Hello and welcome back to VOV 24/7’s Food Delight - A show for all you foodish out there

On today’s show we have Chief Patrick Morris, who has created a number of great recipes. Hello Patrick. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? 

Patrick: Hi, everyone. My name’s Patrick Morris. I’m chief cuisine at Hemisphere restaurant, Sheraton, Hanoi. Very happy to be on the program today. 

VA: Hey Patrick, I’m quite impressed with the “Raspberry Semifreddo” on your menu. Is it a kind of dessert?

Patrick: Yep. It’s an Italian dessert. It is ice cream mousse, frozen mousse.  

The taste is very creamy, sweet, and then you got a sourness from the raspberries as well (Source: Pinterest)

VA: So, how do you prepare the ingredients, for example, well, for 6 portions? 

Patrick: Yes. This one makes about 6 portions depending on what kind of portion size you wanna make. First you start off with 2 cups of frozen unsweetened raspberries, 5 egg yolks, half a cup of Grand Marnier, which is orange flavor alcohol, 1 tablespoon of milk, 3 teaspoons of vanilla, half a cup of white sugar, 3 cups of whipping cream, and  one quarter of a cup of seedless raspberry jam. 

VA: Why do you use seedless raspberry jam?

Patrick: Because the seeds are crunchy. When you bite into the cake, you don’t want the little crunch in there. It will taste funny.

VA: Right. So, what about the cooking method? 

Patrick: So, to start, you put the egg yolks on top of a double boiler. Well, a double boiler is a pot of water, which is boiled. And then you stick a bowl on top of that so you don’t cook the egg yolks in direct heat. You use the steam from the water to cook the eggs in the bowl. You whisk the Grand Marnier, milk, and 2 teaspoons of vanilla until combined. Then you slowly whisk in sugar. Place over a saucepan of simmering water. Continuously whisk the yolk mixture until pale yellow in color, 4-5 minutes. Remove from the heat and refrigerate uncovered until cold. 

In a large mixing bowl, whip 2 cups of cream until soft peaks form. 

VA: A soft peak? Can you clarify the differences between soft peaks and hard peaks?

Patrick: So a soft peak is when you whisk it, and you lift up the whisk, it should just be like a little hill. If you whisk it and it stick up really high, you’ve gone too far. That’s a hard peak. You don’t want that. 

VA: Ok, I got that. What should we do next? 

Patrick: Then you stir a third of the cream into the cold egg mixture. And then fold the remaining cream until no yellow streaks remain. Then you pour in to individual molds and then freeze until firm. Probably 12-24 hours depending on your freezer. 

The dessert goes really well with this madly hot summer (Source: Gourmantineblog)

VA: So you have to wait in 12-24 hours? Such a long time 

Patrick: Cause it’s like ice cream. You want it to be firm, hard. And then, yeah. You turn it out and if you put it in a loop tin, you get a nice piece and you just slice it into individual pieces. Or in the hotel we use individual molds, and we just pop them out and we get a nice individual piece.

VA: It seems like you need a lot of time and patience to prepare this dessert, right?

Patrick: yeah, correct, yes. The actually dish itself probably about 20 to 30 minutes. And the waiting time before you can eat it, so, 12 to 24 hours. 

VA: The waiting time is long. But the real time in which you prepare the dish is very short. 

Patrick: Right, easy and quick, not very long. 

VA: Do you have any tips to improve the fragrance of the dish?

Patrick: Tips? Well, make sure when you do the egg yolks, that you don’t cook them too much otherwise you turn them into scramble eggs. You want it very smooth. If you cook egg yolks too much, you ll get the eggy flavor. So if you start to see lumps of cooked egg, throw away and start again. 

VA:  So you must start from the beginning?

Patrick: Yeah, the beginning is egg yolks in a double boiler, so if you mess up the first step, just throw it and start again. 

If you have a heavy meal like a big steak and a heap of potatoes, this dessert is a good way to finish your meal (Source: Spicedblog)

VA: The taste is very creamy, sweet, and then you got a sourness from the raspberries as well. I think it goes really well with this madly hot summer. 

Patrick: It’s light and fluffy and the moussey ice cream, so very lightful and wonderful for summer. If you have a heavy meal like a big steak and a heap of potatoes, it’s kind of very heavy. And if you finish with a chocolate dessert, it can be like, yew. So this one, it’s a good way to finish a heavy meal. 

VA: So, thank you so much for granting VOV this interview

Patrick: Thank you for having me.

VA: That was Chef Patrick Morris, from the Hemisphere restaurant, Sheraton, Hanoi with the recipe for his special “Raspberry Semifreddo”, which will bring you a fresh and energizing mood for this summer. Be sure to join us next week for more cooking tips and recipes. Until then, good bye.