what to do with mascarpone cheese

[tweetie]

A friend gave me a container of mascarpone cheese which I must admit, I've never baked/cooked with. Any suggestions beyond tiramisu? Grazie mille! ( if I were a true Italian, I wouldn't have to ask such a question!)

[lollya]

hmmm I was going to say Tiramisu...shoot.

[RebJaeBoe]

I like to have mascarpone cheese with cantaloupe and prosciutto. When I can't find a good melon I just do the mascarpone and prosciutto.

[maestra]

Mix the cheese with sugar, then use as a mini-trifle layer with balsamic-mascerated strawberries or another fruit of your choice and broken lady fingers. Top with whipped cream. Let guests or kids build their own.
Try mixing in lemon or orange peel, cocoa powder, or any number of other things.
For a savory dish, it can add a nice tang to pasta sauces as a finisher instead of butter.

[bitsubeats]

you can stuff it into ravioli or mix it up into some pasta sauce. you don't have to use it in sweet preparations

[akk]

Yes, I make a great pasta with pureed tomatoes, pancetta, basil and mascarpone. After cooking the pancetta and cooking down the tomatoes, you just melt in the mascapone and it makes a creamy, distinctive sauce (From Pasta Fresca, by La Place and Kleinman.)

[TorontoJo]

Mix with a good caramel (homemade is best, but not necessary) and use it to make banana caramel tartlets. Mini tart shells, a slice of banana, fill with caramel/cheese mixture, top with another slice of banana, then drizzle with caramel. Easy and delicious.

[bakingpw]

Poach a whole pear in red wine simple syrup and "stuff" the cored center with it! YUM!! Serve with Creme Anglaise (or softened Vanilla Bean Ice Cream - same thing!)

[bakingpw]

oops - forgot to dip that pear in Chocolate Ganache first - flavor and color!!

[j2brady]

I second the poached pear....but it is also good with some fresh fruit and a little honey drizzle! Some nuts if you are feeling nutty.

[debbiel]

That's exactly what I was going to suggest (the honey and fresh fruit).

[piccola]

Mix with equal parts gorgonzola and spread on crackers or sandwiches.

Serve with a dried fruit compote.

Sweeten, and use as filling for a layer cake.

[ItaloChick]

Make a pasta with arugola and mascarpone.

[btnfood]

Also makes a great addition to cheesecake batter (along with cream cheese). Martha Stewart published a recipe for a Strawberries and Crean Cheesecake that calls for mascarpone this past summer and it was incredible.

[ginnyhw]

This is the secret ingredient in the Girl Scouts cheesecake recipe too. I'm pretty sure it freezes too.

[normalheightsfoodie]

It is great with mashed potatoes, or an adition to make and cheese.

Add it to a pasta sauce and it becomes rich and creamy.

Mix several soft cheeses and add a layer of pesto in between and you have a torte.

IT is good with everything!

[99edanneh]

try moscarpone, lightly sweetened with confectioner sugar, as a dip or spread for ginger snap cookies. Goes great with a light white wine!

[financialdistrictresident]

This week we made:

1. Fresh pasta w/ mascarpone cheese a touch of cream and shaved black truffle (got the recipe idea from this site, just added it to pasta instead of an omelet)
2. Spread it on a warm crumpet, then added a later of fresh, sliced apricots and then added a layer of Sarabeth's Apricot orange marmelade - YUM!!!!!!

I have also made:

1. Mascarpone with grated lemon peel, liquor (not sure I spelled that right?) of your choice (I used Naked Chef's limoncello) and fresh strawberries (they are in season now and the Union Square Greenmarket has them - AMAZING!)

[sweetpotater]

Mix with a little sugar, cinnamon, allspice -- whatever suits you. Pit some dates and stuff with the mixture. This is a surefire, easy hit and also looks nice on a platter sprinkled with chopped pistachios.

[Stephmo]

We really just go super-simple with mascarpone - fresh berries over the mascarpone. We just go with whatever is in season. If we go with what's in season and it's fresh, it will sweeten everything on it's own (slice strawberries if you go with those). This is our easy weekday dessert.

[Sophia.]

I had no respect for Giada until I saw her brunch episode where she grilled some rustic bread and then spread it with mascarpone and topped it with a good marmalade. fantastic.

[OCAnn]

Similarly, we saw Giada prep a pasta dish using mascarpone. We modified it a bit: we cook italian sausage, mushrooms & onions; add mascarpone and stir; then add to pasta. Simple and delicious!

[Fromageball]

I saw her make the pasta dish, looked pretty good!

[Mandymac]

Um...eat it with a spoon?

Seriously, I came up with a good use of leftover marscapone this week--ice cream! I used the typical French vanilla recipe from the Bittman (it's approx 1 cup heavy cream, 2 cups milk, 1/2 cup sugar, four yolk), and I subbed about a cup of the milk for marscapone. It really does wonders for the texture of the ice cream!

[Dagney]

Yes!!! I thought the same thing. Marscapone and chocolate sauce. Yes please.

[L987]

yeah its great in icecream you can add your favourite berries (mixed with some icingsugar) or crushed cookies to the icecream when its done

[eskimodoll]

Cannolis!

[normalheightsfoodie]

Last night, I stuffed jalepenos, from my garden, with Marscapone and Cream Cheese and little paprika and deep fried them in pancake batter they were very good.

[asheblogs]

Pancakes. These. http://www.mangotomato.com/2010/03/ma...

Not my recipe, but I just made them today and they were *fantastic.*

[PageA]

I was in Tuscany last fall and they taught us how to make stuffed tomatoes using mascarpone cheese. You mix half mascarpone with half ricotta, then mix in an herbed olive oil. This was pre made so I can't tell you exact measurements, however, Im sure there was basil and thyme along with maybe a some rosemary and parsley. I would think whatever type of herbs you like would work fine. Anyway, mix the herbs into olive oil, (which you keep on hand refrigerated for other dishes), and then flavor the cheeses with the olive oil to taste. Clean as many tomatoes as needed for the cheese mixture. To do this, cut an x in the bottom of the tomato, toss into boiling water for 45 to 60 seconds, and then drain and cool on a cookie sheet. Peel the tomato. Cut a small opening in the bottom of the tomato, scoop out all the insides, replace with the cheese mixture, bake in the oven until just hot. These are really yummy! And I don't really care for warm tomatoes!

[auldjaded]

I like it spread on toast, or toasted English muffins...

[haiku.]

It's really good mixed with a little orange juice and vanilla seeds (and sugar if you want it sweeter), served with strawberries.

It's something you can stir into a polenta instead of butter when finishing it off.

My new go-to brownies recipe calls for mascarpone. These brownies are now in high demand among all of my friends!

[drewb123]

On bruschetta with proscuitto, fig and a drizzle of olive oil.