Affogato - Italian for Yummy!

Lately I have been leaning toward more classical cooking, specifically French.  I think there is a time when all chefs go back to the basics.  Once you have created and changed so many dishes you need to go back to the basics again.  My first step is usually to find classic French cuisine.  French was really the first truly the first defined professional cuisine and is always a good starting off point.  This took me to K&L.

A favorite restaurant in Sebastopol is K&L’s Bistro. Right on the main drag.  I knew I was in the right place when they had rillette on the menu (a preserved meat dish) that just made my mouth water, grilled sardines and always a favorite Duck Confit (slow cooked in duck fat).

A surprise to me was K&L's Semifreddo on the dessert menu.  Many who know me know that I'm not short on perk on my own, and most family members are afraid if I ever reach for a cup of coffee. But this was must have.  Their take on a semifreddo (Italian for half frozen) is more accurately called an Affogato (Italian for drowned) was perfectly done and a new favorite dessert.  Affogato is traditionally vanilla gelato with hot espresso poured over (drowning the gelato), and you may add frangelico or another liqueur.  K&L's was paired with amoretti cookies, which when crumbled in made it really pop. The perfect ending.  If you order it, remember you need to let it sit for a just a little bit to let the espresso and gelato begin to mix, it's tough to wait with this sitting in front of you, but worth it.

So now my hunt is on for Affogato. I suspect you’ll see in on an up coming menu.

A