Balsamic Glazed Strawberries with Zabaglione

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I’m walking the line here, hanging on to summer produce, embracing the flavors of fall.

I managed to find some late season, tiny, local strawberries at the farmer’s market for my fruit photoshoot and after their hard day of looking perfectly adorable, I had the audacity to make them into dessert.

As you may have noticed, these strawberries have a dark side.  These are not June’s bright and innocent strawberries destined for shortcake.  No, no.  Cloaked in sticky, dark balsamic, these are the black turtleneck-wearing, chain-smoking poets of the berry world.

What could we ever serve with such berries?  Ice cream?  Too cute.  Pudding?  Too trendy.  How about zabaglione?  Understated sophistication.  Perfect.  These berries can appreciate that.  Plus it’s fun to say.

A couple yolks and some sugar get dropped in a bowl.  Add some booze.  Place over simmering water, whisk.

Keep whisking.

Whisk it real good.

The more you whisk, the more you get to eat.

Balsamic Glazed Strawberries with Zabaglione
 
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This dessert can easily be made for 1 person or 10. The zabaglione is delicous with almost any fresh or roasted fruit. Serve some cookies or biscotti along side for a more composed dessert.
Author:
Recipe type: Dessert
Serves: 2
Ingredients
  • •Pint of Strawberries
  • •3 T. Balsamic Vinegar
  • •1 t. Raw Sugar
  • •1 Sprig Fresh Thyme (optional, or subsitute another herb)
  • •2 Egg Yolks
  • •2 T. Sugar
  • •⅓ c. Marsala
Instructions
  1. Simmer balsamic in small saucepan over low heat until reduced by half. Meanwhile, remove strawberry stems. Add strawberries to reduced vinegar and roast in 400° oven until berries are warm and flavors are concentrated, about ten minutes. Add thyme leaves, sprinkle in raw sugar, and allow to cool slightly.
  2. Place egg yolks and sugar in heatproof bowl and whisk until pale yellow. Whisk in marsala and place over a medium saucepan of simmering water. Whisk rapidly until the mixture is light and foamy.
  3. Place berries in the bottom of parfait glasses or bowls. Spoon warm zabaglione over the top.

Skillet Roasted Duck Breast with Italian Plums

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The air has turned crisp.  Evening is setting in earlier and earlier.  Summer is behind us and fall has arrived.  Time to roast, time to braise, time to unpack the sweaters, time for earthy red wines.

Time for Duck!

Datenight Duck.  Beautifully seared and roasted duck breasts with sweet, herby roasted plums and red wine sauce.  Just like going to a restaurant except I’ll be in slippers.

Let’s gather our ingredients.

Plums, a shallot, a few sprigs from the garden.  Halve your plums, mince your shallots, chop the herbs, and score your duck breast.  We’ll be cooking in no time.

Let the duck skin get nice and cripsy, then flip and let it finish in the oven.  Look- aren’t you glad you scored that skin.

Plate the duck.  Make it look all restauranty.  Call your date to the table.  Realize that $6 bottle of red just won’t do.  Revel in your awesomeness.

 

Skillet Roasted Duck Breasts with Italian Plums
 
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This recipe can easily be doubled, tripled, or quadrupled if you are cooking for a group. I serve the duck over frisee which offers a little bitterness to offset the sweetness of the plums as well as roasted fingerling potatoes.
Author:
Serves: 2
Ingredients
  • Duck Breasts (I used 1 large Magret breast which weighed in at almost 1 lb. Feel free to use 2 small breasts, if you prefer)
  • 6 Italian Plums
  • A Few Sprigs of Hearty Herbs (Sage & Rosemary are good choices)
  • 1 Small Shallot, Minced
  • ¼ c. Dry Red Wine
  • 1 T. Butter
  • Handful of Frisee
  • Roasted Fingerling Potatoes
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400°.
  2. If serving with potatoes, get these into the oven while you work on the duck. Toss them with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
  3. Score the duck skin in a diamond pattern, taking care not to cut through the meat. Season with salt and pepper. Heat iron skillet (any oven-proof pan will do) and place duck skin-side down. Allow duck skin to become crisp and golden, about 8 minutes.
  4. While the duck is being seared, halve and pit the plums and mince the herbs.
  5. When the duck skin is appropriately golden, pour off most of the rendered fat (save this!), flip the duck, add the plums & herbs, season with salt and pepper and roast in oven until the duck is rosy and the plums are very juicy, about 8 minutes for medium-rare. Remove duck and plums, tent, and allow to rest on cutting board.
  6. Meanwhile, over medium-high heat, add minced shallots to pan juices and saute until translucent. Add red wine and allow to reduce by half. Turn off heat and finish sauce with butter and season as necessary. Thinly slice duck breast and fan over a mound of frisee and a few roasted potatoes. Top with roasted plums and spoon sauce over meat.

Welcome to StrawberryPlum + A Taste of What to Expect

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Thank you for finding your way to strawberryplum.com.  I can’t wait to start showing you some of the food that comes out of my kitchen, but I reckon we’d better get introductions out of the way first.

My name is Sarah and I love to cook.

And eat.

And talk about what I cook and eat.  I’d love to share my favorite recipes with you!

Coming up next…I pay homage to my title ingredients before bidding a final good-bye to summer.

See you soon!  -Sarah