JACQUES PÉPIN QUICK SWEETS RECIPES

Here's another transfer from Latelife Recipes:

These quick sweets recipes are some from Pépin's book Fast Food My Way. If you ever watched the PBS show, Fast Food My Way, did you notice that the whole meal took just the half-hour or less to prepare? Couldn't be easier. And so many of the recipes adapt for as many as will be at your table.

Realizing that there were no desserts in all the previous recipes here, I separated the sweet from the savory recipes, which I'll post next.

Read through these recipes and be thinking of how you could adapt them and make them your own, depending on what you regularly stock in your kitchen. You may not have the fruit sherbet to go with the pineapple slices and kirsch, but you might have some good vanilla ice cream.

JACQUES PÉPIN QUICK SWEETS RECIPES

Ricotta honey mix. For a fast and easy dessert, place a graham cracker on each plate and put a large spoonful or scoop of ricotta on top. Pour a couple of tablespoons of honey on over and around the ricotta and sprinkle on some diced dried apricots and dark raisins. This dessert is better still with the addition of a few drops of Grand Marnier.

Pineapple slices in kirsch with sherbet. A pineapple slice flavored with kirshwasser (cherry brandy) is a classic combination from my years in the great kitchens of Paris. Arrange a fresh or canned pineapple slice with some of the syrup or a sprinkling of sugar on each dessert plate, and pour a little kirsch on top. Place a small scoop of fruit sherbet (lemon, orange, tangerine, strawberry, or raspberry) in the hollow center of each slice. Garnish with mint leaves and serve with a cookie.

Pineapple frosties. Ideal for hot summer nights at the beach, these tasty cold drinks are a cinch to make. Emulsify a mixture of canned crushed pineapple in syrup, crushed ice, a little lime juice, and dark rum in a food processor. Spoon into glasses, garnish with mint sprigs, and serve.

Apricot sherbet. For a quick dessert, puree a can of apricot halves in heavy syrup in a blender for about 30 seconds to infuse the mixture with air. Transfer the puree to a glass baking dish so it forms a fairly thin layer that will cool quickly, and place in the freezer until semisoft. (If making the sherbet ahead, freeze the puree until solid, and then, several hours before serving, soften it in the refrigerator until you can scoop it out of the dish. For a creamier result, process for a few seconds in a food processor.) Spoon into cold glasses, top with pistachio nuts, and serve each dessert with a cookie.

Blueberries in raspberry sauce with ice cream. Any berries are great for a summertime dessert. Mix some blueberries in a bowl with raspberry jam and a little cognac or water. Spoon into cocktail glasses, top each with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream, and serve with a cookie.

Happy Cooking! as Jacques always says.