Today (February 2010) I went to the town of Treviso, 20 minutes north of Venice, to discover the real story of how and where Tiramisu was invented. I had read a story on the internet that it was a creation of Alle Beccherie, a restaurant in Treviso. I had also read, however, that it was invented by a chef now in Baltimore (Carminantonio Iannaccone), at his restaurant Piedigrotta in Treviso. Other stories had also pointed to Treviso, but to different restaurants. As my mother was raised in Treviso, I decided to ask friends, elderly relatives, and locals what they know about the true origins of my favorite northern Italian dessert.

My first stop was a small cafe where a girl no more than 20 years old was working. “I'm not sure where exactly, but I know it was invented in Treviso.”, she said. This was no help at all. At the next cafe, where the Tiramisu seemed more traditional, with the free-flowing zabaglione covering the Savoiardi cookies, a man in his 30s offered that Tiramisu was invented “...right down the street, where there was a bordello. Downstairs, a man asked the madam for something that would pick him up. The madam made a concoction of mascarpone, sugar, eggs, espresso, and amaretti biscotti. This picked the man up, and made him a satisfied customer of the bordello (“Tiramisu” means “Pick Me Up” in Italian). “Later”, the man in the cafe continued, “the amaretti were replaced with the more readily available savoiardi biscotti we see today.”

This was an interesting story, but when I went to my 70 year old aunt (a lifelong resident of Treviso) to confirm the story, she said, “Cipriani's, that's for sure.” Wow. Everyone had their own story. As it turned out, two days prior, I had an hour long conversation with Chef Piccolotto, executive chef of Cipriani's. During the interview about both the chef and Cipriani's, not once did he mention Tiramisu. And so I continued to the next cafe. The waiter here could only confirm that it was invented in Treviso. A young girl in her twenties said, “Wasn't it invented in a bordello?”

At a visit to the final cafe, I asked an old man (who admitted to being in his 90s) where Tiramisu was invented. “In Treviso, in a bordello”, he chuckled.

My original plan was to capture these locals on video telling their stories of Tiramisu. But no one, that is no one directly connected to a supposed inventor of Tiramisu) wanted to be filmed talking about it. Exhausted, I headed back towards the train station, intent on taking the next train back to Venice. Hungry for something other than Tiramisu, I stopped at a local trattoria to dine on octopus, calamari, anchovies, sardines, and to discuss Prosecco with the owner, as he is very active in a local Prosecco club. Before leaving, I asked him, “Tell me, where was Tiramisu born?”

“Here”, he said.
“Here in Treviso?”
“Yes, right here.”
“But where in Treviso?"
“In a house of pleasure. A client wanted something to pick him up, like Viagra, but years ago”, he laughed.

My appetite for fish, Prosecco, and stories of Tiramisu satisfied, I took the next train home to Venice, where I was certain that this evening my dessert would be anything but Tiramisu.

For a great recipe for "Original" tiramisu including a step-by-step video, click here.

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It's no big secret how much I love Twitter and this post is a direct result of twitter and perfect example of the wonderful things ripe for the picking!

While catching up with friends and chatting on Twitter not too long ago, I noticed that I had received a direct message. To my pleasure, it was from one of my newest friends Michael Baxter otherwise known as @BaxtersOriginal. Michael owns a company in Georgia that sells BBQ Smoking Woods, Baxters Original. For more information visit www.baxtersoriginal.com. Michael graciously offered to send me a trial of some of his products. Of course I'm not one to turn down a good thing when I see it, so I think I replied yes before he had had time to click the send button.

Within a couple of days my much anticipated package arrived. Inside I found peach wood chips AND this phenomenal peach smoked sea salt. I think I pondered for all of about 2 minutes and decided that whatever I did had to involve peaches! I mean, HELLO, it had come from Georgia and the wood was from a peach tree. I wanted to do something a little different than the typical smoking of ham, chicken, ribs, etc. Anyone who knows me, knows I am a FREAK for hamburgers. Well, the rest is history and here is the result...The Baxter Burger. You have to try this guys to believe it. I've made these several times since as requested from many who have had them. I even made them into sliders for a party.

Make sure to visit my friend Michael's site www.baxtersoriginal.com and order your supplies for making your next masterpiece and if you're on Twitter make sure to follow him at @BaxtersOriginal.

Click here for my recipe for the Baxter Burger!

Being from “The South”, I've grown up with certain foods associated with each holiday and for us Memorial Day is no different. In fact, for my family Memorial Day is sacred, as most of my family have served in one manner or another in many of the branches of the military. Our traditional day was filled with bar-b-que ribs, hamburgers, chicken and anything else we had in the freezer, potato salad, and baked beans. For dessert there was always some version of home-made ice cream (my favorite being peach)!

This year I wanted to put a little different spin on my traditional dishes. Now, as most of you know, I consider Texas to be my “home”, and everyone knows how Texans love their spice. So I decided I needed to consult with the expert of all things saucy, the Saucy Queen herself, Michele Northrup. I've created many original recipes using her Intensity Academy sauces, so it just made sense. She reminded me of her national number one winning Chipotle Chup Ketchup and of course the infamous Chai Chipotle Q'. Armed with these spicy saucy treats, I began my journey to a traditional celebration with a saucy spin.

The ribs were a no brainer, I started with my usual seasoning with a mixture of lemon pepper, garlic powder, and kosher salt. I placed them on the grill on a low heat with the bone side down and allowed to slowly cook until about half done, then turned the meat side down and brushed a fair amount of the Chipotle Q' on and allowed to cook for about 7 minutes. Turning them back over to the bone side down, I applied a heavy layer of the Chipotle Q' sauce on the meat side and turn the heat a little lower and allow to cook until the ribs were done (pull at 150-155 degrees Fahrenheit). Pulling them off the grill, I let them sit for 5-10 minutes before slicing.

Without a doubt, one of my all time childhood favorite recipes is baked beans. So simple, but so finger licking (from off the plate, not the fingers...well...maybe the fingers too!) good. Simply take two 15 ounce cans of your favorite pork and beans and mix in 6 ounces Chipotle Chup, 4 ounces of yellow mustard, 2 tablespoons pancake syrup, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 2 teaspoons onion powder, and depending on how much heat you want 2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoons of Intensity Academy Hot Cubed hot sauce. Top the beans with about a pound of bacon slices and then baked in a preheated oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately 30 minutes or until the liquid is bubbling and the bacon is crisp around the edges.

The potato salad was the one thing that I left without any spicing up, you know I have to have something for next time! (<: But if you're interested in how I prepare my potato salad here it is. I cube about 5 pounds of russet potatoes and place in a large pot and cover with cold water, enough to cover by about 2-3 inches. I also place 3 eggs on top in order to boil the eggs at the same time. Don't allow the potatoes to come to a rapid boil just keep just below a boil for about 20 minutes. Once the potatoes are done, drain and then mince the eggs. Mix the potatoes and eggs with about 6-8 ounces of mayonnaise, 4 ounces mustard, 2 tablespoons onion powder, 1 tablespoon garlic powder, 2 teaspoons kosher salt, ½ teaspoon ground pepper, 2 teaspoon sweet pickle relish and continue to mix by hand until thoroughly blended. You should still have larger chunks of potato when finished.

After a day full of cooking and eating, the neighborhood agreed that the new saucy twist to the classics was a definite keeper! So, thank you Saucy Queen for all the advice and sauces, we now have a new set of saucy traditions for our Memorial Day!

Buon Appetito Y'all

Debbie


(FTC Disclosure: Intensity Academy has on occasion provided product to Dolce Debbie at no charge)

Everybody raise their hand if you’ve used I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter. I’m pretty sure you just raised your hand, didn’t you? Well, like most of you I also have used ICBINB, but typically when I was trying to cut those pesky calories and fat grams in such things as baked potatoes, toast, well, honestly that was about it. I was fortunate enough to receive an invitation to visit the Unilever test kitchen in NYC and participate in a day of learning more about this versatile product. (FTC Disclosure: Unilever paid my transportation and living expenses during the trip) Oh my goodness, was I excited with the knowledge AND recipes that I left with. First of all, as a chef, I was in what I believe to be in nirvana, every type of kitchen, tool, ingredient was at your ready. As we arrived, there was an incredible spread of scones, biscuits, cookies, jams, juices, one of the most deliciously colorful breakfast buffets I had seen. I had one of the best orange scones EVER, and to my surprise this was to be my first sampling of what you can do with ICBINB. Yes, this wonderful bread was made from “dietetic” soft spread. I couldn’t believe something this rich and delicious had ZERO trans fat, and was minuscule in its cholesterol amounts. And to even better the healthy profile I was getting vital omega-3 and omega-6 essential fats. And we all know that our bodies do not manufacture these nutrients so we have to get them into our diets.

As the day progressed with more knowledge of ICBINB I also was excited to taste various ways of serving ICBINB in everyday cooking. One of my favorites without a doubt had to be the Parmesan-Crusted Chicken & Spinach Salad. Not only were the dishes all tasty and nutritionally balanced, but VERY economical as well. Oh yeah, and did I mention they typically contain 8 or less ingredients and start to finish are around 30 minutes. What more can you ask for….a personal chef to prepare them for you? Well, that’s were I come in and that’s an entirely different blog! (<:

I finished the day