Happy Thursday, friends.
I was off my schedule for a little over a week, which always feels weird. Sometimes, we don’t realize how much we crave a routine and consistency until we’re out of sorts. Last week, we had our friends over for dinner, aka a Doggo Date Night, since they brought their surrogate pups over to meet my little pact. Marco got jealous, someone peed, cocktails were made, and new memories formed. It was the best type of Friday night.
For dinner, we had steak in a “Really Old Fashioned Marinate”: stemming from Northern Italy, I used a dark red wine, a little bit of sugar, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, and orange zest to make the marinade, and let the steaks sit in it for 6 hours. We also had roasted potatoes, a homemade Foccacia, and a cheeseboard.
But, what really stole the show was dessert, and that’s what I’m here to share with you today.
So, let’s get into it!
Not my best photo, but it’s certainly reflective of good company.
WHAT YOU’LL NEED
1 lemon
1 cup granulated sugar (you’ll use half for the topping and half for the reduction)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted (just pop them in the oven on a baking sheet for 10 minutes at 425)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup of unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 pounds of blackberries
1 can of Truly
1 tablespoon of cornstarch
PUT IT ALL TOGETHER:
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and melt your butter so it can cool.
Prepare the topping: In a bowl, add 1/2 cup sugar and zest your entire lemon over it. Once zested, mix in 1 cup of all-purpose flour, 1 cup of almonds, and salt. Mix together with a fork. Then, grab your cooled butter (mix it a little bit until it’s evenly a pale yellow) and drizzle it over the dry ingredients. Stir together until it creates crumbled pieces, don’t overmix. And, then pop it into the refrigerator until you’re ready to use it.
Prepare the filling: In a sauté pan (the bigger one than a frying pan), pour in your can of Truly over medium heat, add in your 2 pounds of blackberries, and sprinkle in your 1/2 cup of sugar and 1 tablespoon of cornstarch. With a rubber spatula, mix together and bring down to a low heat. Stir periodically until it thickens.
Ready to serve: Spray your 8 x 8 baking pan with olive oil and then layer in your filling, evenly. Top it with your almond crumble and bake for 40 minutes or until golden brown. Allow it to cool for 10 minutes, and serve with ice cream.
As always, I’m grateful you’re here. We are back on our regular programming, and I’m excited to share with you what I’ve been working on.
You can follow me on Instagram or visit our Etsy shop (it’s getting new products this weekend)
I’ll see you Monday with a little bit of Soul