Get in the Spirit

LES BON VOEUX POIRE BELLE HÉLÈNE SUNDAE

Serves 4 / Prep 20 minutes plus chilling Cook 20 minutes

Poached pears

24 fluid ounces Les Voeux beer 2 bay leaves 2 cloves 1 cinnamon stick 1 small orange, zested ½ cup packed light brown sugar 4 whole Williams pears 1 pint high-quality vanilla ice cream

Chocolate sauce

1¾ cups chopped Belgium or other good quality 70% dark chocolate

Whipped cream

8 fluid ounces heavy cream ½ teaspoon natural vanilla extract ½ cup powdered sugar

Garnish

½ cup coarsely chopped Di Bruno Bros.® Cinnful Cocoa Pecans

1. Pour the beer into a medium saucepot. Add bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon stick, orange zest and brown sugar; heat to a simmer slowly over low heat. 2. Peel the pears; cut lengthwise in half, and remove the core and seeds using a melon baller or teaspoon. Add pears to the beer poaching liquid; poach for about 15 to 20 minutes until tender and soft. Ensure pears are submerged in the cooking liquid using a disc of parchment paper placed on top of the pears. Remove the pears from the heat; let cool in the poaching liquid. 3. Once pears are cool, remove from the liquid and chill. Place the poaching liquid over medium heat and reduce until ¾ cup remains; strain to remove spices. 4. Add chocolate to the reduced poaching liquid; mix well to create a smooth sauce.

5. Whip the cream, vanilla extract and powdered sugar until soft peaks are formed. Transfer to a piping bag with a large star tip. 6. In each of 4 coupe glasses, place 2 halves of the poached pears divided by a large scoop of vanilla ice cream; pour a generous amount of the chocolate sauce over the ice cream. Pipe whipped cream on top; sprinkle with pecans. Recipe Credit

Chef Ashley James

Managing Director of Culinary Di Bruno Bros.

Sparkling wine season is here!

As you navigate the wine aisle for your holiday needs, here’s a primer on the different sparkling styles that we love to celebrate with.

Prosecco - $ Prosecco wines are Italy’s most popular sparklers, vinified in large tanks and quite quickly, as opposed to the years that it takes to make hampagne. Hence, Prosecco is generally one of the most affordable sparkling styles, and is great for mixing in sparkling cocktails, spritzes, or just enjoying as is. Pair with firm Italian cheeses, like your favorite Pecorino. Cava - $$ Cava, which hails from Spain, has many parallels to Champagne but at a fraction of the cost. Even though many are made at a similar quality-level and flavor profile to Champagne, Cava is near always more affordable because the wines are only required to be aged for about 9 months, as opposed to 18+ for Champagne. Cava uses different grapes, Parellada, Macabeo and Xarel-lo. Pair with a creamy goat cheese like Queso Leonora. Crémant - $$ Crémant is a magical word to know if you like to drink Champagne but don’t always want to pay a Champagne price tag. It’s French sparkling wine, made in near exactly the same process as Champagne, but outside of the Champagne region, so it cannot bear the word on the label. Toasty, yeasty and warming, enjoy with a rich, creamy cheese like Delice de Bourgogne. Petillant Natural - $$ Incredibly popular in recent years, Pét-nat is an abbreviation for “pétillant naturel,” a French term that roughly translates to “naturally sparkling.” They’re made in the méthode ancestrale, where the wine is bottled before primary fermentation is finished, without the addition of secondary yeasts or sugars. Pét-nat can be lively and wild, and every bottle varies a little because it’s literally changing every day in the bottle. Try it with an equally wild cheese, like Perrystead Intergalactic. Champagne - $$$ Champagne refers explicitly to sparkling wine (produced near exclusively from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grapes) made in the region of Champagne, France and is one of the most iconic styles of wine in the world. The most treasured Champagne wines age for a minimum of 3+ years, if not longer, and the price tag will generally reflect this. Champagne is iconic for a reason – the wines are warming, yeasty, buttery and magical. Pair with anything fried or anything creamy. We particularly love Langres and La Tur.

AMEDEI TOSCANA HOLIDAY GIFT BOXES

Give the gift of beautifully presented chocolate from the world-famous Italian chocolate maker, Amedei. It’s the perfect chocolate gift with beautifully presented boxes containing superior quality dark and milk assorted handmade filled chocolates. Artisanal techniques, inimitable taste, and a unique style, all made in Tuscany, are the distinctive features that make Amedei’s chocolate renowned all over the world. The promise of the highest quality meets the emotion of unconditional dedication, making Amedei the ambassador of a culture of chocolate that encompasses pairing and tasting.

Give the gift of a traditional Christmas classic!

GALUP PANETTONE

Galup is an original recipe, a panettone different from the others. Over time, the recipe has been refined, but the personality of the dessert is always the same. It’s the same one that Pietro Ferrua gave in 1922 and that earned his patisserie the patent of Supplier of the Royal House.