A GOOD CUP OF COFFEE - MY INSPIRATION FOR A TIRAMISU RECIPE #SPONSORED

Having recently witnessed my first Japanese tea ceremony I learned that the beauty behind the  ceremony is not only drinking tea and sharing the tea with others, but the consciousness of every action, movement in preparation, presentation, and enjoyment. The ceremony in fact is much more about reflection, meditation, and living in the moment than just drinking tea.

Although I am not much of a tea drinker I too am a creature of routine and morning meditation. Much like the Japanese tea ceremony, I have a series of actions, movements, and preparations I do to get ready for my day. One such action that must always occur is my morning coffee. When all is still dark and silent I sneak downstairs quietly to my kitchen, turn my stove on until I hear the familiar clicks of my gas stove and wait for the kettle to boil. During this time of patiently waiting for the water to boil I meditate and reflect on how I am feeling, how I slept, and let both my body and mind consciously connect while taking deep breaths and listening to the background sounds of slowly bubbling water.

With the whistles of my kettle I am brought back to the moment and like a dance I have performed hundreds of thousands of times previously, a series of moments I can practically do with my eyes closed, I gather all the instruments and ingredients I need to make my first cup of coffee. With each deliberate movement I am now focused and have only one goal - to achieve the perfect cup of coffee.

With the help of my Melitta ‘Pour Over Coffee Brewing Cone’, I am in control of how much coffee I want to make and how strong I want to make it. Usually for my morning coffee I use 4 tablespoons of coffee and make two cups - one I like to drink when it’s fresh and hot and the second I let cool for an ice coffee later. No matter what your coffee preference, weather you like your coffee flavoured, bold, dark roast, organic or even on the go - you can make coffee your way every morning with Melitta Pour Over Coffee.  

Once ready and when the rich aroma of my perfect cup of coffee hits my nose I like to move to the couch, cuddle up to my little Frenchie who is often still snoozing and take a moment to enjoy what I have created. With each sip my mind turns on and I am able to reflect and focus on what I want to accomplish in my day ahead. Believe it or not sometimes great inspiration is born in these still moments of reflection. Today as I was sipping my morning coffee I reflected on a cooking class I did on my recent trip to Italy. Inspired by both the memory and my morning cup of coffee I decided to turn that second cup of coffee into a delicious Tiramisu dessert I learned. And with that memory and inspiration I here leave you with a recipe for creating your own delicious Tiramisu and encourage you to find the joy and inspiration hiding in your own perfect cup of coffee. Enjoy.

Tiramisu Recipe

Good for 4 people

INGREDIENTS:

4 Egg Yolks
4 TBSP of granulated sugar
400g or 1 3/4 Cups of Mascarpone cheese
1 Box of Ladyfingers Biscuits
Coco Powder
1 Cup of Melitta Pour Over Coffee - room temperature
*Optional - Add some almond extract or rum (just a few drops) to the cream to add another layer of aroma

DIRECTIONS:

Making the Cream

Mix the egg yolks with the sugar using a whisk until a soft cream starts to form.

Add the Mascapone cheese in bit by bit being careful not to dissolve the texture.

Once a nice cream base is formed if you want, you can now add in a couple drops of your almond extract or rum for additional aroma.

Making the Tiramisu

Fill the bottom of an individual sized mason jar, teacup or if you only want to make one large one for a group, cake pan with a layer of cream.

Next dip the lady finger (you may need to break it in half depending on what you are using to hold your tiramisu) into the coffee quickly so it gets submerged but doesn’t crumble from holding to much liquid. Place a lady finger layer on top of cream layer.

Repeat alternating these two processes of cream and ladyfinger until individual mason jar, teacup or cake pan is full. Add final layer of cream to the top if you did not end with cream and sprinkle sifted coco powder over top. Store in fridge until ready to serve.

If you like this recipe or have any comments/questions, feel free to leave them in the comment section below!

Although this post has been generously sponsored by Melitta Canada, the opinions and language are my own, and do not reflect Melitta Canada.

 

Find out more about Melitta at Melitta.ca

ITALIAN CROSTATA RECIPE - MEMORIES FROM ITALY

Having recently received a package of Bonne Maman jams (best surprise ever!) I decided that I would put them to good use and make some delicious Italian breakfast tarts known as Crostatas. If you ever find that you have lots of jam in your fridge and you are looking for ways to use them up this is a great idea. The recipe is really easy and forgiving, and can be a fun activity to do with kids. Although Italians typically serve this tart with breakfast it can easily transition to an after dinner dessert with the help of a scoop of ice cream. Buon appetito!!

INGREDIENTS:

2 Cups of flour
1/2 Cup of granulated sugar
1/2 Teaspoon of baking powder
1 Egg + 1 Egg yoke (throw out whites for just one egg)
1/2 Cup of butter (softened!)
3/4 Cup of jam of your choice

DIRECTIONS:

Using a large bowl add in your flour, sugar, and baking powder - whisk until fully incorporated together.

Make a well and add in your eggs and butter, and start to incorporate it all together. I like to start with my whisk and then move to using my hands as it gets more clumpy.

Kneed the clumps together until they form a dough (this may take some time but the butter will eventually spread and help form the dough).

Once dough is formed wrap in plastic wrap and place in fridge for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Take dough out of fridge after 30 minutes and roll out using a rolling pin to about 1/8 of an inch thickness.

Spread the dough out over your pie dish and get rid of any excess dough. You can kneed the excess dough together again and roll it out again to create strips of dough which are equal in thickness to decorate the top of the crostata with a lattice later if you want.

Add in your jam and spread out evenly. You want just enough jam where you don't see the crust below.

Add your decorative stripes of dough to the top now. I like to form a lattice but some people cut out shapes instead. You can turn down the edges of the pie to hold the lattice strips in place.

Place in oven for 30 - 35 minutes or until top is golden.

Once ready remove and let cool for 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

If you like this recipe or have any comments/questions, feel free to leave them in the comment section below!

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BEST HOMEMADE PIZZA DOUGH RECIPE!

Pizza Dough Recipe

I have always been a bit of a carb lover but a couple of summers ago I got a pizza stone as a gift and I became a full on pizza addict. There is nothing better than fresh pizza right out of the oven and a pizza stone is a definite game changer. If you like that crispy bottom typically associated with thin crust gourmet pizzas from restaurants I definitely recommend you pick up a stone. I have even gone as far as having pizza parties which I find is quite an interactive way to host and entertain guests. Anyways what inspired this post was that I recently came across this recipe for pizza dough by Matt Rotenberg and tried it out this past weekend and loved so much I had to share! It was so easy and really quite delicious it would be selfish of me to keep it all to myself - so enjoy!

Makes about 3-4 Personal Sized Pizzas

INGREDIENTS:

2.5 Cups of Flour
1 Pack of Fleischmann's Quick Rise Instant Yeast
1/4 TSP of Salt
1 Cup of Lukewarm Water
2 TBSP of Olive Oil
1 TBSP of honey

DIRECTIONS:

In a bowl mix flour, salt and yeast together with a fork.

Add lukewarm water, olive oil, and honey into a bowl and continue to mix with a fork until the dough starts to form,

Sprinkle flour on the counter and kneed dough. If the dough is sticky sprinkle with flour and continue to kneed until it becomes smooth.

Place ready dough in a bowl, drizzle a little bit of olive oil on top to help keep the dough moist and cover with a cloth. Let it rise for 10 minutes before moving it to the fridge.

TIP: Prepare dough within 2 hours of use otherwise it will continue to rise!

My pizza stone was from William and Sonoma - link HERE *

*I am not affiliated so I dont make commission just wanted to recommend my stone if you are looking to purchase one

NEED PIZZA TOPPING INSPIRATION?

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LINGUINI MARINARA WITH CLAMS

I recently made this dish for a family dinner and I had to share! It was so delicious and quick to make - its honestly the perfect seafood dish to add to a meal. The sauce is light yet flavorful so you can still taste those delicate clams. I went for a thicker linguini noodle so as to get more sauce with each bite. If you are into Italian food you gotta try this recipe! It will be having your guest asking to take home leftovers...that's if there is any!

Makes Pasta for 5 People

INGREDIENTS:

3 TBSP of Olive Oil
2 -3 Shallots (minced)
2 Garlic Cloves (minced)
1 TSP of Dried Basil
1 TSP of Dried Oregano
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 Cans of San Marzano Tomatos (Drained and Chopped)*
3/4 Cup of White Wine
50 Clams (I used Little Neck Clams and washed them to remove any sand or dirt on the shell)
750 grams of Linguini (usually 150 grams per person is good)
A handful of fresh Italian Parsley (for garnish)

*Keep the juice just in case you want to add it in later for an even lighter sauce

DIRECTIONS:

Heat oil on medium in a nice big sauce pan. Add in your shallots, turn your heat down to low/medium and let those shallots sweat a little.

Once your shallots are starting to become translucent add in your garlic followed by the dried basil, oregano and a pinch of salt and pepper.

Once garlic has released its flavor into the mixture add in your strained and chopped tomatoes. Mix well and let the water in the pan evaporate a little before adding in the wine.

In a separate pot bring water to boil, add salt followed by your linguini.

Once you add in the wine let that sit for a while to reduce before adding in the clams. As the clams open up they release the flavor of sea water so the dish may need to thicken up a little bit but you also need to cover the dish so to properly steam the clams to open.

Once clams are fully open, add your cooked linguine, garnish with fresh Italian parsley and you are ready to serve!

ENJOY!!!

I hope you enjoyed this recipe as much as I do. If you have any comments please leave them below and I'll be happy to answer them as soon as I can! Bon Appetite!!!

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