jénoise's dessert page

• 1 cup water
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 3/4 pounds of watermelon; remove rind and seeds, cut flesh into chunks ( about 4 1/2 cups)
• 4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup fresh raspberries

in a saucepan simmer water with sugar, stirring until sugar has dissolved. In a blender purée watermelon, sugar syrup, lemon juice, and 1/2 cup of raspberries. strain through a fine sieve into a bowl, pressing hard on the solids and then discard. covered and chill mixture until cold. freeze mixture in an ice cream maker.

serve scoops of sorbet and garnish with remaining 1/2 cup of raspberries. (sorbet may be made up 1 week in advance).

jen's lemon & fennel biscotti

• 1 tablespoon fennel seeds (roasted, cooled & ground)
• 2 whole eggs
• 2 egg yokes
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon lemon extract
• 2 tablespoon sweet vermouth
• zest of 2 lemons
• 1 c up roasted almonds, chopped
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 1/3 cups flour
• 1/3 cup chocolate (chopped & melted) optional

preheat oven to 325° f.

line a 11 ½ x 16 ½ inch jelly-roll pan with parchment paper, dusted with a little flour.

roast fennel seeds in a dry sauté pan over medium-high heat until fragrant; allow to cool before grinding.

combine flour and baking powder; set aside.

in a large mixing bowl, combine fennel, eggs, egg yokes, extracts, vermouth, zest, almonds and sugar; mix well. add ¼ of flour mixture until absorbed, continue adding flour in fourths.

divide batter in half to form 2 logs. dust hands with flour and shape log so it is flat, about 1" thick, and ends squared off. bake for about 25-30 minutes or until when log is wrapped on it sounds hollow. allow to cool completely.

lower oven temperature to 200° f.

transfer logs to cutting board. flip over parchment in jelly-roll pan. cut logs into ½" slices and return to pan. continue baking until completely dry, this may take 30-60 minutes. allow to cool completely (if you wish, you may dip into chocolate and allow to set-up); store in an airtight container.