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Posts from the ‘Fruit Desserts’ Category

Aug 24

88 Comments

Roasted Figs With Whipped Goat Cheese And Mascarpone

Lovely figs before roasting

Lovely figs before roasting

The other day I started my daily routine, feeding and medicating and walking the pugs, get my cup of coffee and sit down at the computer to see what I missed after sleeping all night. I saw a post from The Solitary Cook, one of my favorite blogs and just have to say that she is someone I greatly admire and look to for inspiration. The title of the post was DAVID LEBOVITZ’S ROASTED FIGS,  I was immediately drawn to this recipe. First, I LOVE figs, fresh figs not dried. How could I go wrong with a recipe from the very talented Mr. Lebovitz and Cynthia (The Solitary Cook). I knew this would be wonderful.

Now this was a revelation for me, really it was. I always poached my figs, at least the figs that I didn’t eat fresh. It never dawned on me to roast them. (one of those aha moments). Imagine roasting fresh figs with rosemary or thyme, honey and wine. I was immediately drawn in, inspired and I had to make this right away.

I changed the recipe ever so slightly, instead of red wine I used white and I chose to use thyme as Mr. Lebovitz suggests (because thats what I had)  and thought that whipped goat cheese and mascarpone  lightly sweetened with the syrup from the roasted figs would be wonderful. I really recommend you try this delicious recipe, it’s absolutely amazing, and if you are a fig lover like me you will be in fig heaven.

Whipped Goat Cheese And Mascarpone

3 oz softened goat cheese (Chevre)

3 oz mascarpone

2-3 tbs of the syrup from the roasted figs

whip the cheese and syrup together with hand held mixer. Easy right?

Add a dollop  to the figs. Drizzle with some of the syrup.  It’s heavenly!!

Figs and Creamy Goat Cheese/Mascarpone

Figs and Creamy Goat Cheese/Mascarpone

YUM!

YUM!

Aug 17

78 Comments

What I’ve Been Up To

Things have been very busy lately, with work and cooking related things that I am working on and I haven’t really been posting as much as I would like to. This week has been a whirlwind, so I thought it would be nice to post something about what I’ve been up to.  It started last Saturday when I met a dear friend and fellow blogger from DC, Emily here in Brooklyn, we had fun going to the farmers market and flea. Sunday I had the potluck which was so much fun, lots of great food and friends.

I work in real estate and it’s crazy and incredibly trying times in the NYC/Brooklyn market. There is a serious lack of housing stock and more people who want to buy than product available which makes for a very challenging market. So I have been really busy trying to find homes for the many people looking, Not fun.

I am also sure you have seen in several posts that I am involved with the startup company, Mealku, a food cooperative matching hungry eaters with eager cooks who prepare the food and it’s delivered by bicycle or skateboard (really, the delivery person came to pick up from me yesterday on a skateboard) amazing. Mealku asked me to cater an event for 40 people, breakfast foods to be ready this last Tuesday morning, very early 6:30 AM.  I was up for the challenge so of course I said yes, I would do it. I made muffins, scones,  banana bread, apricot/pistachio loaf and a seasonal fruit salad.

Packaged for Mealku event

Packaged for Mealku event

Mealku event

Mealku event

I made a small batch of tomato balsamic jam with some of the heirloom tomatoes I got at the farmers market.

Tomato Balsamic Jam

Tomato Balsamic Jam

I had leftover peaches and assorted plums so I made a galette

Mixed stone fruit galette

Mixed stone fruit galette

Yesterday I had a Mealku request for my Meatballs and Sauce, so I made it, slowly simmering the sauce and meatballs pretty much all day. Posted this a while back https://apuginthekitchen.com/2012/03/02/meatballs-and-tomato-sauce/

Meatballs

Meatballs

Jul 12

93 Comments

Spiced Plum Cobbler

Plum Cobbler

Plum Cobbler

When summer rolls around and there are what seems like endless stalls of delicious fruit and vegetables to choose from at the farmers market my thoughts turn to pies in all forms. A cobbler although not considered a pie is similar in principal. Plums are one of my favorite summer fruits and I literally am like a child in a candy store when I see all the wonderful varieties at the market. I saw these gorgeous blood plums the other day and bought a lot of them, most I eat  a la naturale, but with the rest I make spiced plum jam and this simple cobbler. The crust was inspired by the galette dough with a little extra sugar and less liquid, making it biscuit like. I used the plums, skin and all, and gently spiced them. It’s wonderful served warm with vanilla ice cream or just a little thick heavy cream.

Crust

1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
2 tbs brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
4 tbs cold unsalted butter cut into tbs size pieces
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup cold milk
Cut the butter into the dry ingredients, add the sour cream and milk and mix just until combined.
Fruit and Assembly
6 ripe plums (I used blood plums) cut into 1/2 inch thick slices
1/4-1/2  cup brown or turbinado sugar (more or less depending on your taste and sweetness of fruit
1/4 tsp cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg (1/8 tsp)
pinch of allspice (1/8th tsp)
 Combine plums, sugar and spices, stir.
Place spiced plums in 4 (8 oz size) individual ramekins. Spoon the dough over the plums, spread so it’s covering almost all of the fruit, sprinkle top with a little sugar (optional) and bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until cobbler is golden brown and bubbly.
IMG_2632

Jul 8

92 Comments

2 Galettes And a Trip to Mealku

Galette

Galette #1

I was asked to visit the office of a food website called Mealku, and thrilled that they want to feature me as a cook on their site. They needed to do a photo shoot and asked me to bring a signature dish or something that is going to give people some insight into my cooking style. Well, that’s not so easy as I am all over the map and it’s very hard to figure out what screams me when it comes to food. It’s wonderful that this is happening in the summer when fresh produce is at it’s peak and there is a bounty of fresh and delicious fruit and vegetables to choose from. I thought that making something with a pastry crust really does represent me, I am well known in my neck of the woods for my pies. I decided for transport purposes it would be easy to make a free form tart or galette. I have used Julia Childs recipe for many years and love it. The recipe allows either one large tart or two smaller. So I decided to do two small tarts, blackberry nectarine. I am also bringing some homemade vanilla ice cream. I will tell you more about Mealku in another post, it’s a very exciting and innovative venture. Galette #2 is going to my Daughter today is her birthday!!
Galette Dough
From Baking With Julia written by Dorie Greenspan
1/3 cup ice water
3 tbs sour cream, yogurt or buttermilk
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
7 tbs cold unsalted butter cut into tbs size pieces
Stir the sour cream and ice water together. Put flour, cornmeal, sugar. and salt into your mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Add the cold butter and toss to coat with the flour mixture. Using either your hands or a pastry cutter work the butter into the flour until it resembles large crumbs (about the size of peas) Add the sour cream/water and stir with fork to combine. Gather the dough and gently press into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. This is enough dough for 1 large or 2 smaller galette’s, if making 2, divide dough in half and wrap each individually. Dough can be frozen also for later use. Defrost in the refrigerator.
To make the galette’s generously flour your work surface, remove one of the disks and roll into a rustic looking circle, place whatever fruit or filling you like in the center and gather up the edges, leaving some of the filling exposed. Brush with egg wash or heavy cream, sprinkle with some sugar (optional). Place in the freezer for at least 15 minutes before putting in the oven. Bake at 400 degree’s for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.
Looks like large crumbs

Looks like large crumbs leave some pea size chunks of butter

Dough is wet but thats ok!

Dough is wet but thats ok!

Wrapped in neat packets

Wrapped in neat packets

Galette #2

Galette #2

Jul 4

58 Comments

Happy 4th Of July!! Retro Recipe-Fruit Cocktail Cake A Review

Fruit Cocktail Cake

Fruit Cocktail Cake

I am not sure exactly of the origins of this cake it appeared in the 1950’s, some say it hails from the South. I found this cake while researching some recipes,I saw a cake in James McNair’s “Cakes” it’s called plantation cake and in the headnote he describes a fruit cocktail cake that is so wonderful he reworked the recipe keeping the basics of the cake very similar. So I decided I wanted to find out what a fruit cocktail cake was, I surmised that it contains fruit cocktail (duh) so I looked up some recipes and found some that were handed down from Moms and Grandma’s all basically the same, a yellow sheet cake containing fruit cocktail and a sweetened condensed milk icing poured over the cake while it’s hot. All contain shredded coconut, some pecans some macadamia nuts. This cake is moist, sweet (even though I reduced the sugar) and fruity. This would make a great cake to take to a potluck, it’s baked in a 9×13 pan and it’s so rich one small square is enough so it feeds a lot of people. I combined recipes I found on the several different sites and the plantation cake from James McNair, so this is my version of a fruit cocktail cake. I probably could have made my own fruit cocktail but why do that, nothing wrong with canned fruit every now and then, as a matter of fact I have really fond memories of eating fruit cocktail, I loved it as a kid. I even remember ambrosia, at almost any function someone brought it, I used to love picking the fruit cocktail out of the creamy stuff. This bad boy is on it’s way to an annual 4th of July BBQ. An all American dessert to celebrate Independence Day! NOTE: The recipe called for 1 1/2 cups sugar for the cake, because I used fruit cocktail which is sweet I reduced the sugar to 1 1/4 cup, I used fruit cocktail in its own juices. Next time I make this cake I think I will use pineapple as Mr. McNair suggests. It’s good, but pineapple has more flavor in my opinion than fruit cocktail. Another option would be making your own fruit cocktail in a flavorful simple syrup. This cake is easy to make, no mixer required, it comes together in a flash.

Verdict: I cut the cake into pieces to bring with me to the BBQ, tasted it and I am not in love with it. The texture bothers me and in my opinion it’s not flavorful enough, maybe it was the canned fruit which I rarely if ever use, who knows, but I think Mr. McNair was most likely on the right track when he added pineapple instead of fruit cocktail. The cake has no fat added, I guess the fruit cocktail with the juice is supposed to add moisture, well it did but the cake itself is a bit chewy and not light like a cake should be in my opinion. Question, has anyone ever tried the fruit cocktail cake before? If you did what did you think about it. I would also think about adding yogurt or sour cream to the cake.

Makes a 9×13 cake

Topping

1 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts)

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter at room temperature

Cake

20 oz fruit cocktail with juice

3 cups flour

1 1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tbs baking powder

1 tsp salt

3 eggs at room temperature lightly beaten

2 tsp vanilla extract

Icing

1 cup shredded sweetened coconut

1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk

2 tbs butter

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9×13 rectangular baking pan and set aside.

Make your topping, combine nuts, brown sugar and butter and crumble with your hands. Set aside.

Sift flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into a bowl. add the rest of the ingredients for the cake  and whisk to mix well.

Pour batter into prepared pan and crumble the topping evenly on the cake. Bake until tester comes out clean approximately 45 minutes.

Make the icing, heat a skillet over medium heat add the coconut and toast until it starts to turn a golden brown.  Set aside to cool. Alternately you can put the coconut on a sheet of foil and place in the 350 degree oven for approximately 10 minutes stirring occasionally.

Either in a heat proof measuring cup or small saucepan heat the condensed milk and butter until its pourable and butter is melted. Pour over the cake while it’s hot, sprinkle with the coconut. Serve warm, room temperature or cold.

Piece of Cake

Piece of Cake

May 26

65 Comments

Happy Memorial Day- Grilled Short Rib Taco’s And A Heavenly Light Dessert

American Flag

American Flag

I want to acknowledge our heroes who have fought and died so that we can enjoy freedom. Memorial Day is the unofficial start of summer and a day when we gather to enjoy food, family and friends but it’s important that on this day we don’t forget those that served and are serving our great country in the armed forces. Lest we forget!

Memorial Day and our thoughts turn to grilling, its an American tradition. I decided to make something a little different than burgers and hot dogs, a little south of the border flavor peppered with a NYC flair. I love taco’s, they are easy to make and eat and you can add whatever fixings you like, tailoring to your taste. For these taco’s I made some beef short ribs slathered with the most delicious BBQ sauce made by my friend Bevi, I tested her recipe for A Cup Of Coffee BBQ Sauced Steak for Food52 and believe me this sauce is amazing, Now I usually braise short ribs in the oven or on the cooktop until they are fall off the bone tender, but because I wanted to uphold the american tradition of grilling on Memorial Day I did both. First I marinated the short ribs in the BBQ sauce for 2 hours, then I braised  them covered in the sauce and some water in the oven for 2 hours at 325 degrees, they should be fork tender but not falling off the bone, slathered more BBQ sauce on and finished them off on the grill. It may sound like a lot of work but it really wasn’t, the time in the oven was great because they could be left unattended and the grilling only took about 3 minutes to get a nice char. I then shredded the meat, grilled a flour tortilla and there it is, a short rib taco made with a wonderful spicy BBQ sauce.

I wanted something a little different to top the taco’s so I made a sweet corn salad using raw sweet corn, avocado,red onion and  cilantro or parsley and dressed simply with a buttermilk lime vinaigrette. The fresh crunchy salad on top of the rich tender shredded short ribs was really good! Add whatever fixings you want, queso fresco crumbled on top would be delicious, or eat the corn salad separately and top the meat with whatever you like.

I hope everyone has a wonderful day!

taco

taco

A Cup Of Coffee BBQ Sauced Steak

Makes enough sauce for 2 big steaks

  • 1 cup brewed coffee
  • 1 dried ancho chile, stem and seeds removed
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt or sea salt
  • 2 tablespoons Meyer lemon juice (use a regular lemon if Meyers aren’t available)
  • 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
  • Dash cayenne pepper
  • Two 1 1/2-inch thick steaks, prime sirloin
  1. Place the ancho chile in the hot coffee and allow to steep for about 20 minutes. Add the rest of the sauce ingredients. Simmer on low heat for about 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow to cool slightly.
  2. Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor, and process until the ancho chile is pulverized and the sauce is a nice, thick texture.
  3. Return the sauce to the stovetop, and simmer for another 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow to cool slightly.
  4. Place the steaks in a large ziploc bag, and add about 1/2 cup of the sauce. Squish the steaks around so they are well covered by the sauce. Place in the refrigerator for at least a few hours, or longer if possible. Bring steaks to room temperature before grilling.
  5. Slather more sauce on both sides of the steaks. Place steaks on a hot grill, and grill to your liking. We turn the steaks over after about 4 to 5 minutes, first slathering sauce on the steak, to grill for a total of 10 minutes.
  6. NOTE: I used lime instead of the meyer lemon and a strong dark roast coffee

Corn Salad With Tangy Buttermilk Dressing

2 ears sweet corn cut off the cob

1/4 cup finely chopped red onion

1/2 ripe avocado chopped

2 tbs chopped cilantro or parsley

1/4 cup buttermilk

juice of 1 1/2 limes

zest of one lime

1/2 tsp dried mint

pinch of salt

generous grinding of black pepper

Mix the buttermilk, lime juice, zest, mint, salt and pepper in the bowl you will be using to serve the salad, stir to combine. Add the corn, onion, avocado, chopped cilantro or parley and toss so that it’s throughly mixed with the dressing. Refrigerate covered until ready to use.

Parfait

Parfait

I can’t forget about dessert, I have been on a diet so no cake or pie for me. I found this recipe also from Bevi on Food52, Coconut Crusted Mango Slices With Pineapple Sauce And Whipped Coconut Cream it’s light and delicious, to see the recipe click on the link. I made one little addition that wasn’t on the recipe, I added lime zest to the coconut cream, I think coconut and lime are so good together and also with mango, it was delicious!

May 11

40 Comments

Happy Mothers Day-Chiffon Cake With Roasted Strawberries And Rhubarb

Chiffon Cake

Chiffon Cake

I make this cake all the time, it’s light and has a velvety texture, it is similar to angel food cake, baked in an ungreased tube pan and laden with whipped egg whites, the difference here is that this cake contains oil (yes oil not butter) and egg yolks. Chiffon cake was big in the 1950’s and makes a very elegant dessert served with your choice of fruit or berries and some whipped cream it is absolutely delicious. The cake is lightly scented with lemon, rises high above the pan and is light as a feather. I have tried many recipes, but when I came upon this one from the great James McNair I found a keeper. It’s the only recipe I use and it turns out perfectly every time. Wrap what you don’t use well and keep in a cool dry place, the cake stays fresh for several days. You can also wrap well and freeze, it defrosts beautifully. Happy Mothers Day to all the Mom’s!!

Chiffon Cake

From James McNair’s Cakes

2 cups cake flour

1 1/2 cup granulated sugar (divided)

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup egg yolks (from 6-7 large eggs) at room temperature and lightly beaten

3/4 cup water

2 tsp lemon zest

1 tbs pure vanilla extract

1 1/4 cup egg whites (from approximately 10 eggs) at room temperature

1 tsp cream of tartar

Make sure your rack is in the middle of oven and pre heat to 325 degrees. Have a 10 inch angel food cake pan with removable bottom ready. You do not need to grease or flour the pan.

Place the flour, 1 1/4 cups of the sugar, baking powder and salt in strainer or sifter and sift into a large metal bowl. Add the water, egg yolks, oil, lemon zest and vanilla. Beat with electric mixer until very smooth approximately 1 minute. Set aside.

In the metal bowl of a stand mixer with a wire whip  beat the egg whites on low speed until frothy, add the cream of tartar and increase speed to medium and beat until very soft billowy mounds form, with mixer running slowly add the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar a tbs at a time and beat until very stiff but not dry (about 6 minutes) It’s important that the egg whites be beaten until stiff.

Transfer about 1/4 of the beaten egg whites into the cake batter and stir gently to incorporate and lighten the batter. Add the remaining egg whites and using a large balloon whisk or rubber spatula gently fold into the batter until incorporated.

Gently scrape the batter into the cake pan and smooth the surface with a rubber spatula. Bake until the cake springs back when lightly touched with your fingertip in the thickest part of the cake and a wooden skewer comes out clean. Baking time is about 1 hour. NOTE: You don’t want to open the oven door until the prescribed baking time is just about up, the cake could fall if you do this, so leave it for at least 55 minutes before you test the cake for doneness.

Remove pan from the oven and let it cool upside down you can use a bottle for this, the cake should be elevated. The cake rises quite high so it’s important not to let the upside down cake rest on the surface of the counter. Let cool completely at least  1 1/2 hours.

To remove cake from pan, place pan upright on work surface and using a thin blade knife carefully insert on the side of the pan careful not to cut the cake and holding the pan in place work your way around the cake, then do the same in the center around the tube. Carefully lift the bottom of the pan and with the cake sideways tap the bottom of the pan to loosen the cake, if necessary run the thin blade of the knife around the bottom to loosen. Invert onto cooling rack and transfer to serving plate.

Roasted Strawberries and Rhubarb

2 stalks rhubarb cleaned and chopped

2 cups fresh strawberries, cleaned and cut in half

1/2 cup sugar

3 tbs cointreau or your favorite fruity liquor

pinch of salt

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees, line sheet pan with parchment. Add the rhubarb, strawberries, sugar,salt and cointreau  to a bowl, toss to combine and turn out onto sheet pan.Lay berries and their juices in a single layer and bake until berries and rhubarb are soft about 30-40 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Set aside

Serve cake with the strawberries and rhubarb and a generous dollop of lightly sweetened whipped cream or a scoop of your favorite ice cream. Delicious!

Chiffon cake, strawberries and rhubarb

Chiffon cake, strawberries and rhubarb

May 7

78 Comments

Rhubarb Simple Syrup

Rhubarb Simple Syrup

Rhubarb Simple Syrup

This is almost too simple to post but I just had to, it’s so good. I know there are a million recipes out there for flavored syrups but I wanted to share this. I love making syrups, all different flavors I use them all summer for drinks, sorbet, ice creams and in desserts. Have I mentioned how much I love making syrups. I have the blood orange syrup, now rhubarb and I think I will make grapefruit. They are so simple to make, last forever refrigerated and have so many uses. The color is gorgeous too! How about a snow cone on a hot summers day, shaved ice and fruit syrup, Delicious!!! Note: For more intense rhubarb flavor increase rhubarb to 2 stalks, increase sugar to 1 1/2 cups and water to 1 1/2 cups.

Rhubarb Simple Syrup

Makes 12 oz

1 large stalks rhubarb

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

juice of half a lemon (approximately 2 tbs)

Add everything to a small sauce pan and bring to a boil, reduce heat to med/high and cook at a low boil for 5-7 minutes or until rhubarb is very soft. Turn off heat and let sit in the pot for 10 minutes. Strain into sterilized jar pressing on the rhubarb to get every bit of juice. Cover and refrigerate.

Mar 10

47 Comments

Blood Orange Simple Syrup

Blood Orange Simple Syrup

Blood Orange Simple Syrup

When I was at the store buying fruit and vegetables I saw some beautiful blood oranges, I love them, juiced, in baked goods or straight up. After using all but 2 I wondered what I could do with the last of my oranges. Simple syrup is something I always keep in the refrigerator, I use it for baking, drinks or spoon on fruit salad. It’s a staple item for me. The blood oranges made a beautiful and delicious syrup, a gorgeous color, and that unmistakable blood orange flavor. It’s so simple to make, taking only a few minutes. I’m saving some of it for the Semolina Olive Oil Cake, I think it would make a delicious soaking syrup. Mix it in sparkling water to make soda, you control the sweetness, it’s great in mixed drinks, Sangria, there are so many possibilities.

2 blood oranges juiced it yielded  a little over 1/3 cup

zest of both oranges

3/4 cup sugar

2/3 cup water

2 tbs honey

Place everything in a medium size saucepan, bring to a boil on high heat, when there is a rolling boil, reduce to medium/high and cook on a low boil uncovered for 10-15 minutes. The syrup will reduce a little, for a thicker syrup you would have to boil longer, 20-25 minutes.  Remove from heat, let cool and pour into a lidded jar. Refrigerate.

Mar 8

45 Comments

Pairing Wines With Dessert Part 2

When Julian from Vino In Love  and I first started talking about dessert wines and pairing wines with desserts I was so excited and thrilled that he agreed to collaborate with me on this. I sent him a list of desserts that I posted here on my blog and asked him to pair wines or spirits with the desserts. Here is the list and I can’t wait to try each of these. I am learning a lot from the wine experts that I am now following and I look forward to each of their posts. All of the desserts below are featured on my blog, to get the recipes just click on desserts on the category cloud. I didn’t include the recipes on this post because this is about the wine that you would eat with the dessert. You can pair the wine below the photo with a similar dessert without using the exact recipe. To locate these wines you can use this handy dandy tool http://www.wine-searcher.com/ or do like I do, contact your local wine merchant and see if they have them, if not, hopefully your favorite wine shoppe is as wonderful as mine and they can locate these wines for you. Below is the photo of the dessert and Julian’s excellent recommendations. Thank you so much Julian for helping me with this it was so much fun and a real learning experience for me and I hope for all those that follow my blog. Thank you!

Baked Pears

Baked Pears

Stuffed pears en papillote + Donna Fugata – Passito di Pantelleria (intense white sweet wine from Sicily) More info on Donna Fugata: http://www.donnafugata.it/pagine/Homepage.aspx

Mosto Cotto Fig And Goat Cheese Tart

Mosto Cotto Fig And Goat Cheese Tart

Fig and goat cheese tart + Trabucchi d’Illasi – Recioto della Valpolicella (red sweet wine from Veneto. Produced like Amarone but tastes even better.) More information: http://vinoinlove.com/2006-trabucchi-dillasi-amarone-della-valpolicella-doc/

Buttermilk Panna Cotta

Buttermilk Panna Cotta

Buttermilk panna cotta with mosto cotto Champagne grape syrup  + Ceretto – Moscato d’Asti (light, sweet sparkling wine from Piedmont. More information on Ceretto: http://www.ceretto.com/

Pasto Ciotti

Pasti Ciotti

Pasticciotti filled with vanilla cream + Moscato di Trani or with a Passito di Trani (Sweet (sparkling) wine from Apulia; the same region where Pasticciotti are from). Here is a link for information on the wine: http://www.wine-searcher.com/regions-moscato+di+trani

Semolina Olive Oil Cake

Semolina Olive Oil Cake

Semolina olive oil cake +  Trabucchi d’Illasi – Recioto di Soave (white sweet wine from the Veneto) Here is more information on this wine from Julians site: http://vinoinlove.com/2006-trabucchi-dillasi-recioto-di-soave-recioto-di-soave-docg/

Fire On Ice Light and Dark Chocolate Panna Cotta

Fire On Ice Light and Dark Chocolate Panna Cotta

Spicy chocolate panna cotta + Cognac (Brandy from France) NOTE from Suzanne: I am so glad that Julian paired this with cognac, I have been doing something right. I like to serve cognac with this type of dessert, I have Pierre Ferrand Cognac (It’s wonderful with this).

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