STRAWBERRIES with BLOOD ORANGE JUICE
DESSERT FRENCH TOAST with FRUIT
Dessert is not one of my daily needs. If I feel I want “dessert,” fruit and cheese are the most likely finale to my solo supper. Or just cheese. Sometimes I am happy to nibble on a few berries, some segments of tangerine, or a perfectly ripe pear. When the rare craving for sweets hits, I’m not embarrassed to go out and purchase a pastry. (Alas, my weakness is a chocolate-glazed, custard-filled éclair). I bake or make fancy sweets only when I have company. I won’t make a pie or cake just for me, only to have it go bad after a few days, or to binge on it and then have to repent at the gym.
Every once in a while, however, I do make a special dessert for myself, probably because I bought too much fruit at the farmers’ market and I don’t want to throw it out. So I prepare a fruit gratin or compote with citrus juices. I might make zabaglione or sauté some apple slices with butter and honey, and if I have leftover rice, I sometimes put together a rice pudding—adult baby food for anyone who likes comforting desserts.
When I went to buy a copper zabaglione pot at Figone Hardware, a North Beach institution now long gone, I talked with the owner about zabaglione, hoping to get a few tips. He told me that he no longer ate it, which I found unusual for an Italian. Then he told me the reason: when he was a little boy, and rather thin and sickly, his mother would make him drink a glass of zabaglione every morning before he went to school. Needless to say, I understood why he couldn’t look at it again. This is not my life story, however, so I still crave zabaglione. I have so many happy memories associated with this voluptuous dessert that I actually take the time to make it for myself whenever I am homesick for Italy.
While zabaglione is delicious spooned over berries or ripe peaches, it’s really best licked slowly off a spoon. I make it with a whisk or, if feeling lazy, with a small, handheld electric mixer. A double boiler is best, but a small, deep bowl set over a pan of simmering water will also work. A copper zabaglione pot is grand, too, but you do have to polish it from time to time so it doesn’t look disreputable.
2 egg yolks
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup dry or sweet Marsala
In the top pan of a small double boiler over simmering water, beat together the egg yolks, sugar, and Marsala until they are pale and thick and the whisk or beaters leave tracks when lifted. Do not poop out and stop mixing too soon. It will take about 10 minutes, and it has to be very thick and creamy to be right. It will have doubled in volume. Eat with a spoon while it is warm. Slowly.
This could not be simpler, and it is a perfect dessert when you want something light and not too sweet. Cut strawberries into thick slices. Sprinkle lightly with sugar and squeeze the juice of 1 blood orange on top. Let macerate for 30 minutes. If blood oranges are not available, try a good squeeze of Meyer lemon juice.
A gratin makes familiar fruit seem fancy. Preheat the broiler far enough in advance so that the sugar melts quickly and the fruit doesn’t overcook. You can also use a combination of fruits.
1 generous cup strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, or blackberries or 1 large peach or nectarine
1/3 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon milk or half-and-half
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 tablespoons brown sugar, or as needed
Preheat the broiler.
If using strawberries, hull them and quarter or halve lengthwise, depending on size. If using a peach, peel and remove the pit, then slice about 1/2 inch thick. You do not need to peel the nectarine; simply pit and slice. Place the fruit on the bottom of a small flameproof gratin or baking dish.
In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, milk, and granulated sugar. Spoon this mixture over the fruit. Sprinkle enough brown sugar over the sour cream to coat it in a thin, even layer. Place the dish under the broiler and broil until the sugar melts. This will happen very quickly, so pay attention to prevent burning. Eat at once.
Pear, Gorgonzola Dolcelatte, and Chestnut Honey: Peel, core, and slice 1 pear. Arrange the slices atop a slice of Gorgonzola dolcelatte cheese. Drizzle with dark chestnut honey. Accompany with toasted walnuts or hazelnuts if a crunch is desired.
Mascarpone and Chestnuts: Loosely swirl together 1/2 cup mascarpone cheese and 1/2 cup sweetened chestnut purée, or a dollop of mascarpone and a few chopped candied chestnuts or marrons in syrup. Sweet and sinful.
Cheese with Figs or Quince Paste: Pair fresh or aged goat’s or sheep’s milk cheese with fresh or dried figs or with quince paste. Accompany with walnut bread or wheatmeal crackers. A traditional Spanish pairing is Manchego cheese and quince paste, but I also like quince paste with a crottin (aged goat’s milk cheese).
Cheese with Grapes or Apples: Pair Brie, Camembert, Gruyère, or Morbier cheese with grapes or apple slices.
When I was in graduate school at Yale, I sometimes needed a cocktail or a sweet to relax me after spending a long day and night in the painting studio. George and Harry’s Pub was near the art school, so I’d meet friends there for an after-work pick-me-up. I usually ordered the kitchen’s “famous” rice pudding, but it had no raisins and never enough cinnamon to satisfy me. To compensate, I carried raisins in my pocket so I could “fix” the pudding on the spot. The waiters thought I was eccentric. I guess I was. At home, of course, I can make it just the way I like it. If you have leftover cooked rice, use 1/2 cup of it to make the pudding and omit the first step of cooking the rice.
1 cup water
Pinch of salt
3 tablespoons short-grain white rice
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1-inch strip lemon zest
1-inch piece cinnamon stick
2 tablespoons golden raisins
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Ground cinnamon for garnish
In a saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Add the salt and rice, reduce the heat to low, and cook, uncovered, until the rice has swelled and is tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain the rice and set aside.
In the same saucepan, combine the milk, sugar, butter, lemon zest, and cinnamon stick and bring to a boil. (If you have the time and patience, remove the mixture from the heat at this point and let steep for 30 minutes to develop the flavors.) Add the cooked rice and raisins and simmer slowly, stirring often, until thickened, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove and discard the lemon zest and cinnamon stick and stir in the vanilla. Spoon the pudding into a bowl or eat warm, straight from the pot. In either case, sprinkle with cinnamon.
In Spain, this dessert is called torrijas and is served drizzled with a simple syrup. In France, it is called pain perdu and is often topped with a compote of sautéed apples. Berries, sautéed peaches, and brandied cherries are other topping options. French toast makes a particularly comforting ending to a light supper, although you might also enjoy it for a solo Sunday brunch.
1 egg
1/3 to 1/2 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
1 slice firm white bread, such as old-fashioned white, brioche, or challah, about 1 inch thick, crusts removed, and trimmed neatly into a round or square
1/4 cup dried bread crumbs
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons sugar, plus more to taste
11/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more as needed for fruit
1 apple, peach, or banana or 1/3 cup sliced strawberries
Flavorful honey as needed
Crème fraîche for serving
In a shallow bowl, whisk the egg until blended, then whisk in the milk and vanilla extract, using the larger amount of milk if the bread slice is particularly thick. Add the bread and let it stand until it has absorbed all of the liquid. On a plate, stir together the bread crumbs, cinnamon, and 2 teaspoons sugar. Dip the bread slice in the crumb mixture, coating both sides evenly.
In a sauté pan, melt the 11/2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add the bread and fry, turning once, until golden brown and slightly crusty on both sides, about 6 minutes total. Remove to a warm plate.
If using an apple, halve, core, peel and slice. In a sauté pan melt 11/2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add the apple slices and sauté, turning as needed, until tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Add honey or sugar to taste.
If using a peach or banana, peel, pit if needed, and slice. Warm 2 tablespoons honey and 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat. Add the fruit and turn the slices in the warm honey-butter mixture for a few minutes, but do not cook them.
Spoon the warmed fruit or strawberries over the bread. Top with a dollop of crème fraîche. Eat warm.
