About time

The Peonies have finally come out this weekend. It's bee a wee while from bud to bloom but they're worth it. The sad part is that they?re pretty delicate so probably won't last all that long. I also need to do something about the plant as the flowers seem to be too heavy for the stems. Perhaps someone with green fingers can give me some advice, should I just prop up the stems with cane or should I do some cutting back or something?

Oh and here's the recipes I promised yesterday:

Burgers

500g minced beef
1 large handful fresh breadcrumbs (1 morning roll put through a blender pretty much does it)
1 oxo cube dissolved in 1/4 cup of water
1/2 large onion grated, put though a blender or very finely chopped.
1 clove of garlic grated, put though a blender or very finely chopped.
4 large pinches paprika
4 large pinches ground coriander
Plenty of salt and pepper

Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl then stick in the fridge for at least an hour.
Split into four and shape into patties. Remember they will shrink when cooking so make them reasonably large, also the middle tends to swell while cooking so make a dent in the middle with the back of a tablespoon.

Put in the fridge for at least two hours to help the mixture bind.

As for cooking I tend to Barbeque them, if you are doing this wait until you can hold your hand above the barbie grill for approximately 10 seconds before you have to pull it away then they should take 5-10 minutes to cook turning occasionally.

Tiramisu

1 1/2 -2 cups of strong coffee preferably espresso
100 g caster sugar (plus a little extra to sweeten the coffee and for whipping the cream)
4 egg yolks
450g Mascarpone cheese (at room temperature)
1/2 cup Marsala wine
1 cup whipping cream
Amaretto to taste
Cocoa powder
Packet of lady finger sponge biscuits

Make the coffee then stir in a little sugar and amaretto to taste (I use lots of Amaretto)

Put it in a bowl to cool and put it to the side.

Whisk the egg yolks in a heat proof bowl until they are fluffy
Whisk in the sugar then the Marsala wine.

Once it is all whisked together transfer the bowl to a pan of boiling water and keep whisking until the mixture thickens making sure you get right in about the edges.

Mash the mascarpone cheese with a plastic masher or spatula.

Once it has thickened add the egg and Marsala mixture to the bowl with the cheese then mix together well making sure it is smooth.

Whip the cream until it is stiff (I put a little sugar in the cream to help before whisking).

Fold the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture making sure you don't end up with any lumps.

Get a large rectangular lasagne style dish (1 use one that's about 10 inches by 13) and one at a time soak the ladyfinger biscuits in the coffee mixture and place them in the bottom of the bowl.

Once the entire base of the bowl has been covered drizzle over any remaining coffee mixture (not too much though, you don't want the base too dry but you don't want it swimming either).

Pour the cream and cheese mixture over the top making it as smooth as possible (I suppose you could pipe it in to get that peaked effect you see on some tiramisu but I never bother with that).

Dust the top with cocoa powder making sure it's all covered evenly (a tea strainer is great for doing this).

Stick it in the fridge and chill for at least 4 hours before serving.