A get-together of what Linda calls the "foreign legion", a group of ex-pats, took place this evening in somewhat palatial surroundings in Modica Bassa. Our hostess, a German lady, had opened up her beautiful home to us and laid on soft drinks, tea, savoury snacks and a sumptuous torta filled with her own fig jam. Everyone brought a sweet dish along and I decided that this was just the opportunity I had been waiting for to try out the semifreddo di marrons glacés from - you guessed it - the Cucchiaio d'Argento. This semifreddo recipe unusually contains no eggs, just whipped-up cream into which you crumble some savoiardi and chopped marrons glacés with a little cocoa and sugar. You then pour the mixture into a loaf tin, wrap it and freeze it "for at least 4 hours" says the book. Personally, when making this type of dish, I never believe any instruction that doesn't tell you it will need overnight freezing. Anyway, it worked very well, turned out of the tin like a dream, was much lighter on the taste buds than you would imagine and disappeared quickly, I am glad to say. Lest you should think I am always a confident cook, here is the mini prototype, for I always make one of these when following a frozen dessert recipe. That way, I can tell whether the thing has set properly and have a taste.
And here is the full-size version:
Had I been at home, I would have sieved a little cocoa over the top but , whilst making a mess in your own kitchen is one thing, doing so in someone else's is quite another so the couple of spare marrons glacés had to suffice.
The nationalities represented at our gathering were: Italian, British, French, Maltese, Greek, Bosnian, German, Spanish, Tunisian, Madagascan, Dutch, Austrian and Japanese. The two men were outnumbered but didn't seem to mind. A good time was had by all and we agreed to meet up more often. As you see, we were all feeling happy and relaxed, not to mention well-fed! I am in the second picture and - what a calamity - forgot to take my glasses off:
"I want the cultures of all the lands to be blown about my house as freely as possible." - Gandhi
10 comments:
It looks delicious :-)
I can never be bothered with a test recipe, it is all part of the fun ;-)
It looks good. Like you, I don't believe the directions either. I also freeze overnight. Maybe a big commercial freezer would do the job in four hours, but a home freezer doesn't.
That was quite a group. Did everyone speak Italian?
Hi, Cherie. I do test recipes on things likely to be temperamental! Hi, Betty. Glad you agree re. the freezing. Yes, we all speak fluent Italian.
sounds like a wonderful afternoon was had by all :-)
What an incredible mix of nationalities! And i see from the previous comment that you all speak fluent Italian! Wow!
It was very enjoyable, Sally. Hi, Liz. Yes, quite a mix. Everyone who was there is in Italy from choice. I would not dream of moving to, or even visiting, a country whose language I do not speak and I think the others feel the same. For me it's a matter of principle.
It looks like you are in very good company.
I believe I was, Ellee.
What a fabulous get-together. And your semifreddo looks just divine...marron glaces in anything will always be a hit. I know that I love it in gelato.
Hi, Rowena. It ws a lovely gathering. The recipe was really for a gelato but I though it had more of a semifreddo texture.
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