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Pure Summer

When I was a senior in high school, I remember the buzz surrounding some of my classmates who were applying to Stanford. Unlike most application essay questions at the time, the Stanford question was always unique and interesting. That particular year's question was this: use one adjective to describe yourself and explain why that adjective best fits you. I never had to ponder the adjective question because I knew that this was a school beyond my reach, so I lived vicariously through friends more willing to test their mettle with Stanford's admissions staff. One friend, in particular, decided to write the most gutsy college essay ever and describe herself with just three words: I am succinct. End of essay. Not only did this friend graduate from Stanford, but she is now an English professor. I just love that story.

Now it's my turn to be succinct with you. Very simply, I want you to stop what you are doing and go out and buy some summer berries while they are still available because I have a delicious dessert for you to make. This dessert is based, yet again, on an Ina Garten recipe, and the best thing about this recipe is that it includes limoncello. Long ago I introduced you to this liqueur with a drink called the limoncello sparkle. The liqueur itself is another tasty concoction that comes only in large and expensive bottles -- clearly the way manufacturers of liqueurs stay in business -- and these bottles require you to constantly keep your eyes out for recipes that will allow you to feel better about dropping forty or fifty bucks on a single bottle. I have several of these bottles in my pantry now, which is probably why I get unusually giddy when I find a way to cure my buyer's remorse. So feast your eyes on this lovely fruit salad with limoncello:


Now I will admit that Ina's picture is better. She has her fruit in a beautiful glass bowl and everything looks perfect, but I'm pretty sure she used some food photography trickery like using mayonnaise instead of greek yogurt. I would never stoop to such foolery. My yogurt is real and sourced from a local dairy, so even though my presentation might not be as sophisticated as Ina's, I assure you the flavor is delicious. I adjusted her recipe so that you can alter it depending on how many you are serving. So really -- stop what you are doing so that you can make this dessert tonight. And know that I am always on the lookout for more limoncello recipes to fend off your buyers' remorse. Enjoy!

Fruit Salad with Limoncello
(adapted from Ina Garten's Back to Basics cookbook)

Collection of summer berries -- I used strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries
One banana

Mix the berries together in a bowl and then gently fold in the banana. I make roughly 1 cup per person. Add 1 teaspoon of sugar and 1 teaspoon of limoncello per serving. Allow the fruit to sit for about five minutes so that all those ingredients will macerate nicely. Such a harsh-sounding word for such a wonderful outcome.

Meanwhile, you can start putting the topping together in a separate bowl. This part of the recipe will be enough for four servings. If there are only two of you at the table, I guarantee you will find a way to use up the rest of the yogurt. Whisk together 4 ounces of plain Greek yogurt (Fage is my favorite when I cannot get the real stuff locally), 1 teaspoon of sugar and 1 teaspoon of lemon curd (I found mine at World Market but many grocery stores carry this), and a very small splash of vanilla. As always, feel free to adjust according to your own taste buds.

Serve the fruit in beautiful glass bowls if you own some and then add a dollop of the yogurt on top. Decorate with a sprig of fresh. This is pure summer.

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