Tiramisu

(from Loukie Werle's "Italian Country Cooking")

The husband loves dessert. The husband really loves tiramisu. So when I saw that my new cookbook had a recipe for it, I knew I'd be making it soon.

I also got about halfway through this recipe and realized, wait a minute, you never cook the eggs. Nope. Who knew? Well, we had fresh backyard chicken eggs again, and we haven't gotten sick yet, so it seems like we're good to go. But if you wanted to play it safe, you could also buy pasteurized eggs at the grocery store and substitute those in.

The verdict on the tiramisu from the husband: "One of the best I've had!" And not too hard, either!

3 eggs, separate
1 cup sugar
2 cups mascarpone
3 tbsp brandy (recipe called for sweet Marsala, but it worked) - more if you want
1/4 cup grated dark chocolate
18-24 ladyfingers
1 1/2 to 2 cups freshly made strong coffee, room temp

Combine the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl and whisk until pale (keep whisking - it'll happen). Fold in the mascarpone.

In another bowl, beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Add the brandy and half the grated chocolate. Beat again until you have soft peaks. Fold this into the mascarpone mixture.

Place a layer of ladyfingers in the bottom of a rectangular baking dish. Pour half the coffee over the ladyfingers, soaking them well. Spread half the mascarpone mixture over the top, then layer on another set of ladyfingers, then coffee, then mascarpone. Sprinkle the rest of the grated chocolate on the top, then refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.

...

And that rounds out a great Fourth of July weekend (celebrated, apparently, primarily with Italian cooking) - celebratory dinner at Inka Heritage, Madison Farmer's Market, Bloody Marys with walleye & eggs at the Old Fashioned, boating on Lake Monona, being cooked for while snacking on great cheese, watching - and maybe setting off - fireworks from a friend's (thanks, Justin!) penthouse balcony overlooking the lake. I guess there are a few things I'll miss about Madison.