For Thanksgiving I was asked to make Tiramisu. It is an easy recipe I last made about a decade ago using a Southern Living recipe. Our fond memories of it inspired me to use the old recipe. However, it was far to eggish for me this time. I was hopeful that a night in the refrigerator would mellow it out. It was a bit more mellow in the morning but it still bothered me. I decided to try a different recipe that I found on the wrapper of the Lady Fingers. It was a much simpler recipe involving eggs, Marscapone, and a little sugar. Remember there is a slight health risk when you use raw eggs in your recipes(e.g. tiramisu, eggnog). Your mileage will vary! 🙂

1. Separate three eggs. While gradually adding sugar(2 Tbs), beat egg yolks until pale in color, add 1 carton(17.5 oz) Marscapone and fold gently until smooth.
2. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites with a wire whisk or electric beater until very stiff and fold gently into the Marscapone mixture.
3. Dip “I Dolci di Montagna” Ladyfingers quickly into the coffee mixture and line a triffle dish. I used espresso and a little brandy. I cannot stress the word “quickly” enough. If you dawdle you will have Ladyfinger mush and half of the Ladyfinger will end up in the cup.
4. Pour the Marscapone mixture into the lined dish. Sprinkle the top with bitter cocoa powder. I liked the look of shaved chocolate. Refrigerate at least one hour before serving. This is a nice dish you can prepare the night before.

For my disaster I ended up with a double recipe, the original recipe on the bottom and the new recipe on the top. The recipe tells me that this double recipe should provide 24 portions. In my case it provided ample portions for four relatives. They would have had more comments but they had problems speaking with the spoon in their mouth. My sister-in-law felt so badly about it that she took most of it home. I guess it worked! So I have been asked to make Tiramisu for Christmas dinner. It looks like I am going to use the simple version of the recipe. The hard part is finding the Ladyfingers and Marscapone. Marscapone I found at Sam’s and the Ladyfingers I think I can find at a specialty store in the area.

The Cuisinart® Pro Classicâ„¢ Food Processor makes all your favorites, from stir-fries and main course salads, to peanut butter and home-made bread.

I bought myself a food processor recently. I was taking advantage of a 20% coupon at Linens and Things. I have not been a big fan of food processors and had been using an old food processor occasionally. To give you an idea how little I used a food processor, the old food processor was given to my wife before we were married and that was a long time ago. Well, the old food processor died recently when I tried to do something with cheese. Yea, that was a bad idea! Out with the old and in with the new.

For the last week I have been experimenting with the food processor. The video included with the food processor encouraged me. Despite their instructions I found that there is a fine line between chopped vegetables and purée. Almost all of the time I want the chopped look but some of my mistakes(i.e. purée) have had more flavor than the chopped versions. 🙂

Salsas and sauces may benefit from using the food processor with a gentle hand. This week I will experiment with pie dough. It may work better in the smaller container than in the mixer. I doubt I will try the food processor with bread dough. I am very happy with my results with my mixer.