A light, cool and refreshing dessert is the perfect way to end a warm-weather meal. Today's sweet and tart citrus mousse fits that description.

        Sometimes we see desserts that call for whipping together cream and beaten, maybe uncooked, egg whites called a “mousse,” but these are not “true” mousses. From a culinary standpoint, a mousse made without first cooking the eggs and sugar is not only an imitation of the real thing, it won't be nearly as tasty or have the same velvet texture. And, health experts advise us not to eat uncooked eggs.

        Cooking the egg and sugar base can be tricky. The eggs should cook at a low temperature — overcooking them can result in an unpleasant grainy texture. Begin by beating together the eggs and sugar at least 5 minutes in a standing mixer, or as long as 8 minutes with a hand-held mixer. The mixture will be very thick, creamy and pale-yellow.

        Cool the melted butter to room temperature before adding it to the beaten egg mixture. Although today's recipe calls for a double-boiler, you can use a stainless-steel bowl that fits over the top of one of your pans. Just be sure the simmering water doesn't touch the bottom of the bowl.

        To test the doneness of this egg and sugar base, stick your finger into the mixture. When it becomes too hot to hold your finger in it for longer than 10 seconds, it's ready. The cooking should take no longer than 15 minutes.

        Because this is a true mousse, the final step is to fold whipped cream into the cooked and cooled egg mixture. It is important to whip the cream to just a soft whip so that it can be incorporated to form a smooth mixture.

        For an elegant formal dessert, spoon this mousse into stemmed glasses. Garnish with a large rosette of lightly sweetened whipped cream and thin slices of lemon and/or lime, or shreds of lemon and lime zest. Add a mint leaf if you wish.
        Marilyn's Lemon-Lime Mousse

        5 large eggs
       1 cup sugar
       1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled
        1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
        1/2 cup fresh lime juice
       2 cups heavy cream
       1 teaspoon each: lemon and lime zest
       Whipped cream and fresh mint leaves, for garnish

        Combine eggs and sugar in large mixing bowl and beat with electric mixer until thick and lemon-colored, 5 to 8 minutes. Beat in melted butter by gradually pouring in a thin stream; mix in the lemon and lime juices.

        Pour mixture into top of a double-boiler and cook, whisking constantly about 15 minutes or until mixture is hot and thickens. Transfer to a bowl and chill, covered, 1 hour. Stir a couple of times.

        Beat cream until soft peaks form. Fold into the chilled mixture along with the zest. Spoon into stemmed glasses and top with rosettes of whipped cream, a thin slice of lemon and sprig of mint. Makes 8 servings.

        Marilyn Harris hosts Cooking with Marilyn Harris 1-4 p.m. Saturdays on WKRC-AM (550). Send questions to Here's How, the Enquirer, 312 Elm St., Cincinnati 45202. Fax: 768-8330. E-mail questions to marilyn@55krc.com.
Chef's Secret

        Phyllis J. Fiorito of Cincinnati asked for the recipe for roast pork and dressing from the Golden Lamb in Lebanon. Chef Erwin Pfeil, who had been in the Golden Lamb kitchen 32 years, retired in March. His successor, Chef Dennis Glosser, sent this recipe for pork chops and dressing. He says it's a traditional Shaker dish.

        Pork Chops and Dressing

        4 pork chops (8-ounce, center cut
       DRESSING
       3 tablespoons butter
        1/2 cup diced onion
       1 small leek, sliced
        1/2 cup diced celery
       2 cups white bread, dried and diced
       2 eggs
        1/4 teaspoon sage
       í teaspoon thyme
       í teaspoon pepper
        1/4 teaspoon salt
       2 medium apples, peeled, cored and sliced
       1 tablespoon honey
        1/4 cup chicken bouillon or broth
       BROTH FOR BOTTOM OF PAN:
       2 cups chicken broth
       1 onion, diced
       2 stalks celery, diced
       1 carrot, diced
       1 teaspoon peppercorns
       1 bay leaf
       1 clove garlic

        Melt butter, saute onions, leeks and celery; add bread and mix. Add eggs and then all herbs, salt, pepper, apples and honey. Add the 1/4 cup of chicken bouillon or broth and mix. (If mixture is too dry, add more broth.)

        Cover bottom of roasting pan with chicken broth, vegetables and seasonings mixture. Place roasting rack in pan over broth mixture.

        Slice pork chop through center but not all the way through to make a pocket. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and brown in skillet. Stuff pocket with dressing and place chops on roasting rack over broth mixture and cover. Bake 45-60 minutes at 350 degrees, basting occasionally. Remove cover from pan the last 10 minutes to brown chops.

        To make gravy, strain broth into a measuring cup and discard vegetables. For one cup of broth, melt 2 tablespoon butter in the roasting pan, scraping up any meat residues, then blend in 1 or 2 tablespoons of flour to make a roux. Pour in reserved broth and whisk until thickened. Makes 4 servings.

Campbell's Scoop:

Where to take Mom, Part II

        Every mother has her own fantasy. Here's mine: We get a huge order of sushi to go, take it to a park, eat in the sun and take a walk. I'd pick Teak Thai in Mount Adams for the sushi and California Woods on Kellog Avenue for the walk.
       

Required Reading
        The Foods of Israel Today (Knopf; $40) by Joan Nathan is a thorough cookbook, and also a history of Israeli food, a tour through the richly varied food customs of the Israeli landscape and an introduction to cooks and chefs and farmers. Cultures from throughout the Middle East, Europe and Africa have brought their traditions to Israel, and all are represented here with recipes, anecdotes and photographs. There are even recommendations on where to get good felafel. From Afghan stew to Romanian bread, Yemenite chicken, Uzbeki barsch (a rice dish) and American chocolate cake, it's a fascinating collection.
       

Menu Decoder

        Tink's Cafe in Clifton has this on the appetizer menu: Strangled Priests and Rocket Salad, with Maytag bleu cheese, pasta and walnut herb dressing.

        “Strangled priests” or “priest stranglers” is the English translation of the Italian strangolapreti, according to John Mariani's Dictionary of Italian Food and Drink. They are “small potato gnocchi of Trentino served with tomato sauce, said to be so good that priests would gorge themselves and choke on them. In Romagna, strozzapreti are a form of twisted tagliatelle whose name means the same as strangolapreti.”

        At Tink's, they are the second kind, a tender, twisted pasta, served cold. The “Rocket” of the title is the English word for arugula, the spicy, strongly flavored green. Maytag bleu is a brand of bleu cheese made in Iowa by, yes, the family that makes washing machines.

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