Black Grape Sorbet with Goat Cheese Mousse and Honey Tuile

From: Chef Scott Samuel, CIA Greystone, St. Helena, CA. Yield: 5 tuiles.

Sorbet:

2 oz. water

2 oz. sugar

2 qt. whole black seedless California grapes

4 oz. glucose

1 tsp. lemon juice

as needed for garnish, honey tuiles (recipe follows)

as needed for garnish, black grapes

Goat Cheese Mousse:

6 oz. goat cheese, mild and creamy

5 Tbsp. confectioner's sugar, divided

1 tsp. honey

pinch of salt

½ cup whipping cream, chilled

1 tsp. fresh thyme leaves, minced

Honey Tuile:

2 oz. all-purpose flour

2 oz. confectioner's sugar

2 oz. butter, softened

1¾ oz. honey

1 oz. egg whites

For sorbet: Combine water and sugar in a small pan and heat to dissolve the sugar; cool completely. In a blender, combine grapes and sugar mixture and puree on full speed for 1 minute.

Pour mixture through a fine mesh strainer, pressing gently with a spatula or ladle. Clean the strainer and pass the mixture through again. Measure out 24 oz. of the puree and place in the refrigerator. Gently warm the glucose in a pan or the microwave until it becomes fluid. Add about 8 oz. of the grape puree and whisk together into the glucose until it is completely dissolved. Add this mixture back into the grape puree and chill before churning into sorbet.

In an ice cream/sorbet machine, churn the mixture until frozen and store, covered, in the freezer until service.

To assemble the dish: Smear ½ tsp. of the goat cheese mousse in the center of each dessert plate; top with a curved tuile, set to one side. Top with 1 Tbsp. goat cheese mousse and then a small scoop of the black grape sorbet. Garnish with a small bunch of black grapes and serve.

For goat cheese mousse: In a medium bowl, whisk the goat cheese, confectioner's sugar, honey and salt until blended. In another medium bowl, beat the whipping cream with an electric mixer until peaks form. Fold into the cheese mixture. Chill for 45 minutes.

For honey tuile: Preheat the oven to 325°F and line a baking sheet with Silpat. Sift the flour and confectioner's sugar together in a small bowl.

In a medium bowl, using a whisk, cream the butter with the honey. Beat in the flour mixture, then add the egg whites and beat until smooth. Onto each prepared baking sheet, spoon 5 well-rounded teaspoons of batter about 4" apart. Using an offset spatula, spread the batter evenly into long ovals. Bake the tuiles for about 12 minues, until they are lightly browned, shifting the baking sheets from top to bottm and front to back for even baking. With a thin spatula, quickly remove the cookies one at a time from the baking sheet and drape on top of a rolling pin to develop a curved cookie (if the cookies become too brittle, replace on the baking sheet and place in oven for 10 seconds to soften). Cool completely on the rolling pin, then gently lift off and transfer to a platter until ready to use.