Z is for Zabaglione, Pradax, Cooking, Endings,

I am sorry that this is the last day of the A to Z challenge and hope I can take part next year. I have loved meeting all the bloggers I didn’t know before and reading all the things they had to say and their differing points of view. Many of these bloggers I will be following in the future and hope they will continue to follow my ramblings. Its just hit me, I will have to start looking for recipes. My A-Z were all planned out well in advance.

Saturday, of all the weird days, Matt had an appointment with his cardiologist. This all started because we asked our family doctor if Matt could change from Warfarin to Pradax (Pradaxa in the US). Its great, without any prompting from us that is just what his cardiologist did. Apparently he, Dr. Pandey, was involved in the trials which were done in this area, and is very pro the drug and its ability to prevent strokes. Let’s hope it will help Matt not to have any more TIAs. However, The doctor has had lots of meetings and arguments with the powers that be about getting the government to pay for the drug. Apparently last Thursday they finally agreed to do so. We weren’t concerned because our insurance covered it anyway although I don’t know how much the government are paying. The thing we particularly like is the cessation of regular blood testing – Matt was having to go to a clinic every two weeks to get his INR reading done. That must have cost the government and is something they will save with Pradax. According to Dr. Pandey it is so much better at preventing TIAs or strokes. One small problem, when I took it to the drug store, they had forgotten to put the strength of pill on the prescription.

I spent Sunday morning making Quiches from the recipe I posted for Q the other day. I found the recipe filled two frozen pie shells, but I only had one, so I cooked the other without pastry. It worked fine. Mine didn’t look as nice as this picture I’m afraid. They tasted OK though, or the one we ate did. We had had a fondue Bourguignonne and coleslaw on Saturday so had coleslaw left over – it went fine with the quiche. I started thinking about supper for tonight and then realised we will be eating at the bowling alley, duuuh.

This is the last day of our winter bowling league. We do some bowling, have a banquet and then its all over til September. I am not sure if Matt will be able to bowl as his back is quite sore. Next Tuesday, we start the summer league which ends at the beginning of August. Of course we are in the Carolinas at the start of the season anyway.

Right from the moment I first started this challenge, I knew I was going to do Zabaglione, seemed a perfectly obvious choice to me. Not that there are all that many recipes beginning with a Z. It is a lovely light dessert.

Zabaglione

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2009

Serves: 8 to 10

Ingredients

• 6 large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup Marsala
• Pinch kosher salt
• Fresh berries or chocolate, for garnish, optional

Directions

Bring 1-inch of water to a boil in a 4-quart saucepan set over high heat.

Add the egg yolks and sugar to a large glass bowl. Using an electric hand mixer on the highest speed, beat the eggs and sugar until the mixture is thick, pale yellow, and the sugar is completely dissolved, 4 to 5 minutes. Decrease the mixer speed to low and add the Marsala and salt.

Decrease the heat to maintain a simmer and put the bowl atop the saucepan with the boiling water, making sure the bottom of the bowl is not touching the water. Beat the mixture on medium speed, until it is thick, frothy, holds a ribbon, and the temperature reaches 145° to 150°F, on an instant-read thermometer.

Spoon the warm mixture into custard cups or serving glasses and serve immediately or allow to cool slightly. Serve with fresh berries, if desired.

Have a great day