Contessa Passion Fruit & Hazelnut Meringue Tartlet

There is something very elegant about hazelnuts. They are among my favorite nut flavors including pecans, walnuts, and almond. I ran into a bag of hazelnut flour in our local grocery store recently, and my curiosity tried to figure out a way to use it in a dessert. This light as air, tropical dessert was my mind’s reward. This is the first time I put this dessert together, so I have not quantified the recipe enough times to feel comfortable sharing it. However, I thought I would do a “Rambling” on it, and share it visually with you until then! Read More

Contessa Kitchen Tip #11

Simple Syrups are a great way to infuse sweetness into a drink without the grittiness of undissolved sugar interrupting the experience. I use it mostly in ice-teas and other cold drinks.

Infusing the syrups with various flavors is very simple to do. It gives a real twist to any drink your making. My favorites are those combinations bursting with island tinged flavors –Lime, Lemon grass, and ginger are my go-to-flavors!

Simply mix and boil equal parts sugar with water and until dissolved. While the mixture is cooling add the flavoring of your choice and let steep. Enjoy!

Contessa CocoTea Latte

I am not a regular coffee drinker. But when I do drink coffee, it has to be something a bit more special than a regular cup of brew. It must be downright delicious! In law school, an inexpensive treat for me was browsing through the isles of my favorite bookstore. It was heaven to bump into books that would offer some release from the mundane “had-to” read cases and statutes that was law school reading.

There was usually a Star BucksCoffee housed in these bookstores, and my favorite flavor was the white chocolate mocha latte. There are no large book stores with specialty coffee houses on our little Rock, so in true Contessa-style, this recipe is an homage to both my now-world and my then-world. A blending of Caribbean flavors of fire roasted cocoa beans, beaten and pounded to release their oils and full flavor, then palmed rolled into logs of pure, minimally processed, chocolate heaven. Read More