Beloved by St. Louisans since first opening in 1927, Bissinger’s Handcrafted Chocolatier continues to make traditional high-quality chocolates and old-fashioned confections (HALLELUJAH), but keeps current by adding contemporary flavors to its candy repertoire and innovative concepts to it’s retail outlets.

For example Bissinger’s Maryland Plaza, an outlet in the heart of St. Louis, double dips as a shop selling chocolates as well as a café serving to-die-for chocolate desserts (and wine and savories).

One can enjoy St. Louis baseball and beer outside of St. Louis via TV and bars, and one can buy a selection of Bissinger’s candies through the Internet and catalogues, but to capture the magic of the café’s divine desserts, you have to be there. Unless you score a recipe. Look below.  GLORY BE!

Dave Owens

Bissinger’s chief chocolatier, Dave Owens, created Milk Chocolate Semifreddo for Maryland Plaza and claims that the semi-frozen magic is his favorite best seller. Although Owens dresses up the café version in fancy garnish (pictured), he says that the recipe is versatile and can “wow” even if garnished with nothing more than a sprinkling of toffee, a dab of whipped cream and/or a shot of liqueur. AMEN

MILK CHOCOLATE SEMIFREDDO

(Adapted from a recipe supplied by Dave Owens of Bissinger’s Handcrafted Chocolatier. Although the original recipe calls for milk chocolate, the semifreddo is also fabulous when made with dark chocolate.)

Yield: 8 servings.

3 large egg yolks

6 tablespoons sugar

1/4 cup milk

1/2 vanilla bean, halved or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

6 ounces milk (or dark) chocolate, chopped

1-1/3 cups heavy cream

Choice of garnish:

About 8 tablespoons coarsely chopped chocolate-covered English toffee (optional)

Whipped cream (optional)

Dark chocolate shavings (optional)

White chocolate shavings (optional)

Hazelnut, amaretto or chocolate liqueur (optional)

Beat egg yolks in the top of a double boiler or in a large mixing bowl until well combined. Continue beating, gradually adding sugar until mixture thickens. Beat in milk. If using the vanilla bean, add it to mixture.

Put water in the bottom of a double boiler or a saucepan, set over low heat and let water get hot. Set  top of double boiler or bowl over hot water and, whisking constantly, cook mixture until it is hot and thickens into a custard, about 10 minutes. Do not overheat or overcook.

Remove custard from the heat and, if using, remove the vanilla bean, scraping seeds into the custard. If using vanilla extract rather than vanilla bean, add extract to custard. Add chocolate and whisk until chocolate melts completely and custard is well blended. Set custard aside to cool completely.

Whip the cream until soft peaks form. Fold the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture until completely combined.

Spoon the mixture into eight ramekins, chocolate dessert cups, or dessert molds. Cover with plastic or foil and freezer several hours or overnight, until mixture is frozen solid.

To serve, (if using molds, unmold onto dessert plates) allow the semifreddo to stand at room temperature for 10 minutes. Garnish as desired, with chopped toffee, whipped cream, shaved chocolate and/or liqueur.

Serve immediately. Expect raves.

Well…yes…frankly it could, the moment you lift a fork and bring the velvety darkness of Merriman’s Chocolate Lover’s Torte to the tongue. Forget everything else. Chocolate Lover’s Torte is perfection! It’s as good as it gets—and more.

But what else would one expect from chef Peter Merriman, a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, native who settled in Hawaii

Peter Merriman in Maui

and opened three restaurants passionately dedicated to Hawaii Regional Cuisine.

“It’s the flavor that counts with me,” said Merriman, who, true to his name, punctuates sentences with joyful smiles and rousing laughs. “The best flavor comes from the best products, and we are committed to using the finest, freshest, local products available.”

Chocolate Lover’s Torte perfectly fits Merriman’s philosophy, being a simple-to-make, intensely flavorful dessert based on high-quality island ingredients. Although the torte can be made with any fine-quality chocolate, Merriman uses a 100% Hawaiian bittersweet chocolate that is processed in Kailua-Kona from beans grown on the Big Island (see Note).

CHOCOLATE LOVER’S TORTE

Yield: 8 to 10 servings.

Butter to grease cake pan

Cake flour to coat cake pan

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (see Note)

8 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped

4 teaspoons instant coffee powder

1-1/3 cups plus 7 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided

2/3 cup water

1-1/3 cups unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

7 eggs

2 tablespoons sifted cake flour

Optional garnish: raspberry puree, raspberries, whipped cream and/or ice cream

Generously butter a 9-inch springform pan and lightly dust with flour. Wrap outside of pan tightly with aluminum foil, using several sheets of foil so that water will not seep into the pan’s seams; set pan aside. Preheat oven to 375°F.

Put chocolates and coffee powder in a large mixing bowl; set aside.

Put 1-1/3 cups of the sugar and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring often. Pour boiling mixture over reserved chocolate mixture; stir until chocolate completely melts and mixture is smooth. Gradually beat butter into chocolate mixture.

With electric mixer set on medium, beat eggs until they are well blended. Beating constantly, slowly add remaining 7 tablespoons sugar to eggs; continue beating 1 minute. Stir egg mixture into chocolate mixture. Fold flour into chocolate mixture.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Place pan in a larger pan (such as a roasting pan). Pour boiling water into the larger pan until it comes halfway up the side of the cake pan. Bake in a preheated 375°F oven until cake has risen slightly and is set, about 1 hour.

Remove cake pan from water bath and set on a rack to cool. Refrigerate cooled cake until it is well chilled. Remove sides from cake pan. Turn cake upside down on a serving platter and carefully remove bottom of cake pan.

Serve cake at room temperature or chilled, garnished with raspberry puree, raspberries, whipped cream and/or ice cream.

Note:

For bittersweet chocolate, Merriman uses pure Hawaiian chocolate from The Original Hawaiian Chocolate Factory in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. This chocolate is sold at select stores throughout Hawaii and by mail, in bars labeled “dark” chocolate. For more information, call 1-888-447-2626.

Today’s food outlets operating in Ann Arbor under the Zingerman’s banner include a Creamery, a Bakehouse, a Coffee Company and The Roadhouse, a popular restaurant/bar. Zingerman’s partners also make candy, publish books, cater and run food tours

With mottos that include “praise the lard,” and a company policy that celebrates bacon, Zingerman’s defies diet trends. Instead, Zingerman’s hunts the world for the best of the best, and doesn’t care a wit about calorie content—it’s not what is good for you at Zingerman’s, but what is good, flavorful and top quality that counts.

Guess you have to be there (Ann Arbor) to indulge in the full monty, but you can sample some goodies by mail order. For example, Zingerman’s fabulous Hot Cocoa Cake is available in the Ann Arbor deli and Bakehouse, by mail order, and, now, even in your own home kitchen as Zingerman’s shared the recipe below. Praise the lard!

Zingerman’s

HOT COCOA CAKE

Yield: 10 to 12 servings.

Shortening and flour to prepare cake pan

1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons instant espresso or instant coffee crystals

2 tablespoons hot water

1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature

2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup sour cream

2 eggs, at room temperature

3 egg whites, at room temperature

5-1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Sifted confectioner’s sugar, optional

Grease and lightly flour two 6-cup fluted tube pans or one 10-inch Bundt pan and set aside.

Heat oven to 350°F.

Put flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Stir to combine.

Put espresso in a small bowl. Add hot water and stir to dissolve espresso. Stir in vanilla and set aside.

Put butter in a large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Gradually add sugar, beating constantly. Add sour cream and beat until well combined. Add eggs and egg whites, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Alternately add flour mixture and espresso mixture to butter mixture, beating on low speed after each addition until ingredients are just combined. Stir in chopped chocolate. Pour batter into prepared pan or pans.

Place in the preheated oven and bake until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center of the cake comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes for the small cakes or 50 to 55 minutes for the larger cake.

Cool for 15 minutes on a wire rack. Remove from pan and set on a rack to cook completely.

If desired, sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.

Flowers cooks for passengers riding the historic Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad through the Rocky Mountains between Chama, New Mexico and Antonito, Colorado.

The steam engine, narrow-gauge train rides include a lunch stop at Osier Station, a secluded outpost in the middle of the mountains. Flowers is Osier’s chef and everyday that the trains run (from the end of May to mid October), he roasts six to twelve 25-pound turkeys and bakes 15 to 20 pies—and that’s in addition to preparing a variety of soups, salads, vegetables, breads and other dishes to please several hundred diners.

Chef Stephen Flowers

This cheerful chef says that he has two secrets to pulling off a made-from-scratch Thanksgiving feast day after day.

“One secret is that we aren’t so focused on presentation,” says Flowers who serves buffet style,  “so we cook the turkeys breast-side down in about two inches of water. We cook them slowly, about 10 to 12 hours at 275°F, and then we remove the meat from the bone to serve. The turkey is always moist and tender.

“The second secret is our recipe for Southern

Pie and railroad fans

buttermilk pie. We have one basic recipe that we can change with only a few ingredient switches or additions. These minor changes allows us to make a wide variety of different flavored pies each day.”

For those who want to copy Flowers, here’s his base recipe with a few variation suggestions, but the recipe is so adaptable, cooks can get creative and season to suit their own taste.

SOUTHERN BUTTERMILK PIE

1-1/3 cups sugar

1/3 cup flour

3 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1/3 cup melted butter

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Dash salt

1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell

Ground cinnamon

Ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350°.

Mix sugar and flour and set aside.

Put eggs in a medium size mixing bowl and beat just to combine yolks and whites. Add buttermilk, butter, lemon juice, salt and sugar-flour mixture. Beat just to combine ingredients; do not over mix.

Pour mixture into pie shell. Lightly sprinkle cinnamon and nutmeg over top.

Bake at 350°F for until set, about 45 minutes.

VARIATIONS

PINEAPPLE BUTTERMILK PIE

Add drained crushed pineapple to base mixture.

COCONUT BUTTERMILK PIE

Add shredded coconut and a touch of coconut flavoring to base mixture. (Do not top with cinnamon and nutmeg.)

Coconut Buttermilk Pie

View from the window at L'Auberge Du Lac Casino Resort

I first met the tart in my hotel room at the L’Auberge Du Lac Casino Resort in Lake Charles, Louisana. Temptation knocked on the door in the guise of a “welcome gift” and I confess I abandoned all control and immediately,voraciously indulged. The encounter left me filled with guilt, but wanting more.

Fortunately we met  again, at the popular Rouge et Blanc, Lake Charles’ premier wine and food festival. I spied the tart in a discreet corner of the festival, seductive as ever. Bypassing the crowd waiting to sample the festival’s fine wines and food specialties, I rushed to the tart and again yielded to desire. Once. Twice. I couldn’t get enough.

According to dietician Shively Lampson, who made the tarts for both the hotel gift and the festival, I am not alone in my passion.

“Dark Chocolate Ganache Tarts are best sellers at our shop,” says Shively referencing Pure Foods & Health, the retail healthy foods shop in Lake Charles that she co-owns with her husband Gene.

Gene & Shively Lampson at Rouge et Blanc

“Because the tarts are made with unprocessed and uncooked plant foods, they are great for vegans, vegetarians as well as raw food dieters.” In addition, Shively said that  “using coconut butter makes the tarts heart healthy. The fat in coconut oil is made up of medium chain fatty acids, and as such is more likely to be used as an energy source rather than stored as fat.”

Talk about lucky in love. My sinfully rich, deeply decadent-tasting chocolate tarts turned out to be a vegetarian “health” food.

Ingredients may be a bit hard to find—and a tad expensive, but if you can’t get to Lake Charles and Pure Foods & Health, you can make the tarts at home with Shively’s recipe.

DARK CHOCOLATE GANACHE TARTS

Yield: 8 to 10 three-inch tarts.

CRUST

3/4 cups cocoa powder

3/4 cups almond meal or fine almond flour

1/2 cup maple sugar or maple syrup powder

1/4 cup coconut butter or coconut oil

Pinch of salt

Put cocoa powder, almond meal, maple sugar, coconut butter and salt in a large bowl. Stir with a wooden spoon or mix your hands until ingredients are thoroughly combined and form a “dough.”

Line 8 to 10 three-inch tart pans with plastic wrap and then press dough over the bottom and up the sides the pans, dividing the dough evenly among the pans. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to chill 1 hour or more.

GANACHE FILLING

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons maple syrup

1/2 cup coconut butter

Put cocoa powder, maple syrup and coconut butter in the jar of a blender. Blend until ingredients are thoroughly combined and completely smooth (taste to make sure the mixture is not grainy).

Spoon filling into the chilled tart crusts. Lightly lift and drop each pan onto the counter to release any air bubbles.  Place tarts in the refrigerator to chill and set at least 3 hours. (Tarts freeze well at this stage.)

TO SERVE

Remove plastic wrap and, if desired, garnish with fresh strawberries or raspberries or with a dollop of Shively’s Vanilla Cashew Cream Sauce (recipe follows).

VANILLA CASHEW CREAM SAUCE

Yield: 1 cup.

1 cup raw cashews, soaked in water for four hours and drained well

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons maple syrup or agave

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Place all ingredients in a blender and process on high speed until smooth. Chill for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Fueled by passion, I became a stalker, or perhaps it’s nicer to say I went on a pie pilgrimage. In a secret effort to curb my promiscuous tendencies to adore each and every wedge that passes my plate, I headed to Key lime pie Mecca, the Florida Keys, to see if I could find an ultimate, peak-pie experience.

Everyone knows that this luscious substance, simply made with lime juice and sweetened condensed milk, was born in the Keys, but no one knows exactly when or where. Guesses are that Key limes, natives of Southeast Asia, came to the islands with the Spanish in the 1500s. It wasn’t until 1856, when Gail Borden created canned sweetened condensed milk, that a marriage of the ingredients was even possible.

I like the story that sailors were the matchmakers. Sailors cruising through the Keys carried supplies that didn’t spoil, such as hardtack and canned milk. They also picked up limes and eggs, which were readily available on shore. Can’t you just envision some galley cook trying to soften hardtack to an edible stage by crushing the rock-like crackers and soaking the crumbs in liquids at hand (lime juice, canned milk, an egg or two). Imagine the surprise when the acid in the lime “cooked” the proteins in the egg and milk, forming custard without the need for heat. What could be better than a delicious concoction, easily made from available ingredients, requiring no heat to cook.

Necessity may have been he mother of Key lime pie, but taste was the father and their progeny flourished. Sailors took the recipe to shore and locals took it to heart, so the pie was an established favorite even before the first written recipe appeared in the 1930s.

As with all marriages, age brought change. Graham crackers replaced hardtack and traditional pie crustsometimes replaced the graham crumbs. The original pies probably went topless, but at some point a thrifty cook wanting to use egg whites left over from the yolks in the custard, added a layer of meringue. Whipped cream joined the topping choices when fresh milk came to the Keys with the railroad in 1912. The greatest change however, and a shocking travesty to purists, occurred when folks began making Key lime pie, without Key limes.

The real Key lime is a small thing, about the size of a ping-pong ball, with yellowish-green skin. Tart and juicy with distinctive aroma and flavor, Key limes grow on trees with thorny branches. When a hurricane devastated the Key’s lime crop in 1926, most growers replaced their plantations with Persian limes, which are easier to pick and transport. The larger, deep green Persian limes are found in most supermarkets today.

The salmonella scare brought recent change. Cooks, worried about raw eggs, began to heat the pies instead of letting limes do the work.

Surprisingly for a dish made with so few ingredients, no two pies are the same— and I should know, having sampled and savored pies from one end of the Keys to the other.

What did I discover?

As long as the base pie is made of lime juice and sweetened condensed milk, anything goes. Well, practically anything. Floridians insist that the pie be made of Key limes (although it is difficult for most cooks to find this baby) and everyone agrees it is forbidden to use food color to tint the custard green.

As to my preferences, as much as I would like to report that I developed a sense of discrimination, finding a sole, soul-mate pie, I have to confess that after trying the tall, short, thin, plump, creative, traditional, unadorned and accessorized-to-the max pies—I love them all.

On the other hand, faced with leaving the Keys and separating from my pie promiscuity, I did pick up the recipe for Little Palm Island’s cashew crusted, egg-yolk-rich, whipped-cream-drenched specialty. I’m going to take it home to meet the folks, as this is a happily-ever-after pie if there ever was one.

Little Palm Island's Key Lime Pie

LITTLE PALM ISLAND’S

KEY LIME PIE

2 cups very finely chopped or ground cashews

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided

3/4 cup melted butter

Shortening to grease pan

3 cups sweetened condensed milk

9 egg yolks

1–1/2 cups Key lime juice

2 cups heavy cream

Finely grated peel of one orange

Make crust: Combine cashews, crumbs and 1/2 cup sugar in a mixing bowl. Add butter and stir until well blended. Lightly grease a 9- or 10-inch springform pan and pat crumb mixture evenly and firmly over bottom. Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven until light golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Cool.

Make custard filling: In a large mixing bowl, beat milk and egg yolks until well blended. Slowly beat in lime juice. Pour mixture over prebaked crust. Bake in a preheated 300-degree oven until custard is set in center, 20 to 25 minutes. Set on a rack to cool completely.

Make topping: Put cream, orange peel and 2 tablespoons sugar in a mixing bowl and beat until stiff. Spread whipped cream over top of pie. Refrigerate until fully set, at least 1 hour. Cut around edge with a sharp knife and remove ring before serving.

Yield: 8 to 10 servings.

Check www.fla-keys.com for more about the Forida Keys.

We thought you’d like us to define

What people do when they pitch woo

And spoon and neck and bill and coo.

They pucker up their lips and press

Another’s lips in a caress.

What we’re describing is a KISS.

In other words, it’s also this:

A PECK, a BUSS, a KISSAROO,

A SMACK, a SMOOCH—to name a few.

The XXX that one bestows

On a letter with some Os.

A dictionary will confirm

That OSCULATE’s a kissing

term.

And so is HONEY COOLER,though

It’s not in use much that we know.

To make our kiss-word list complete

We should include those that people eat:

The little foil-wrapped chocolate drops

(Available in many shops),

And sweet, delicious cookie bites

Of sugar beaten with egg whites.

Before we go we’d like to say

We hope that kisses come your way,

And those that you consent to share

Are given with a bit of flair.

And just in case you don’t know how

To give your kisses extra WOW,

We’ll tell you all the steps to take

To make your kisses double great!

Copyright S M. Katzman, 2010

DOUBLE GREAT KISSES

3 egg whites, at room temperature (Be sure whites are free of all yolks; whites with even a touch of yolk will not beat well.)

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Pinch salt

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

About 24 chocolate kisses (foil wrap removed)

Preheat oven to 225°F. Cover two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set baking sheets aside.

Put egg whites in a large bowl. Beat whites on low speed with an electric mixture until foamy. Add cream of tartar and salt. Beat on high speed until whites stand in soft peaks. Constantly beating at high speed, very slowly add sugar to whites. Continue beating until whites stand in straight peaks. Beat invanilla.

Using 1 level tablespoon for each mound and leaving space between mounds, drop mounds of whites on paper covered baking sheet. Put a chocolate kiss in the center of each mound. With a kitchen knife, carefully bring whites up and around each chocolate kiss, completely covering chocolate with whites.

Bake in a preheated 225°F oven for 60 minutes. Then turn off heat and leave cookies in the warm oven for another 20 minutes.

Remove baking sheets from oven and set on racks to cook. When completely cool, remove kisses from paper.

Yield: about 24.

The recipe comes from the Smithfield Inn, a charming B & B in Smithfield, Virginia.

Everything about this historic property represents the best of genteel Southern comfort, including the graciously appointed rooms, the soft-spoken well-mannered staff and the deeply delicious Southern specialties served in the dining rooms.

As good as the food is, the undoubted jewel in the crown of the menu’s tasty treats has to be lemon chess pie.

It’s hard to imagine more butter or sugar baked into one pie, and the Inn adds to the calories by serving the pie with whipped cream. Because it is so rich, a thin sliver should suffice for a serving. Of course a second and third thin sliver would be even better. When it comes to this pie, to paraphrase Mark Twain, too much is barely enough.

SMITHFIELD INN LEMON CHESS PIE

Yield: 1 (9-inch) pie; 8 servings.

2 sticks (1/2 pound) unsalted butter

2 cups granulated sugar

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 eggs

Zest and juice from 3 lemons

1 (9-inch) unbaked pie crust (recipe follows)

Whipped cream (optional garnish)

Preheat oven to 300°F.

Cream butter and sugar together in a large bowl with an electric mixer. Beat in flour and salt. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Gradually beat in zest and juice.

Spoon batter into pie shell. Bake until pie’s top is golden brown and filling is set, 45 to 65 minutes. Set pie on a rack and cool to room temperature. Cover with plastic or foil and refrigerate until firm enough to cut, several hours to overnight. Serve garnished with a dollop of whipped cream if desired.

PIE CRUST

Yield: 1 (9-inch) pie shell.

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

7 tablespoons shortening

3 tablespoons ice water

Additional all-purpose flour for rolling dough

Mix flour and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Put each tablespoon shortening in a different place on top of flour. Mix lightly with fingers to form coarse crumbs. Sprinkle water over top of crumbs. Mix with a fork until dough begins to hold together. Turn dough out of bowl onto a lightly floured surface and knead lightly and quickly until smooth. Form dough into a ball, flatten slightly with palm of hand, wrap in waxed paper or plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes or until ready to use.

Roll dough on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin to an 11-inch circle. Carefully transfer circle to a 9-inch pie plate. Fold overlap under at edge of plate and crimp decoratively. Refrigerate 30 minutes.

So I was going to give you a recipe for king cake—you know—that luscious coffee cake that, in Louisiana, reigns over parties, festivities and celebrations from January 6 (to honor Kings’ Day, the meeting of the three wise men with the infant Jesus) to Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday, February 16 this year).

Traditional king cakes are iced and decorated with Mardi Gras colors (green representing faith; purple, justice; and gold, power) and have a small trinket, often a plastic baby, hidden inside the baked dough. Custom dictates that the person getting the piece of the cake with the trinket must host the next king cake party.

As I said, I was going to give you a recipe, but I have something better: a bakery where you can order the cake (baby and all). Delicious Donuts & Bakery in Lake Charles, Louisiana, makes majestic king cakes with a wide variety of fillings (pecan praline and pralines-n-cream to die for) and ships the cake to addresses all over the world. My mouth is watering just typing the contact numbers: www.deliciouskingcakes.com and phone: 337-479-2-YUM.

The following cheese condiment recipes come from The American Club in Kohler, Wisconsin. This AAA Five Diamond resort hotel is famous not only for golf, but also for its Immigrant Restaurant & Winery, which prides itself on serving the best artisanal Wisconsin cheeses found in the United States. Cheese does not stand alone at the Immigrant, but is offered with a variety of condiments, adding flavor and flair to the already wonderful.

Busy hosts and hostesses are going to love these recipes, as they are multitaskers.

Beat Fig Rum Conserve into Mascarpone for a knock-out cheese spread; stir a touch of Port Wine Sauce into a vinaigrette for a distinctive salad dressing; and top vanilla ice cream with Preserved Kumquats for a sophisticated holiday sundae. But of course, don’t forget the original concept: group the condiments together and add panache and pizzazz to any party cheese platter.

CONDIMENTS TO SERVE WITH CHEESE

FIG RUM CONSERVE

Yield: About 3 cups.

12 ounces dried figs

About 1-1/2 cups dark spiced rum

1/4 cup granulated sugar

Water

Put figs in a 2-quart saucepan. Pour enough rum into pan to come to top of figs. Let soak until figs are softened, 1 to 2 hours. Sprinkle sugar over figs. Add enough water to cover figs by one inch. Set saucepan over medium heat and bring liquid to a gentle boil. Gently boil until figs are very tender, 30 to 45 minutes.  Let mixture cool slightly then puree in a blender. Cool completely at room temperature then refrigerate in a covered container.

PORT WINE SAUCE

Yield: About 2 cups.

6 cups port wine

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Bring port to a boil in a medium saucepan set over high heat. Boil until port is reduced by half, about 30 minutes. Stir sugar into port and continue boiling until mixture is slightly syrupy and lightly coats a spoon, about 20 minutes (sauce will become more syrupy as it cools). Cool completely at room temperature then refrigerate in a covered container.

PRESERVED KUMQUATS

Yield: About 2 cups.

1-1/2 cups granulated sugar

Water

1 pound (about 3-1/2 cups) kumquats

1/2 teaspoon salt

Combine sugar and 1-1/2 cups water in a medium saucepan and set over high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly until sugar dissolves. Without stirring, boil mixture 3 minutes. Set aside.

Cut kumquats in half and remove all seeds. Put halves in a medium saucepan, add salt and enough water to cover generously (about 6 cups) and bring to a boil over high heat. Boil 15 minutes.

Drain kumquats and place in saucepan with sugar syrup. Cover and simmer until kumquats are translucent, about 1 hour.

Set saucepan aside, keep covered, and cool completely at room temperature. Refrigerate in a covered container.