Sorbet in Grapefruit Cups by Alison Roman

If there’s one dessert I associate with childhood, it’s orange sherbet with chocolate chips. My mom bought this ice cream more than any other flavor. Not because it was any of our favorite’s, but because it was hers. Which delights me. 

On a recent trip home, my family asked me to make them an Alison Roman meal, which was a true treat. I love cooking for anyone and everyone, but especially my family. They’re a wonderful audience. And I had the especially special pleasure of cooking for an additional family guest, my Oma. In fact, I made the meal at her house. 

Our menu included: 

And for dessert: 

  • Sorbet in Grapefruit Cups

I prepared the grapefruit cups first, a few hours before dinnertime. Using a spoon, I gouged out the grapefruit halves, discarding the extra layers of pith but keeping the juices and meat of the fruit in a bowl. (If there’s one food I associate most with going to my Oma’s house, it’s fresh-squeezed orange juice. Very Southern California of her, I know. So I just had to save the grapefruits for her next morning’s breakfast.) 

Next, I divided two pints of Talenti sorbet, one mango and the other raspberry, into the cups. The sorbet softened on the counter for 15 minutes beforehand. Alison gives the option of adding fruit to the cups, like grapes, kumquats, or pomegranate seeds. Having none of these, I left it at sorbet. The cups spent roughly 2.5 hours in the freezer before serving. 

I could taste a very faint hint of grapefruit in each bite of sorbet. If I didn’t pay attention, I would have missed it. Otherwise it was just a bowl of sorbet. But it sure looked fun! And it made my family feel special. They all remarked how fun the idea was and how much they enjoyed it. So while the work to make this recipe outweighed any additional flavors or flairs, it was worth it just to say to my family, “I care about you!” 

So, if you like to go *above and beyond* for presentation, this one’s for you.

135 recipes cooked, 90 to go.

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Caramelized Honey with Figs and Ice Cream by Alison Roman

Caramelized figs kind of happened to me. I wasn’t planning on this dish this week, but a box of fresh figs showed up in the front-of-store display at Trader Joe’s and I knew there was no looking back. 

Here is my personal opinion about fresh figs: I want them to have more flavor than they do. They’re just sort of mildly sweet and nothing else. I want them to be tangy, part sweet and part sour. Instead, they’re just sort of... there. Which, now that I think about it, makes sense. I’ve always felt this way about fig newtons too. 

Anywho, this recipe is super simple and takes few ingredients. It does help to have a functioning dominant hand, though, which I sadly could not supply. (I recently injured my wrist at a golfing range and I don’t want to talk about it.) Good thing we made this at our friends’ home because Madeline is a phenomenal fig-slicer, as pictured. 

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First step is to caramelize the honey, aka heat it over medium heat for several minutes until bubbling and a dark amber color. Then add butter, vinegar, and a pinch of salt, like you would to a normal caramel. The figs get added, cut-side down for a moment or two before removing from heat and tossing them to coat in the caramel. Scoop onto some vanilla ice cream, and you’re good to go! I chose the soy vanilla ice cream from TJ’s, and hardly noticed a difference from regular ice cream.

For the small amount of effort it took, it was quite good. However, I wanted the figs and honey to have more complex flavors. More white wine vinegar (or lemon juice) would have helped. Maybe more salt. Maybe figs will never fully do it for me, and that’s okay. If you’re a fig newton lover, then this recipe is absolutely for you. 

101 recipes cooked, 124 to go.

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