Adri Barr Crocetti

Blood Orange-Campari Sorbetto in a Negroni splashed with Prosecco

The bitters are excellent for your liver, the gin is bad for you. They balance each other.

– Orson Welles on the Negroni

The Negroni (nay-GROW-nee) is perhaps the quintessential aperitivo – one part gin, one part sweet vermouth, one part Campari, all of it over ice, with an orange round. Classic cocktail lore tells us the Negroni is a direct descendant of the Milano-Torino, a drink now known as the Americano. It happened like this: in 1919 at Florence’s Caffe Casoni Count Camillo Negroni asked barman Fosco Scarselli to add a bit of fortification, un ‘po piu robusto, to his Milano-Torino. Sig. Scarselli acquiesced to his patron’s wish, adding gin in place of seltzer. The deed done, Sig. Scarselli realized the two drinks looked quite alike. With a barman’s panache he substituted an orange garnish for the Milano-Torino’s lemon… Read the remainder of this entry »

Warm weather or cold weather, rain or shine, I make frozen desserts all year round, and my gelato machine occupies pride of place on my kitchen counter. I enjoy trying new things, and olive oil gelati are the subject of my latest experimentation. Here a simple egg custard based gelato is made with olive oil, and not just any olive oil. I used Agrumato (ah-gru-MAH-to) Tangerine, a premium extra virgin olive oil made by the Ricci Family of Abruzzo. The olives are Gentile di Chieti, Leccino, and Olivastra cultivars. In some citrus oils the flavoring agents are added to the finished oil, almost as an afterthought, but in the best of class the citrus is pressed together with the olives resulting in an extraordinary harmony and blending of flavors that lesser quality oils can not rival. The Ricci Family presses both olives and citrus together to produce a fine oil with no sense of “added flavor.” Read the remainder of this entry »

My new ice cream machine has rendered the process of making ice cream, gelato, sorbetto and other frozen desserts very simple. I have been making so many, I haven’t had the time to put them up for everyone to enjoy. With summer on the wane, I figured I’d better get the recipes up soon.

A couple of weeks ago I returned home from the market with several pounds of plump blackberries. Dark and heavily perfumed, the berries were so sweet and flavorful I knew they deserved more than my basic berry sorbetto treatment. I remembered a recipe I had seen for Blackberry-Sangiovese Sorbetto in Gelato! by Pamela Sheldon Johns. Read the remainder of this entry »

I have never been tempted by desserts with savory components. Somehow they always seemed wrong to me, so when I developed a craving for basil gelato I was surprised. Maybe it started with gorgeous peaches. Bart brought home a dozen of the most fragrant and perfectly ripe pieces of fruit I have seen all summer. My first thought was to slice the peaches, toss them in basil simple syrup and keep life easy. Then I remembered the blueberries in the refrigerator. Next, my eye drifted to my ice cream maker, and I was all in for this one.

The basil gelato base is lightly flavored, a lovely match for the blueberry swirl. Use more basil if you must, up to 50% more, but be careful, tasting occasionally after 15 minutes to be certain the infusion does not take on a bitter edge. I was concerned that the blueberry swirl might not have the body, taste-wise, to stand up to the basil, so I added some Mandorla grappa. The bitter almond and dark cherry taste of the grappa did the trick, brightening the blueberry flavor and bringing it into tight focus. This gelato is wonderful by itself, right out of the container, but served with fresh or poached yellow peaches or nectarines, or even berries, it is a very special summertime treat indeed.

Basil-Blueberry Swirl Gelato

Makes about 1 quart

After a few hours in the freezer, this takes on the perfect consistency, but after a longer freeze will be quite firm. If you find the gelato too firm to scoop, just leave it at room temperature for a few minutes. It will soften beautifully.

2 cups whole milk
¾ cup heavy cream
½ cup granulated sugar
4 large egg yolks
20 basil leaves, coarsely chopped
Pinch of kosher salt

1 ¼ cup blueberries
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1-2 teaspoons Nardini Mandorla Grappa

Peaches, nectarines or fresh berries to serve alongside
basil leaves for garnish

Make the basil gelato:
In a medium saucepan combine milk, cream, granulated sugar, basil, and kosher salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar has dissolved. Continue cooking until small bubbles form around the edges of the pan. Remove from the heat, cover pan and set aside to steep for twenty minutes. Strain the mixture, and return it to the pan, reheating briefly. Discard the basil.

While the mixture is heating, separate the eggs, placing the yolks in a medium heat-proof bowl, reserving the whites for another use. Whisk the egg yolks until slightly lightened. Slowly dribble half of the hot milk mixture into the beaten yolks, whisking all the while. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat. Use a silicone spatula to stir and scrape the bottom and sides of the saucepan until the mixture coats the back of the spatula, or reaches 180 degrees F. Do not boil.

Place a strainer over a medium stainless steel bowl and pour the mixture through. Set the bowl containing the gelato base over a second, larger bowl half-full of ice water to cool. Stir occasionally, being careful that no water seeps into the gelato base, until the mixture is cool. Cover and refrigerate 6 hours or overnight to chill thoroughly.

Make the Blueberry Swirl:
Place the blueberries, granulated sugar and lemon juice in a small saucepan and cook over medium-low to medium heat, crushing the berries as they soften and stirring often to prevent sticking and scorching. Cook until a silicone spatula leaves a broad trail when drawn across the bottom of the pan and mixture forms a thick sauce, about 12 to 15 minutes. Place a fine mesh strainer over a bowl. Use a spatula to press the mixture through the strainer, leaving the seeds and skins behind. Use a clean spatula to scrape the mixture that clings to the underside of the strainer into the bowl. This should yield about ¼ cup of puree. Discard seeds and skins. Add grappa to the puree, and stir to combine. Refrigerate until cold.

Make the gelato:
Pour the chilled base mixture into an ice cream/gelato maker and process according to the manufacturer’s directions.

Add the swirl:
When gelato has finished churning, Remove the cannister from the machine and transfer one half of the gelato to a chilled storage container, smoothing the top slightly. Pour one half of the blueberry mixture atop gelato and swirl or fold gently using just a few strokes, lifting and swirling the blueberry mixture. Repeat with the remaining ingredients. Stir as little as possible to retain rivulets of blueberry. Smooth the surface of the gelato. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly atop the gelato, and transfer to the freezer 4 to 6 hours to harden and cure.

Food Nerd Notes: To those of you who are wondering, yes, I finally got my fancy ice cream maker. I love it. Come on over.

Further reading:

Gelato!: Italian Ice Creams, Sorbetti, and Granite
by Pamela Sheldon Johns
Paperback: 112 pages
Publisher: Ten Speed Press (May 1, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1580089232
ISBN-13: 978-1580089234

The Perfect Scoop: Ice Creams, Sorbets, Granitas, and Sweet Accompaniments
by David Lebovitz
Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: Ten Speed Press (May 4, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 158008219X
ISBN-13: 978-158008219

The Ciao Bella Book of Gelato and Sorbetto: Bold, Fresh Flavors to Make at Home
Publisher: Clarkson Potter (May 11, 2010)
Hardcover: 176 pages
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0307464989
ISBN-13: 978-0307464989

Sweet Cream and Sugar Cones:
90 Recipes for Making Your Own Ice Cream and Frozen Treats from Bi-Rite Creamery
Hardcover: 224 pages
Publisher: Ten Speed Press (April 17, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1607741849
ISBN-13: 978-1607741848

Making Artisan Gelato:
45 Recipes and Techniques for Crafting Flavor-Infused Gelato and Sorbet at Home
Paperback: 176 pages
Publisher: Quarry Books (January 1, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 159253418X
ISBN-13: 978-1592534180

A Passion for Ice Cream:
95 Recipes for Fabulous Desserts
by Emily Luchetti
Hardcover: 224 pages
Publisher: Chronicle Books; First Edition (April 27, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0811846024
ISBN-13: 978-0811846028

Note: You can click on any picture to see a slide show!

I have no affiliation with any product, manufacturer, or site mentioned in this article.

Fernet Branca – Gelato al Fernet Branca

Acquire the taste. Say hello to the big daddy of amari. Say hello to Fernet (fur-net) Branca. There are other makers, but when a patron asks for Fernet, the barman knows he wants Fernet Branca from Fratelli Branca Distillerie. Bernardino Branca invented Fernet in 1845, and it is still made according to the original secret formula. Secret, I repeat. The company admits to twenty-seven ingredients from four corners of the globe. Word among the cognoscenti, however puts the figure at upwards of forty. Known are gentian root, rhubarb, gum myrrh, aloe, red cinchona bark and galanga. Saffron is rumored. Read the remainder of this entry »