My Just Desserts

I'll be the first to admit my cooking forte has nothing to do with desserts (despite the claims of a drunken Neighbor Brad last night). It's a matter of practice time. I'll never make desserts 5 out of 7 nights a week like I do with main courses. But both nature and I abhor a vacuum, and I definitely have a vacuum of talent and skill when it comes to dessert. So who better to experiment on than my friends?

First up was a Bailey's Irish Cream Chocolate Chip Cheesecake, inspired by a request from my mother for an "Irish Dessert." (My brother is going to Notre Dame next year, along with a collection of other kids from the hometown--for my mom, this inexplicably demands a networking party for the Notre Dame moms of Peachtree City. I don't claim to understand suburban life.) I paired it with a chocolate mint sauce that I made from a combination of semi-sweet and unsweetened chocolate, sugar, and water that I had boiled 8 or 9 mint leaves in. The cake was moist (maybe a bit too moist--it probably could have baked for another hour or so) and creamy. The flavor was fantastic, although next time I'll add brown sugar.

Next up was a Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Pie, a different spin on my last effort. I can probably get away with using the tofu as the thickening agent instead of the cream cheese if I want to keep the fat content down. I'll try that next time.

My favorite was the Cider Poached Apples with Spiked Strawberry and Blueberry Coulis (how do you make coulis plural? I've wanted to do that all week.) I boiled down a mixture of apple cider and cinnamon until it was about half, and poached apple sliced in that mixture until just tender on the outside and then stuck them in the freezer to cool off (I didn't want them steaming hot, just warm) Separately, I tossed thawed frozen strawberries in my blender with some sauvignon blanc and sugar and repeated with blueberries. For each coulis, I added a dash of allspice, a couple of bay leaves, and about a teaspoon of ground cloves and simmered for a little less than ten minutes. I removed the sauces from heat, removed the bay leaves, and added just enough Hennessy to give it a spiked, smokey flavor--about a shot's worth. Served the sauces drizzled over the apples with a side of cinnamon yogurt (just some vanilla yogurt mixed with ground cinnamon to taste).

Helloooooo, nurse: