Fabulicious!: On the Grill (25 page)

4.
For each serving, place 2 peach halves in a bowl. Add a large scoop of ice cream and drizzle with about 2 ½ tablespoons of sauce. Top with a dollop of whipped cream, if using, and a sprinkle of toasted almonds. Serve immediately.

Non si può avere la botte piena e la moglie ubriaca

Literally: “You can't have a full barrel of wine and a drunk wife.” What it means: “You can't have your cake and eat it too.”

 

Makes 6 servings

The creaminess of sorbet really compliments a fizzy, fruity sparkling wine, and make an amazing dessert. You can mix and match the sorbet and fruit (there's no reason why you couldn't use strawberries or blueberries if you have them), and even substitute fruit soda for the wine to serve to the kids. But I love this “Melba” combination of raspberries and peach-flavored wine.

1 ½ pints raspberry sorbet

½ pint (6 ounces) fresh raspberries

1 (750-ml) bottle peach-flavored sparkling wine, such as Fabellini

Scoop the ice cream into six chilled wine glasses. Divide the raspberries among the glasses. Slowly fill each glass with the chilled wine. Serve immediately.

 

Makes about 2 quarts

Granita is sorbet's country cousin. It's not very refined or smooth, but everyone loves it anyway. You don't need an ice cream maker for this fruity iced dessert, just a freezer. Watermelon is the dessert of choice at many backyard cookouts, and when it is made into granita, it's easier to eat, and you don't have to spit out the seeds.

6 pounds watermelon, preferably seedless

¾ cup sugar

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1.
Place a metal 13 × 9–inch baking pan in the freezer and let chill while preparing the granita.

2.
Cut the watermelon flesh into chunks, discarding the seeds and rind. In batches, purée the watermelon in a blender. You should have 6 cups purée. Process 1 cup of the purée with the sugar and lemon juice in the blender until the sugar dissolves. Stir back into the remaining purée.

3.
Pour the mixture into the chilled pan. Freeze until the sides of the mixture are partially frozen and slushy, about 1½ hours. Using a fork, mix the frozen edges into the center (leave the fork in the pan). Freeze, repeating the stirring procedure about every 30 minutes, until the mixture has a slushy consistency, about 3 hours total freezing time. (The granita can be made up to one day ahead. If it freezes too hard, just scrape the mixture with fork tines to make it into slush.)

4.
Spoon the granita into chilled glasses and serve immediately.

 

Makes 6 to 8 servings

As always, I had to leave you with a happy ending. This time, with
baci
—“kisses” in Italian. Gelato is amazing, but requires an ice cream machine to make. Semifreddo, which means “half-frozen,” is a soft, spoon-able, homemade ice cream that can be made in a regular freezer. Add the fact that it's a chocolate-hazelnut flavor and uses my favorites—Nutella and Baci candies—and you'll agree with my friend who says this is the best thing she's had in her mouth since her honeymoon. You're welcome.

1 cup heavy cream, divided

½ cup Nutella or other chocolate-hazelnut spread

3 large egg whites

½ cup sugar

5 ounces Perugina Baci or other chocolate-hazelnut truffles, finely chopped, plus more for serving

1.
Put a medium bowl in the freezer to chill. Line an 8½ × 4½-inch loaf pan with a large sheet of plastic wrap, letting the plastic hang over the sides.

2.
Heat ¼ cup of the cream in a small saucepan until warm. Remove from the heat. Add the Nutella and whisk until smooth. Let cool until tepid. Wash and dry the whisk well.

3.
In the top part of a double boiler, over barely simmering water, constantly whisk the egg whites and sugar together until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is opaque and hot but not cooked (the whites will begin to set), 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat until the whites form very stiff, shiny peaks. Using a rubber spatula, fold about one-quarter of the whites into the Nutella mixture to loosen it.

4.
Using the same beaters, whip the remaining ¾ cup cream in the chilled bowl until it forms very stiff peaks. Add the remaining beaten whites and the Nutella mixture to the whipped cream and fold everything together with the spatula. Spread half of the mixture into the loaf pan, smoothing the top, and sprinkle with
about two-thirds of the chopped truffles, reserving the remaining truffles as garnish. Spread with the remaining mixture. Cover the top with the overhanging plastic wrap. Freeze until set, at least 4 hours or overnight.

5.
To serve, there are two options. For a more formal look, fold back the plastic, invert the pan onto a chilled platter, unmold, and remove the plastic. Slice the semifreddo and transfer each slice to a chilled dessert plate. Or spoon the semifreddo directly from the pan (watch out for the plastic wrap) into chilled ice cream bowls. Sprinkle each serving with the remaining truffles and serve immediately.

L
a pacchia è finita
is a famous phrase in Italian that means the fun has ended, the party's over, and it's time to go home. But it's not sad.
Pacchia
is a state of mind where you don't worry, but are happy. It's about the good life.
Che pacchia!
is the same as saying something is easy, like a piece of cake.

And so I'm leaving you with that thought: that you can live the good life no matter where or who you are. We get out of life what we put into it, and I hope you receive as much love and sweetness as you've all given to me.

One final Italian proverb:
A tavola non si invecchia.
It means, “At the table with good friends and family, you do not become old.” I'm raising my glass to all of us staying young in our hearts, our minds, and our love—even if we can't keep some other parts from sagging just a little!

Tanti Baci,

Teresa xx

Alici Baked Potatoes,
180

almonds, toasted,
192

America

    
Italy's differences to,
20–21
,
37
,
58
,
70
,
78
,
113
,
149
,
151–152

    
sayings in,
14

    
substitute ingredients in,
34
,
35

anchovies

    
Alici Baked Potatoes,
180

    
Grilled Tuna Puttanesca,
163–164

    
Olivada,
42

angel food,
186

antipasti
(appetizers)

    
about,
33
,
51
,
63

    
Bruschetta,
37–40

    
Grilled Zucchini Scapece,
181

    
importance of,
33

    
Mini-Peppers with Sausage-Ricotta Stuffing,
47

    
Olivada,
42

    
Portobello Mushrooms, Grilled Marinated,
48

    
Tuscan White Bean Crostini,
41

aphrodisiacs,
73
,
143
,
194

apple(s)

    
Grilled Rings,
122

    
Marinade, Herb and,
104

    
Marinade, Rosemary,
122

    
picking,
184

    
Pork Chops Stuffed with,
104–105

Applesauce, Joe's Juicy,
190

Artichokes and Fontina, Chicken Breasts Stuffed with,
124–126

arugula

    
about,
67

    
Grilled Fig and Arugula Salad with Goat Cheese,
66

    
Tomato and Baby Bocconcini Salad,
75

Asiago,
34

Baci Semifreddo,
195–196

bacon.
See
pancetta

Baked Potatoes, Alici,
180

baking

    
ovens, grills and,
27
,
51
,
152–153

    
peels and sheets,
52

    
by sun,
171

balsamic vinegar,
64

barbecuing,
19–20

basil

    
fresh,
64

    
Glaze,
132

    
Pesto,
75
,
160
,
161
,
173

    
Rosemary Marinade,
124

    
Summer Salad,
74

basting brushes,
26

Batali, Mario,
73

Bean Crostini, Tuscan White,
41

beef.
See also
steak

    
Giudice Burgers with Peppers and Gorgonzola,
99–100

    
Grilled Meatballs and Tomato Sauce, Ziti with,
158–159
handling,
84–85

    
Ziti with Grilled Meatballs and Tomato Sauce,
158–159

bell peppers.
See
peppers (bell)

Bianca, Pizza,
58
,
59

blackberries, picking,
185

blue cheese.
See
Gorgonzola

blue crabs,
166

blueberries

    
Grownup Fabellini Sorbet,
193

    
picking,
184

Bocconcini

    
about,
35
,
75

    
Salad, Tomato and,
75

bread.
See also
Bruschetta
;
Crostini