Strange Fruit Archives - Singapore Semolina Ring

A wise friend of mine once said, "People who order ala carte and don't order dessert - I just don't get it!"
He's also a pastry chef. But I can't argue with cold-hard logic. Dessert is worth living for, and I'm in the adventurous camp. I like a little flair. I like an unexpected savory kick. I think most desserts should have fruit (and chocolate, when I'm feeling moody, but that one's flexible.) I'm a sucker for swanky, eye-popping presentation, and yes, with this course especially, less is more.

A little gem on Cooking.com recently caught my eye. Jonathan Thomas, pastry chef at The Striped Bass in Philadelphia, created this lovely offering - something he calls a Semolina Ring with Singapore Sauce and Cookie Angel Hair. I'm sorry, come again? Let's just call it crazy and imagine what it might taste like.

First things first - the semolina ring. When I hear the ingredient semolina, I instantly think of LA's Doughboys restaurant, as they feature a Semolina Waffle with Strawberries and Marscapone on their breakfast menu. It's damn good. So I have high hopes for this ring-action. It's got a little lemon zest, orange zest, and the other usual suspects. On top of that goes the Cookie Angel Hair, which is basically just butter, sugar, and shredded phyllo dough. OK, ain't nothin' wrong with that. Finally, the mysterious Singapore Sauce - she's got honey, cinnamon, passionfruit juice, lemon juice and (here's the kicker) cognac. Not enough cognac, but I could fix that. Land sakes, this sounds good. Anybody want to go to Philadelphia with me? I'm quite certain I could cook this myself, but there's no way in god's green earth I could make it look this lovely. Besides that, Chef Morimoto has his luscious flagship restaurant in the city of brotherly love, called (shockingly) Morimoto - a hotspot I've never hit but have dreamt of for ages. So what do you say - a little sushi, a lotta sake, and some Singapore throwdown? I'll start packing.