An Extraordinary rood Girt—Dried PlumsIn Brandy (NAPSA)—Gifts of food, created in your own kitchen, are delightfully delicious and a joy to give. Imagine a rich, amber-colored brandy sauce surrounding sweet, succulent dried plums. A hint of orange and the aroma of cinnamon greet you as you stir together a few simple ingredients for the most memorable gift youll ever share with friends and family. Dried Plums in Brandy is an elegant dessert on its own, but imagine spooned over French vanilla ice cream or cheesecake, savored with a wedge of dark chocolate torte, or served warm over toasted slices of buttery pound cake—thepossibilities are alluringly endless. Fill decorative jars, add some colorful tissue and ribbon, write the recipe and someof the serving suggestions on a card, and you have created a very special gift. The recipe is easy to double, so makeseveral jars at one time and keep in the refrigerator. For more recipes and information, visit the Web site www.sunsweet.com. Sunsweet Dried Plums in Brandy 1% “a 1 1 cups water cup granulated sugar cup brandy large cinnamonstick, broken in half Zest from 12 large orange, cut in thin strips (about 14 cup) 12 ounces SunsweetPitted Dried Plums In medium, heavy saucepan, combine water, sugar, brandy, cinnamon stick and strips of zest. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Reduce heat and simmergently until reduced to 24 cups, about 5 minutes. Add dried plums, / Dried Plumsin Brandy maybe the easiest food gift you'll ever make. cover, and simmergently for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and cool for 1 hour. Transfer to tightly-covered glass container and refrigerate overnight for best flavor. Makes 3 cups (about 9 servings). Red Wine and Brandy Dried Plums Variation: Replace water with dry red wine. Serving Suggestions: Brandied Plum Cocktail Dessert: Spoon into large martini glasses with sweetened vanilla-whipped cream, a scoop of premium vanilla or caramel-pecan ice cream, or warm vanilla custard sauce. Serve with your favorite cookies. e Raspberry-Plum Parfaits: Mix brandied plums with raspberry sauce (puree thawed frozen sweetened raspberries and strain to remove seeds) and layer with ice cream in parfait dishes or large wine goblets. Garnish with mint and serve with your favorite Christ- mas cookies. e Raspberry-Plum Napoleons: Layer split, baked puff pastry rectangles with a mixture of whipped cream and sweetened cream cheese; surround with the above raspberry-plum sauce. e Red Wine and Chocolate: Serve Red Wine and Brandy Plums with sweetened whipped cream and a chocolate truffle or a wedge of creamy holiday fudge. Toasted Pound Cake and Plums: cut plain-, lemon- or chocolate-pound cakeinto tri- angles and toast. Serve with brandied or red-wine plums and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. e Sugar-Plum Cheesecake Topping: Top slices of homemade or frozen cheesecake with brandied plums mixed with prepared caramel sauce and chopped toasted pecans or walnuts.
