I Heart Espresso S’Mores

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espresso marshmallows, espresso s'mores, heart desserts, heart sweets, heart treats, home-made s'mores, homemade graham cookies, s'mores, Valentine's Day desserts, Valentine's Day s'mores, Valentine's Day treats

With Valentine’s Day around the corner, how about some S’Mores for your love bunnies? Although I’m into showing my love year round, I do enjoy making special heart-shaped treats at this time of year. And not just because it’s Valentine’s Day. It also happens to be my Emma’s birthday. Her birthday is the 15th and she is constantly reminding me that she is my Valentine’s present. Oh, what a precious gift!

I don’t know anyone who does not love S’Mores. So I thought I’d add my own twist to this classic. An Italian twist, of course! Heart-shaped graham cookies and espresso marshmallows! Oh yeah, you got that right. Espresso marshmallows! Dipped in dark Belgian chocolate, and then dipped again in crushed Amaretti cookie crumbs! Oh man, it doesn’t get better than this. Words cannot describe how scrumptious these Espresso S’Mores are. Now if this doesn’t tell them you love ’em, I don’t know what will!

Graham Cookies       adapted from Brown eyed Baker

1½ cups of flour
1⅓ cups of graham flour
1 teaspoon of baking soda
½ teaspoon of salt
1 cup of unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup of dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons of honey

In a medium bowl, whisk together both flours, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, or in a stand-mixer bowl, combine butter, brown sugar and honey. Beat at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed just until blended and the dough comes together, about 30 seconds.

Transfer the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap, press into a 7-inch square, and wrap tightly. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. When ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/8-inch thickness and cut into heart shapes. Transfer to baking sheet, spacing the cookies about a 1/2-inch apart. Once on the baking sheet, decorate the cookies with the initials of your loves, small hearts, or any design that fancies you. Gather any scraps, re-roll, and cut out more cookies.

Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the cookies are dark golden brown and just firm to the touch. If adding both cookie sheets at the same time, rotate them after about 8 minutes and bake an additional 4 or 5 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool for a minute on the baking sheets, then transfer to a cooling rack. Let cool completely.

Espresso Marshmallows

4 teaspoons of powdered gelatine
⅔ cup of water
½ cup of freshly brewed espresso coffee
1½ cups of sugar
1 tablespoon of pure vanilla extract
powdered sugar, to sprinkle on finished marshmallow
vegetable oil

Lay some plastic wrap on the bottom of a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish or pan, and lightly brush with vegetable oil. If you prefer a thinner marshmallow, use a bigger pan or dish.

Stir the gelatin into the water and let sit until ready to use.

In a large saucepan over medium heat, warm up the espresso with the sugar and vanilla. When warm, stir in the gelatin and water and cook for 3 or 4 minutes, until the sugar and gelatin dissolves. In the bowl of a stand mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the espresso-gelatin mixture until it resembles a soft meringue, about 15 minutes. You really need to start this with the mixer on low for the first 5 minutes. It is a very hot liquid and it will splatter. After 5 minutes, increase the speed to medium, and then to medium-high/high for the last 5 minutes. Pour into the prepared pan and let sit at room temperature for at least 1 hour. Sprinkle some powdered sugar onto a cutting board and invert the pan onto it. Peel off the plastic wrap.

Cut the marshmallow with the same heart-shaped cookie cutter used for the graham cookies. At this point, you can dip the marshmallows in some powdered sugar and store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two weeks.

Assembling Espresso S’Mores

Dark Belgian chocolate
Amaretti cookies

Melt some dark Belgian chocolate using the bain marie method. Crush some Amaretti cookies until you have fine crumbs.

Brush the underside of each graham cookie with the melted chocolate.

Dip half of an espresso marshmallow into the melted chocolate, and then dip again into the Amaretti cookie crumbs. Place on a heart cookie and cover with another heart. And there you have it. Heart Espresso S’Mores!  Happy Love Day!

The left-over marshmallows can be gobbled up as is, cut into smaller hearts and served on just 1 graham cookie, or cut into even smaller hearts and plopped into some luscious hot chocolate.  Enjoy!

Charlotte’s Chocolate-Toffee Popcorn

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chocolate, chocolate and toffee popcorn, chocolate popcorn, Fiesta Friday, Fiesta Friday #2, kids make popcorn, party popcorn, popcorn, toffee

I’m invited to a party over at The Novice Gardner. I LOVE parties! Angie is hosting Fiesta Friday, and what fun is a party without popcorn? And not just any popcorn. I walked into the kitchen last Sunday and found my girls making this sweet treat. It was Charlotte’s idea and of course where popcorn is involved, Emma is sure to be there! Foraging through the pantry, Charlotte came across some Belgian milk chocolate and toffee bits. She told Emma her idea and off they were, making a mess in my kitchen. Do you recall when I mentioned that all I wanted for Christmas were little elves to follow me around all day, picking up after me? I neglected to mention that I’ve already got my little elves, only instead of cleaning up the messes, they create them! So, drop by Angie’s Fiesta Friday #2 and enjoy the party!

Charlotte’s Chocolate-Toffee Popcorn

Popcorn kernels

Belgian milk, or dark, chocolate

Toffee bits

Sea salt, optional

Pop the kernels and spread the popcorn onto a couple of baking sheets. Melt the chocolate using a hot water bath, or bain marie. Using a spoon, pour the melted chocolate over the popcorn. Immediately add the toffee bits, so that they can adhere to the chocolate as it cools. Sprinkle with sea salt for a sweet and salty popcorn. Oh! So yummy! Perfect for any party. Have a great weekend!

Beef Stroganoff

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beef stew, beef stroganoff, classic Russian dish, egg noodles with stew, mushroom stew, porcini mushrooms, Sochi Olympics, stew

I love the Olympics! LOVE! Ever since I was a young child, I remember thinking how special they were. Was it because they only happened every four years? Or was it because it seemed like the whole wide world had their eye on this one special event, together, united. Wasn’t it the Beijing Olympics whose theme was “One World, One Dream”? Perhaps this is why I always seem to shed a few tears as I watch the Olympics. Including the Opening Ceremony! It never fails. For this one moment, the world comes together as one, ignoring all boundaries, regardless of race, religion, social class or political stance. Yes, we support our country, but we also unite, in search of that one outstanding performance. We’re all waiting with baited breath for that elite athlete to do the unthinkable, no matter what country they represent. I remember during the Summer Olympics two years ago, my cousins were visiting from Italy. They knew the exact day of the men’s 100 and 200 metre race. That day, everyone was running in and out of the cottage, glancing at the TV screen, making sure not to miss the event. We all wanted to see that one man, just as the entire world did as well, Usain Bolt. Oh, and what a day that was! And of course, I cried. My girls don’t get it. “But mama, they won! Why are you crying?” So in honour of the Opening Ceremony this Friday of the Sochi Winter Olympic Games, how about a classic Russian dish to celebrate the occasion.

Seeing as I have quite the stash of dried porcini mushrooms, I thought I’d add some to this dish, along with its soaking liquid. An extra depth of flavour wouldn’t hurt this one bit. If you haven’t got them on-hand, no worries. You can do without.

Instead of using just cream and making it super rich, I lightened it up a tad with some thick yogurt. The egg noodles could be any variety. Egg tagliatelle or linguine would work beautifully. I chose what I knew my girls would like best.

Beef Stroganoff 

large handful of dried porcini mushrooms, about 1 oz.

2 lb. of stewing beef

3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons of butter

salt & pepper

1 large Spanish onion, thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 tablespoon of Hungarian Paprika

1 tablespoon of tomato paste

1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard

2 or 3 Bay leaves

3 cups of beef stock, or 4 if not using dried Porcini mushrooms

Porcini liquid, about 1 cup

½ cup of red wine

½ lb. of button mushrooms, cut in ½

½ cup of thick yogurt

½ cup of 35% cream

½ cup fresh parsley, chopped

1 lb. of egg noodles

sour cream for serving, optional

Soak the dried porcini mushrooms in hot water for about 15 minutes. Chop the porcini and reserve the liquid.

The stewing beef usually comes in pieces that are way too big, and not always evenly cut. Cut them in half, perhaps even more, so that you have pieces that are more or less 1 to 1½ inches all around. Season with salt and pepper. Heat a large casserole over medium-high heat and add the olive oil and butter. When hot, brown the meat in 2 batches, for about 3 or 4 minutes. Remove and transfer to a plate.

Reduce heat to medium and add the onions. Cook for about 5 minutes, until nicely browned. Stir in the garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add the porcini and cook for 1 or 2 minutes. Add the beef pieces and any juices in the plate. Add the paprika and stir.

Add the porcini liquid, beef stock, wine, tomato paste, dijon and bay leaves. Give it a good stir, bring to a simmer and cover. Let it cook for 2½ to 3 hours, until the beef pieces are nice and tender. Mine was ready after 2½ hours. At that point, add the button mushrooms and allow them to simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the cream and yogurt. Turn off the heat and stir in the parsley.

Cook the egg noodles. When ready, strain and return to its cooking pot. Add some butter to the noodles, stir, and set aside until ready to serve.

When ready to serve, add some noodles to a dish or bowl and ladle the beef stroganoff over the top. If you like, you can add a dollop of sour cream and garnish with additional fresh parsley. Priyatnogo appetite! That’s Bon Appetit in Russian. I think! Go Team Canada!