MACERATED GRAPES
serves 6
Ingredients:
1 lb of white seedless grapes
1 lb of red large globe grapes (the ones with seeds)
the freshly squeezed juice of 3-4 oranges
3 tbsp white sugar
the zest of 1 lemon
Instructions:
Wash all the grapes, taken off the stems. Place the white
grapes whole in a large, attractive bowl.
Run a knife around the middle of the large red grapes, not
cutting all the way through.
Twist the grape halves apart and remove the seeds.
Place the clean halves in the bowl.
Add the zest of lemon and cover the grapes with the orange
juice. Now add the 3 tablespoons of sugar.
Place in the refrigerator and chill for 3-4 hours.
Serve promptly and make sure that you eat it all that day,
since it does not keep well at all!
But it is so delicious (and so light!) that you will not
have any trouble eating it all at one sitting.
ENJOY! with a fine espresso or a glass of champagne
or go all Italian and have Asti Spumante - I do this when
I am in an Italian mood, singing Aida or Un ballo
in maschera, for example.
Play a little Verdi in the background for
a perfect late evening!
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CHOCOLATE SOUFFLE
serves 6
Important: Prepare a 9-inch souffle dish by buttering it
and dusting the inside with powdered sugar.
Ingredients:
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1 oz unsweetened dark chocolate, cut into thick pieces
½ cup white sugar
3 eggs, separated into yolks and whites
1 tsp vanilla
fine dark chocolate shavings
Instructions:
Melt the butter. Stir in the
flour until blended. In a separate saucepan, heat the milk,
chocolate, and sugar, but do not boil.
Slowly add the hot milk mixture to the flour mixture, stirring
constantly until well blended. Beat the egg yolks until light.
Beat part of the sauce into the yolks, then add the yolk mixture
to the rest of the sauce and stir the resulting custard over
very low heat until the yolks thicken slightly.
Cool the custard mixture well. This will already start to
smell delicious!
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Add the vanilla
to the cooled chocolate mixture. Whip the egg whites until
stiff. Fold them lightly (very carefully!) Into the cooled
chocolate mixture.
Bake in a souffle dish set in a pan of hot water about 20
minutes or until firm. Serve at once with Delightful Dreamy
Sauce, adding the chocolate shavings before serving.
Delightful Dreamy Sauce
1 cup confectioner's sugar
1/3 to ½ cup butter
1 egg yolk
1 egg white
1 teaspoon vanilla or 2 tablespoons port
or 1 tablespoon Grand Marnier
Sift the sugar well. Beat the butter until soft and add the
sugar. Beat well until blended. Beat in the egg yolk and the
vanilla, port or Grand Marnier. Place the sauce in a double
boiler over - not in - boiling water. Beat and cook until
the yolk has thickened slightly.
Whip the egg white until stiff and fold it lightly into the
sauce. Serve hot at once, or cold, but DO NOT try to reheat.
This sauce is, as the name says, light and delightful and
on the chocolate souffle tastes like a dream!
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