If you ask Dan how long we’ve been dating, his response is usually “too long.” He’s joking, of course (I think!), but we really have been dating for a long time. We met at a fraternity rush event when we were 19 years old, starting hanging out all the time, discovered a mutual love for dorky sci-fi/fantasy novels, and before we knew it we were boyfriend/girlfriend. College relationships are like that. But, we made it through college together, survived 3 years of long distance, and navigated the perils of home-buying without murdering each other. That’s something, right?
(Dan got me roses! Aren’t they gorgeous?)
Anyway, this past Friday was our 6 year anniversary, so we had to do something special to celebrate. For the last few years, we’ve always celebrated our anniversary with expensive dinners at fancy steakhouses. But, with all our bills and my job situation, we decided to tone it down this year and cook ourselves a nice dinner at home. On the menu: garlic & herb marinated pork loin, cocktail shrimp, mashed potatoes, baked mac n’ cheese, caesar salad, and sabayon with fresh berries for dessert. Mmmm.
And you know what the best part of dinner was? The only thing I had to make from scratch was dessert. We wanted to take it easy, so we bought a pre-marinated pork loin, frozen cocktail shrimp and ready-made mashed potatoes. All we had to do was stick the pork loin in the oven, defrost the shrimp, microwave the potatoes, and chop lettuce for the salad. The hardest thing to make was dessert, and even that didn’t take long to throw together. Don’t you just love easy, no-sweat dinners?
Growing up, one of my favorite cartoon movies was about a boy who rescues a baby seal that he names Sabayon, because it has a patch on its belly the color of his favorite dessert. I don’t remember the details of the story line anymore, but I do remember thinking that sabayon looked delicious. In the movie, it was golden, creamy, and custardy, and the main characters really seemed to enjoy it. I’ve always wanted to try it for myself, but somehow never got around to it. When I finally found a recipe for sabayon online, I knew that I would have to make it for a special occasion. And, what’s more special than an anniversary?
The recipe turned out to be remarkably simple and straightforward, and the resulting sabayon was as delicious as I hoped. It was light and creamy, sweet, and slightly fizzy/tangy from Moscato. Served over fresh strawberries and blackberries, it was gorgeous and a tongue-ticklingly delicious dessert. Dan got so hungry watching me put everything together that I had to dish out an extra bowl to tide him over until dinner.
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- 4 egg yolks
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup Moscato or other fruity white wine
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 cups fresh fruit (I used halved strawberries and whole blackberries)
- In a large bowl, whisk together egg yolks, sugar, and wine.
- Place bowl over a pot of simmering water, making sure that the bowl isn't touching the water.
- Whisk your mixture continuously for about 4-5 minutes, until it expands and thickens.
- Remove bowl from heat, and keep whisking for about a minute. Set aside to cool.
- Using an electric mixer, beat cream until soft peaks form.
- Fold whipped cream gently into cooled sabayon. (Make sure you let your sabayon cool all the way before you add cream! The mixture gets thicker as it cools. I got impatient and folded my cream in while the sabayon was still warm. The result was a runnier custard than I expected. Still delicious, though.)
- Divide your fruit evenly between two mini trifle bowls, then spoon sabayon over the fruit.
- Garnish with more fruit, and serve immediately.
(Adapted from the Pastry Studio’s recipe)
Oh how I love reading your love story…My husband and I will be celebrating our 6th year as a married couple too by Jan 2012 (12th year as a boyfriend/girlfriend,yeah pretty long too…)Did I mention we had our share of long distance relationships every now and again, I can relate how hard it can be. Thanks for sharing a piece of your heart. I adore your creamy sabayon with fresh berries! Sweet and refreshing! Come to think of it, that is how we look at each other after long years of togetherness…;)More happiness to you and Dan!
Thanks 🙂 Happy almost-anniversary to you too!
What beautiful roses!! And that dessert is just stunning. May you have many more years of happiness together.
Thank you!
Sabayon should be made with “oporto” or wine port, that wine from Portugal. And if you try to make an icecream with that same recipe it´s sooooo much better! In Argentina Sambayon icecream es very popular, and a classic favourite.
Interesting! I’ve never had Sabayon ice cream, but it sounds amazing! Wish I had an ice cream maker 🙁
I made this tonight and the egg mixture still had runny eggs in it after heating it on the stove. Is that normal?
No, there shouldn’t have been any runny egg left 🙁 Perhaps try whisking longer/more?
I made New Orleans bread pudding this past Sunday at a wedding shower. I had made jack Daniels whiskey sauce, almost the same recipe. I used milk heavy whipping cream light brown sugar and vanilla. We served 4 different berries. I took the left over sauce and berries and mixed and chilled. It was delicious !
Yum, that sounds amazing!
Try this next time
In a bowl beat the egg yolks until foamy
Then whisk together the sugar and white wine.
Then place bowl over a pot of boiling water. And continue to whisk until thick and hot.
Egg yolks 2oz
Granulated sugar 4 oz
Dry white wine 4oz
Thanks for the tip! I will definitely give this a try 😀
Hi! How many servings does this recipe make?
Hi, sorry for the delayed response – haven’t checked my blog in a while! This is a really old recipe, so I don’t exactly remember how many servings it made, but I would say between 4-6, depending on serving size? Hope that helps.