When I have a Sunday afternoon, and it is gray outside, nothing could be nicer than being asked to bring dessert to a dinner that night. Especially on a Sunday like today when I am the giddy new owner of "The Last Course" by Claudia Flemming. Page by precious page of real passion and detailed understanding, it is a book that demands the most of it's reader, and it's the most inspiring cookbook I've read in a good while.
Deep purple little flirts that they are, a small but promising mound of Italian prune plums caught my eye at our neighborhood shop the other day. I felt like there was something a little criminal about missing a chance to spend a little time with them, but I was doing simple shopping that day and resisted the urge to snatch them up. So, today, with dessert as my excuse to leaf again through Flemming's book, I happened upon her Italian Prune Plum Crisp and all at once everything fell into place. Those plump indigo beauties had a home and I had my dessert.
Though 2 1/4 pounds is a LOT of prune plums to pit, the pits are very agreeable and pop out without a fight. Quartered and sprinkled with a little sugar, they are gorgegous to behold and just begging for a crispy coat.
Let it be known that I am no a crisp aficianado, but I was surprised that the topping has no oatmeal. It's nuttiness and body come from ground walnuts, which sounded so much more luscious and rich than the toppings that I am used to. Anyway, with sugar, flour, cardamom, and plenty of melted butter, it's a breeze to toss together and its' really messy fun to spatter around the top.
Here's what it looks like! Oh, and welcome to my blog, we'll see how this goes. . . .
1 comment:
This is a fabulous blog -- beautiful pictures of a yummy dessert!
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