Len's Recipe of the Month - August 2020

Summer weather finally showed up in Southern California, where it's been unusually hot and humid.   Of course, this would be the week I am providing the meals for a friend's outdoor patio party.

With my goal being not to turn on the oven at all, here's the first thing off my chilly assembly line.   A spin on Tiramisu from Valerie Bertinelli.  Instead of a cocoa and mocha base, this dessert has at its heart....LEMON!   Perfectly refreshing for a hot August day.

Here's how.

Take 16 ounces of softened mascarpone cheese into a bowl.   To that, add the entire contents of an 11 ounce jar of lemon curd.   And now toss in a 1/2 cup of sugar.   Add a teaspoon of lemon zest.  With an electric mixer, blend it all together for about two minutes.

In another bowl, take 3/4 cup of heavy cream and whip it up to stiff peaks.   No need to add sugar.   The other mixture is plenty sweet as it is.

Fold the whipped cream incrementally and slowly into the lemon mixture.  Put it aside.

In another bowl, blend the following:  1/4 cup of limoncello; 1/2 cup of water, 2 to three tablespoons of lemon juice.  Use the limoncello sparingly.   I used 3/4 cup and the spike was a little too much.

Now, hopefully, you bought a seven ounce package of lady fingers.   Amazon has them.   Dip half of the lady fingers quickly into the liquid and lay them across a rectangular glass dish.   Cover them with half the lemon mixture.  Now lay the rest of the lady fingers on top of the lemon layer and use a different pattern than what you used for the first layer.   Now spread the rest of the mixture on top.   Sprinkle another teaspoon of lemon zest over the top.

Refrigerate for at least six hours for it all to set.   Ideally, chilling it for 24 hours is the best.

And you barely broke a sweat.

Dinner last night  Mongolian beef and rice.