Special occasions call for special desserts.
Recently, Jon and I celebrated the first anniversary of our wedding. We had very romantic plans, which included holing up in our apartment all day drinking "butterbeer" and reading the latest Harry Potter book released the day before and then dinner at a neighborhood sushi restaurant. But the evening would not be complete without a fancy dessert.
When Jon and I went to Portugal on our honeymoon last summer, we bought a special bottle of late bottled vintage port to save and drink on our wedding anniversary. As that occasion approached, I wanted to make a special dessert to enjoy it with. As a complete wine (and port) ignoramus, I turned to the internet for food pairing suggestions. I found recommendations for tons of foods from strawberries and peaches to ripe figs to dark chocolate to shortbread. Being my usual gluttonous self, I decided to make it all.
A couple days before the anniversary, while Jon was squirreled away in his home office working feverishly on his garbage can project, I stealthily baked up a batch of Martha Stewart's pecan shortbread. Making shortbread is actually a lot like making pie crust, except it's easier because you don't have to preserve the large chunks of butter that create the flakiness in pie crust; you just blend the whole mixture in the food processor until it forms a dough. The thoroughly blended texture of shortbread dough is what creates the nubbly, crumbly texture of proper shortbread cookies. Instead of cutting the cooled shortbread into bars, I decided to use cookie cutters to make heart-shaped shortbread cookies, which I hid in a covered brownie pan on top of the refrigerator. They turned out great - crispy, buttery, salty-sweet and rich - and the plentiful crumbs and odd shaped bits got saved in the freezer for an ice cream topping.
After we walked back from our anniversary dinner a few blocks away at Sushi Wabi, I made Jon wait on the porch while I sliced up some strawberries, mango nectarines, green figs and plantains, and melted some Ghirardelli chocolate and cream together in a bain-marie.
As we sat on the candlelit porch and drank our port - which was rich and strong and sweet, a perfect combination with the dark, silky chocolate fondue, the juicy, tender fruit, and the nutty little shortbread hearts - I thought about a time two summers ago when I sat in the same candlelit spot drinking champagne, enjoying a romantic Friday evening with my boyfriend, completely unaware of the engagement ring lurking in his pocket.
If only I'd known, I would have made dessert!
Chocolate Fondue and Pecan Shortbread
Both recipes adapted from Martha Stewart
Ingredients:
For the shortbread:
1 cup pecan halves
1 cup (spooned and leveled) all-purpose flour, plus more for preparation
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup cold (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/4 teaspoon salt
For the fondue:
4 oz bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
Serve with a selection of other accompaniments - some suggestions:
fresh or dried fruit of your choice
gouda cheese
candied ginger
marshmallows
brownie squares
pound cake
Instructions:
For the shortbread (can be made up to a week ahead):
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil, leaving an overhang on all sides.
In a food processor, pulse pecans until finely chopped. Transfer
to a bowl; set aside. In processor, blend flour, sugar, butter, and
salt until moist clumps form. Add reserved pecans; pulse 2 or 3 times,
just to incorporate.
Press dough evenly into the bottom of prepared pan (if dough is
sticky, dip fingers in flour). With a floured fork, prick dough every
1/2 inch. Bake until lightly golden, 30 to 35 minutes.
Cool 5 minutes in pan. Use foil overhang to lift shortbread from
pan onto cutting board. With a heart-shaped cookie cutter, carefully press out cookies. Store cooled cookies in a covered pan until ready to serve. (You can save scraps and crumbs in a sealed plastic bag or container to sprinkle on ice cream or fresh or grilled fruit.)
For fondue:
Combine chocolate and cream in a heat-proof bowl set over a pan
of barely simmering water. Using a wooden spoon, stir occasionally
until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Divide among 2 small
bowls or ramekins; serve immediately with shortbread cookies and other accompaniments.
Serves 2-4 with lots of leftover cookies.
