In search of new opinions, information and points-of-view.. I ventured to The New York Times (www.nytimes.com). I usually visit Melbourne-centric news sites, such as The Age (www.theage.com.au) and SBS (http://news.sbs.com.au/worldnewsaustralia/) or world news sites, such as BBC World News (www.bbcoworldnews.com). I must have thought for a crazy minute, that the NY Times, coming from such a cosmopolitan business and culture-hub such as NY, would have some interesting and enlightening content. Oh how I was enlightened!!

I am not going to pretend that I am completely up-to-date on world events or that I only read the serious sections of the newspaper (because it’s not true)…So, on the NY Times site, I headed straight for the food and wine section. What I was hoping to find… was not the reality of the site. I was hoping along the lines of a recipe for the Manhattan Cocktail.. or reviews or NYC’s best Chefs. What I did find made me nearly fall of my seat in hysterics. Possibly the worst dessert I have ever encountered: Root Beer Semifreddo. Let’s just reflect on the combination for a moment… According to Wikipedia…
Root Beer: Root beer, also known as sarsaparilla, is a carbonated beverage originally created from sassafras (Steam distillation of dried root bark)
Semifreddo: Italian word that refers to a class of semi-frozen desserts, typically ice-cream cakes, semi-frozen custards, and certain fruit tarts
I’ll let you all form conclusions on this concoction.

Root Beer Semifreddo
Time: One hour 15 minutes, plus freezing
4 12-ounce bottles root beer, preferably made with cane sugar
1 teaspoon whole allspice
1 teaspoon juniper berries
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 large eggs, separated
4 tablespoons birch syrup or maple syrup, preferably grade B
1 1/3 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup dark rum
4 firm but ripe apricots, pitted and cut in eighths.
1. Line a 6-cup metal loaf pan with parchment paper, leaving generous overhang on the sides. Place in freezer. Place root beer in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Crush allspice, juniper and coriander in a mortar and add. Boil root beer until reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 25 minutes. Strain into a measuring cup. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla.
2. Beat egg yolks in a small saucepan. Gradually whisk in 1/2 cup warm reduced root beer. Place over low heat and whisk until steam starts to rise and mixture has thickened to custard consistency. Do not overcook. Place bottom of pan in bowl of ice and water to chill.
3. Bring 1/4 cup remaining root beer to a simmer in a small saucepan. Beat egg whites until softly peaked. Very gradually beat in hot root beer and continue beating about 3 minutes until firmly peaked. Slowly beat in 3 tablespoons syrup. Refrigerate.
4. Beat cream until it holds peaks. Beat in remaining syrup. Fold egg yolk mixture into whipped cream, then fold in egg white mixture. Spread in pan, overlap paper to cover and freeze at least 6 hours.
5. Heat remaining 3/4 cup reduced root beer in a saucepan with apricots. Simmer 5 minutes. Add rum and remaining vanilla. Refrigerate. To serve, unmold semifreddo onto a chilled platter, peel off paper and cut in slices. Spoon apricot sauce alongside each portion.
Yield: 8 to 10 servings.
Bon Appétit!