Chef Sara Moulton Sweetens Up Celebrity Luncheon

Creates exquisite Stuffed Strawberries with Tiramisu Affogato and candied orange rind dessert

JIM POWERS El Paseo, Restaurants

Chef Sara Moulton will describe herself as “pastry impaired”, but she didn’t hesitate to volunteer to make the dessert as the closing course for the March 22 celebrity chef luncheon to kick off the fourth annual Food & Wine Festival Palm Desert.

Moulton, who appears as the food editor on “Good Morning America” and also stars in her own PBS show, “Sara’s Weeknight Meals”, jumped at the chance to stray away from normally preparing a main course.

“My brand is helping people get food on the table, but you also need to have dessert and those were two easy desserts for the home cook,” Moulton said.

One of the more engaging chefs on stage, Moulton invited an audience member to help her create the Stuffed Strawberries with Tiramisu Affogato and candied orange rind dessert.

Local resident Sascha Metlov scooped out strawberries with a melon baller and used a pastry bag to fill each strawberry halve with the ricotta and candied orange peel filling.

The accompanying wine courtesy of Korband Wines & Spirits was a Michele Chiarlo, Nivole Moscato d’Asti DOCG out of Piedmont, Italy. Mike Biagi, regional manager for Korband, said the wine was subtly sweet.

“It’s light, airy with good acidity and tastes like fresh peaches,” Biagi said.

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