the "Everyday Entrees" chapter. It's another one of those recipes that I always expected to be so complex and time-consuming, but it really can't get much easier.

The most time-consuming part of the recipe had to due with my lack of marinara sauce. I had to whip up some before attempting the recipe and, luckily, I had double-checked this earlier today. Had I started the recipe not knowing I would need sauce, I would still be cooking and very hungry.

The marinara sauce takes between and hour and an hour and a half, but after that it was smooth sailing. I tossed the chicken cutlet in some EVOO spray and Italian seasoning (no fresh herbs here, but come next year when Katie and I have our herb garden, my dishes will be singing a different tune). I then cooked the chicken for one minute on each side in a smoking hot pan just to brown the outsides.

The toaster oven was preheated at about 450 degrees (the recipe said 500, but anything higher than 450 on the toaster oven is broil, and I knew that wasn't how this should be cooked). I put the chicken on the cooking tray, covered it all around with some sauce, then topped it lightly with mozzarella cheese. Giada says in her introduction of this recipe that she lightens it up by not smothering the chicken in cheese (hey look! Someone else thinks healthy like me!) and, in case you haven't noticed at this point, by not breading it.

I finished it off with some Parmesan cheese on top (obviously) then let it cook till the cheese was melted and browned, about 5 or 6 minutes.

That's it! That is Chicken Parmesan ala Giada. I have to say, it was just as good without all those bread crumbs clouding the chicken flavor. I liked that the recipe called for more actual Parmesan cheese than mozzarella, and the dish did taste lighter overall. I'm used to being in a food coma after a serving of chicken parm and spaghetti, but this cutlet alone was just enough! I must also say, that I can now make marinara sauce in my sleep, and it's a damn good marinara sauce (sorry Mom and Dad, but yes, I did just use the word damn).

I'll be taking tomorrow off for the national holiday. It's my birthday in case you haven't heard. I'll be turning the big 2-1 so hopefully I can find some dinner off-campus so I can enjoy a glass of wine on the side! Until next time!

Holy Tricolore!

Hello all, sorry for such a late update today. I made and ate this recipe at approximately 5 p.m., then was pulled into about a billion different directions causing my update to be about five hours late. Oops!

We start off our eighth cycle through Everyday Italian in the "Tricolore" section of the "Everyday Antipasti" chapter. As the name implies, "tricolore" refers to three colors, specifically the three colors of the Italian flag; red, white and green. How might one take the colors of the flag and translate them into a dish? Why by using tomatoes, cheese, and basil of course! Honestly, could it get any better? I think not.

Tonight's recipe was called "Panino Alla Margherita." Obviously, it was a panini. But, I would like to call mine the poor man's version of the panini. For starters, I was supposed to use "rustic white bread." In my attempt to save my own money and use the abundance of declining dining dollars I have here at school, I went shopping at the campus convenience store which is hardly any sort of specialty store. Instead, I bought some stone ground whole wheat bread (equally delicious, possibly more flavor).

On top of one of these bread slices I was supposed to place a slice of fresh mozzarella cheese. Though sometimes the sub line has fresh mozzarella displayed with the various salads offered in our convenience store, it did not have any, to my knowledge, this week. Luckily, I happened to have some light string cheese in my fridge that I was willing to use in its place. I sliced up my string cheese and placed it on the bread.

This is topped with some salt and pepper (which I of course had), and some fresh basil leaves. If I had asked for fresh basil leaves on campus, they would have laughed in my face. Dried basil took its place. Definitely not the same, but it worked just fine.

Next I placed two slices of tomato on the sandwich. I actually was able to scrounge up half a tomato from Katie's house (Lawn Ave, I owe you) and it's a good thing too. I was about to replace it with either tomato paste of crushed tomatoes. DEFINITELY not the same.

I seasoned this with more salt and pepper then placed the other piece of bread on top. The recipe then asks you to brush each side of the sandwich with oil. I opted for the EVOO spray, just as good AND fat-free.

You're supposed to cook the panini on a griddle or grill pan. I really didn't feel like lugging the George Foreman out just for a sandwich, so i just cooked it in a pan. Sure, it didn't have pretty grill marks, but it DID have a pretty golden brown color.

This was really quick and easy to make and very flavorful despite my many substitutions. The bread was nice and crispy, and the cheese was just melted enough to hold the sandwich together. The warm tomato was the star of the show. When you heat a tomato, it seriously brings about flavors that you didn't know it had. The basil enhances the flavor even more.

Did I mention that this was healthier than your average panini? Well it was. And it's the closest thing I've had to grilled cheese in a long time (and to be honest, it was way better than any grilled cheese I've ever made). I give this one two thumbs up.

All this talk of red, white and green definitely had me in Jersey Shore mode (sorry Alyssa Milano, I know you would take offense to that). I didn't fist pump, but I did think of Pauly D and his DJ equipment covered in the Italian flag. I tried to find of clip of this, but it was a situation.

All right I swear I'm done with the Jersey Shore references. Good night!