These may include sesame tofu, which is not tofu at all but a perfect cold cube of ground white sesame paste, its taste at once familiar and ethereal, and tuna tail brushed with an understated teriyaki sauce, charred and strewn with miniature rice-cracker pearls.
The waiters were drying glasses as I tasted the remains of my petit four plate: a salty, airy cookie that began tasting of curry and ended with the flavor of peanut butter; a phyllo pyramid, the size of a pencil eraser, filled with lemon and rosemary marmalade; almonds and cacao nibs covered in white chocolate and a cold cube of bitter dark chocolate and coffee.
Whisk in the cold cubes butter, a few cubes at a time.
The hot coffee drips onto the cold cubes and cools instantly — the hot water quickly extracts more flavor from coffee grounds (cold brewing takes longer, which is why it sits overnight), and the rapid cooling means that the coffee doesn't have the time to develop the unpleasantly harsh flavors you get from slowly chilling hot coffee in a refrigerator.
But Liguria plays a bigger role in the kitchen, providing pistou and the chickpea pancake, called a cecina, crisp on top with a soft white underbelly, ready to be spread with crushed, exuberantly seasoned avocados or an excellent salad of tiny shrimp or cold cubes of raw tuna humming with herbs and Calabrian chiles.
With the press of a button, those hard, cold cubes turn to snow and the liquids are jetted around in a cyclone, all settling into a slushy dune, ready to be poured and consumed immediately as cold as you can get it.
To get a better effect, put an empty freezing cold ice cube tray underneath the mattress beside her.
Just before serving, pour in a punch bowl over a large block of ice or serve large cold ice cubes on the side to be added in to the individual serving cups, and grate the rest of the nutmeg over the bowl.
Just before serving, pour in a punch bowl over a large block of ice or serve large cold ice cubes on the side to be added in to the individual serving cups, and add in the citrus wheels and/or berries.
So no matter how cold the cubes are inside, their effective cooling temperature is their surface temperature, which is 32 degrees.
Makes 30-40 150g plain flour 60g icing sugar 30g soft dark brown sugar ½ tsp cinnamon ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda A generous pinch of salt 75g cold butter, cubed 15ml ice-cold water 1 Combine the flour, icing sugar, soft dark brown sugar, cinnamon, bicarbonate of soda and salt in a large bowl.
