Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Mission: Impossible Tiramisu Gelato



Clotilde, I have a bone to pick with you. Since you posted your delicious recipe for pistachio gelato, I became obsessed with making my personal fave: tiramisu gelato. My favorite little Italian cafe in Culver City has the smoothest and creamiest gelato I have ever experienced. In efforts to get their recipe, I nonchalantly called the restaurant to see if their recipe was def con five top secret. Turns out, it was.

According to the host, getting the recipe was a maybe. An Italian gelato maker comes in once a week to make all the gelatos in house with special Campagnale machines. All the ingredients were imported from Italy. So, unless I could get my hands on some very big (and expensive machines) and transport myself to Rome this weekend, it wasn't happening.

Not to be defeated, I went to Ugo's later in the day and begged the guy behind the counter to slip me the recipe. He again told me that the machines are huge and their gelato has to go through a specific and long pasteurization process in addition to blending the flavors in those blasted machines that I couldn't get my hands on. I then spent a 20-minute talk with a really cute Brazilian guy who (again) told me with a thick Portuguese accent that it wouldn't be possible for me to make the gelato on my own. I begged and pleaded, but no success.

It would seem that the fates are against me on this one. Epicurious doesn't have a recipe and neither does the Food Network. Even David Leibovitz left out my favorite. And like Mission: Impossible, the pic of the tiramisu gelato on my cell phone camera self-destructed after five minutes. Sigh.

So, after hours of dessert lust, all I am left is the sweet memory of tiramisu gelato in all its creaminess, and the fantasy (pictured above) of making it on my own. And like I like to say about some relationships--perhaps this one just isn't meant to be.

4 comments:

brandin + kari said...

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Anonymous said...

Hi, I'm Rowan and write with Tim on the second pancake. The DIY degustation is definitely worth a shot! Far easier than I expected, and so rewarding!

When it comes to matching wines, there are some general guidelines: the fruitier whites (sauvignon blanc) are nice with salad and fresh fruit; the drier whites (riesling) are nice with fish; the gentler reds (grenache, merlot) are good with, say, a pasta with bolognese sauce; and the bigger reds (shiraz, cab sauv) are best with red meat.

But guidelines are made to be broken. Don't be too strict with yourself. Some whites are so full of flavour they can match a rich stew; some reds are so nuanced and delicate they're great with seafood. The main thing is just to have the intensity of the flavours match. A rich stew will completely overwhelm most whites but be match well with most reds. Conversely, a massive shiraz will overpower a simple soup. If you haven't tasted the wine before hand, it's best to play it safe. If you have though, there's nothing wrong with mixing it up a bit.

There's one more thing, and it's the most important lesson: you have to make some mistakes. It's critical that you drink a dessert wine with dinner, and champagne with shallots, and chablis with chocolate. I'd imagine they'll all taste pretty strange, but if you don't ever get things wrong then you wont be able to know when it's right.

Anonymous said...

You could always experiment. The ingredients in tiramisu are pretty conducive to ice cream. Perhaps a simple zabaglione (you may want to flame off the alcohol from the marsala first so the ice cream will set) put in an ice cream machine, then, some sponge biscuits and chocolate pieces stirred through?

Worst case scenario you will have a delicious failure to eat.

viji said...

Thank you for the info. It sounds pretty user friendly. I guess I’ll pick one up for fun. thank u
Gelato Machine