Skip to main content

Catching My Breath

A: I have added a guest map (see side bar). It won't provide any amusement for me if you don't add your pin, so get to it.

B: I have just finished cleaning up after hosting a dessert buffet for 16 or so people. Chocolate pistachio torte, corn meal pound cake with rosemary syrup, candied pecans, and pumpkin tiramisu. Yes, that's right Italian friend Adair. I said pumpkin. I'm expecting you to wretch at the idea of Americanizing something like tiramisu with something like pumpkin, but it was delightful. At least it wasn't mayonnaise, or ketchup, or smashed up potato chips.

Pumpkin Tiramisu
Courtesy Bon Appetit Oct. 06

1. Beat 1 1/2 c. chilled whipping cream and 1/4 c. sugar until peaks form. Add one 8-oz container mascarpone, one 15-oz can pure pumpkin, and 3/4 t. pumpkin pie spice. Beat until filling is smooth.
2. Line bottom of 9-inch springform pan with one 3-oz package ladyfingers. Sprinkle with 2 T rum. Spread half of filling over ladyfingers. Repeat with another package of ladyfingers, rum and the rest of the filling.
3. Wrap tightly in plastic, then foil. Chill overnight. Sprinkle with 2 oz. crushed amaretti cookies.

Comments

Old Knudsen said…
You gave them a bad language warning, where is the surprise there? I have a lot of work to do on you, swearing 101 .
11:21 PM
dive said…
Mmm … Pumpkin.
I take it ladyfingers mean something different in the States; over here, they are okra, which would make a very interesting tiramisu.
'tis the season for pumpkins and squashes. My favourite things to make in October/November are butternut (or any other) squash, halved and roasted with sweet Moroccan rice and harissa. Followed by sweet pumpkin tart with home-mede ginger ice cream. Yum … Half the fun is all the mess I can make with a pumpkin.
4:08 AM
Scout said…
Old Knudson--sorry about the warning. Hope you aren't offended. Obviously you ammuse me or I wouldn't visit you every day, but I could think of a few people who shrink in their seats if they, say, stumbled on your post about certain words you like to use. So, the warning.

Dive: Okra is what my grandmother used to fry with cornmeal--very southern and a symbol of my childhood. Lady fingers are small sponge cakes.

I have never liked squash. In fact, the word "squash" should be on the "can't abide" list, but they you've described the roasted dish with Moroccan rice sounds great! And ginger has become one of my favorite flavors.
6:50 AM
Anonymous said…
you expect me to wretch??

not likely, since I don't like tiramasu or coffee for that matter. [I can hear your gasps of shock and awe from here]. speaking of coffee, I abhor espresso --- so a tiramasu with rum and no coffee and pumpkin sounds just dandy to me.

Now I'm in the mood for artichokes, fried okra, a roasted squash carmelized with brown sugar and a pumpkin something for dessert. if I ate it, I would turn into a human veggie and my skin might be a bit tinged, but it would be worth it.
10:48 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

An Offending Pile

So, I'm standing in my living room letting my mind wander for a minute or two as I stare out the window and watch the day go by, and I see my neighbors walking their dogs down the street. They are nice neighbors who are always friendly and responsible with their property. That is to say they aren't like the other neighbors who heap rubbish behind their house like Ma and Pa Kettle and let their dogs bark for thirty minutes at a time . Anyway, I see the nice people walking their dogs, a big golden retriever who is as sweet as can be and as dumb as a post—he once ate a sock and nearly died before it was surgically removed—and a new golden retriever puppy. Then I see Neighbor Wife suddenly run down the street with the big dog. Then I see Neighbor Husband stopped in front of my house with the puppy on its leash. And then I see the puppy taking a huge dump in my grass. Let me tell you, that is not done in this town unless the dog owner has a plastic bag handy and is ready to pick up ...
16 comments
Read more

No More Mr. Nice Guy

It's good to be a nice person--to say nice things, to do nice things, to write nice things--but I declare an end to the use of the word nice. Nice is what you say when you can't think of any other adjective. Someone shows you a picture of their back yard--that's nice. Someone tells you about their afternoon adventure--that's nice. Or someone describes their childhood in great detail and sometimes with painstaking effort--that's nice. It's a lazy word, and it's non-descriptive. Nice is like mashed potatoes with noodles and chicken gravy all in a big pile on one plate with some canned corn for garnish. Everything is the same color and texture and base substance--starch (this is a favorite Amish dish). Nice is like a partly cloudy day in April when outside feels like inside, and you can't tell a difference between the lighting and the temperature of your living room and the lighting and temperature of your front yard. Nice is a glass of lukewarm water. ...
20 comments
Read more

Long Live Anita Bowser

You know I occasionally check my hometown newspaper's website to scan the obituaries (morbid, I know, but I'm at that age). Over this past weekend, I read the obituary of Indiana State Senator Anita Bowser . She was a noted Democrat who championed causes protecting the neediest in the state's population. She was respected on both sides of the aisle for her intelligence and plain and outspoken approach to law making. The picture on her senate page is lovely. I remember none of those things about Anita Bowser . My first year or so in college was spent at a branch of Purdue University, and in the early 80s, Anita was a political science professor. She taught my American Government class my freshman year, and she was a mess. Somewhere in my old text book, I have a sketch of her drawn on a particularly dull day in class--her hose sagged at her ankles, her slip showed at least half an inch all the way around, her hair had been slept on but not brushed, and her bright red lip stic...
18 comments
Read more