Adventures in the Kitchen with Michelle, “Everybody Loves Parfait!”

Donkey says, “Everybody loves parfait!” No doubt! Who could resist ice cream layered with, well,…anything!? I can’t. A few days ago I did up an lovely raspberry salad dressing and I had some berries left over. What? You missed that one? Well, you’d better check it out. Anyway, here’s part two to that blog post.

After I made the dressing, and snacked on more than a few berries, I had about a cup leftover. I really am not sure where my mind was that day, but I decided to macerate (soak) them in a liquor,…not just any liquor mind you,…Grand Mariner. I keep it stocked in The Bar for the occasional margarita (if I’m out of Triple sec) , at times to top off a fabulous Saturday morning coffee treat, or to accompany anything chocolate. What, you’ve never eaten a chocolate cup filled with it’s golden dizziness?!

Ooooo, that luscious orange scented nectar was just what the Dr. ordered. This is shockingly simple.

Step 1: Get berries. About a cup.

Step 2: Soak berries in about 2 Tbl Grand Mariner, and drizzle in about 3 Tbl Honey. This ‘macerating’ will make the berries break down a bit and render a fabulous sauce out of the juice, without completely dissolving them. Be sure to leave them in the fridge for a while – days if you care – hours if you’re hungry.

Step 3: Get them out and spoon over your favorite vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt.

O M G !!

I didn’t bother to count the calories on this one. I will say, though, that using the wine glass was more than just pretty for photos. Yes, it made it an actual, parfait, also it certainly kept me at only dishing out a 1/2 cup serving, and I may have drizzled over 3 Tbl. of the Heavenly Red Sauce. Hmm, formerly fresh fruit, honey, frozen yogurt…a little booziness? Well, it at least sounds healthy.

Here’s the beauty of this – the simplicity. You see, there are raspberry liquors out there and raspberry swirl ice creams, etc. But there’s something special in the light orange flavor of the Grand Mariner. It plays so well with honey, and that in turn makes the berries sing! And even though much of the alcohol has evaporated while it sat, this is still a grown-ups only delight. The vanilla treat is just a platform for the real star of this show, the raspberries. You can top each with a frozen single raspberry and drizzle a tad more honey, just for looks.

The Best Part: I had to share this with you – this is the best part to blogging food. You don’t think I was just going to put that dessert down the disposer after it’s photos?!!! Oh, nay, nay…come here my little friend, you’re melting. Om, nom, nom, nom…..