in the kitchen x pistachio ³

Finally, a Spring dessert! I call this, pistachio ³ (actually it's just pistachio parfait on the menu lol). I adore pistachios, especially the bright green Sicilian variety and decided to add it as part of the Spring & Summer dessert menu. This dessert is a pistachio parfait, a frozen dessert made with cream, eggs, and sugar. To get a rich pistachio flavor, we use a combination of ground pistachio paste, including one made in house. On the bottom is a very thin dacquoise, made with pistachio flour which acts as a base. The entire parfait is then sprayed with a Valrhona Opalys white chocolate spray for a neat finish (and a nice cocoa butter snap). It is paired with a steamed pistachio cake and lime yogurt. The crumble is flavored with fresh lime zest, chopped sicilian pistachios, and green tea. The crumble is sweet, acidic, and earthy thanks to the green tea. So far in the season, the most beautiful things at the market is rhubarb, which we use for the sorbet. All of these components are combined with a strawberry and rhubarb sorbet. On top is a crunchy pistachio honey tuile and it is finished with red-veined sorrel, a lovely acidic addition.

in the kitchen x blood orange, ricotta, pistachio

Continuing my series of winter desserts in the Spring (whoops!), here is one that is no longer on the menu. We participated in Restaurant Week this January-February and I came up with a riff off of our current cheesecake (on the next post!). It features ricotta cheesecake, pistachio cremeux, Sicilian pistachios, blood orange segments, and blood orange sorbet. We were receiving the most heavenly blood oranges during this time, and something this simple was perfect to showcase the fruit. On a dreary and cold winter day, it's nice to have a bright, citrusy, and refreshing plate in front of you.

in the kitchen x summer macarons

Summers are slow in the kitchen, especially in NYC. When the warm weather hits you, you're on vacation mode too. Shown are two macarons, salted pistachio and a carrot cream cheese variety. I love playing with textures, and I find regular macarons to be lacking in crunch. For the pistachio flavor, I roll them in crushed, salted and roasted pistachios. It emphasizes the flavor of pistachio and is delicious. For the carrot cream cheese, I used a cream cheese buttercream for the filling and added a sugared and dehydrated carrot chip for texture and flavor. For a cold treat, I love eating these guys straight out of the freezer, a mini ice cream sandwich!

in the kitchen x persimmon, the star

Sometimes the best things come to you when you least expect it. This dessert was inspired by my lazy saturday breakfast of persimmon, farmer's cheese, and raw honey. So simple and so satisfying. Fresh and ripe fruit is a dessert unto itself. Seriously, nothing compares. Since I can't exactly hand someone a persimmon and call it a plated dessert, this dish is comprised of a pistachio cardamom cake, ripe persimmon, persimmon chips, farmer's cheese, raw honey, and pistachio oil. The persimmon goes incredibly well with the tangy and rich farmer's cheese. You would think adding honey to the already sweet persimmon would be too much, but it highlights the fruit and adds a fun granular texture to the dish. The pistachio oil adds a nuttiness that goes well with the farmer's cheese. The pistachio cardamom cake adds the right amount of spice. I just love that all the flavors are so distinct from one another, but together add up to one delicious bite. Isn't that the most important thing?

in the kitchen x pistachio & plum

At the market this week, the last of the stone fruits could be seen in the abundance of peaches, plums, and nectarines piled high at the market stalls. With that in mind, I decided to take a couple of plums and use them for the last time. This dessert was a quick concoction of the best available fruits I could find. This is a microwave pistachio sponge cake, pistachio ice cream, strawberry sauce, poached plums, fraises de bois, lakewood green grapes, and a bit of fennel flowers. Very simple and light. The pistachio is a great flavor to pair with fruits as it contrasts nicely with the wild strawberries, plums, and grapes. Im obsessed with the lakewood green grapes, as they are crunchy, sweet, tart, and so addictive. The plums were poached in a mixture of sugar, water, and Maker's Mark. Sweet and bit boozy. The microwaveable cake is great, as it is served warm and fluffy. Basically, a mixture of eggs, egg whites, sugar and pistachio paste are mixed in the blender and poured in a whipped cream dispenser. Put batter in a paper cup and microwave. Fresh cake! The texture is fluffy due to the aeration and it's ready in less than 30 seconds. Warm cake, ripe fruits, and creamy ice cream, what more can you ask for?