Cook the Books

4—6
     
    1 cup seedless watermelon, cut into 1" cubes
    8 oz. fresh buffalo mozzarella cheese, sliced into ½" rings
    ¼ lb. Parma prosciutto, thinly sliced
     
    Arrange watermelon, cheese, and prosciutto on a plate, “shingling” the ingredients (overlapping one of each). Repeat until all ingredients are used.
     
    Sweet Balsamic Syrup:
     
    2 cups balsamic vinegar
    2 tbsp. granulated sugar
     
    Add balsamic vinegar and sugar to a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is reduced by half. Turn off heat when liquid coats the back of a spoon.
    Drizzle the prosciutto plate with the sweet balsamic syrup.
     
     

    Justin Hamilton
     
    Serves 4
     
    1 3—5-lb. chicken
    1 cup extra virgin olive oil
    Freshly ground black pepper to taste
    8 cups coarsely ground sea salt
    1 sprig of rosemary
    1 bunch of basil
     
    Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
    Rub chicken with oil, season with freshly ground pepper and a small amount of the salt, making sure to season the inside of the chicken. Place rosemary and basil inside of chicken. Set the chicken in a roasting pan, then cover the entire chicken with the rest of the salt until it is thickly coated. Roast for 35-40 minutes until the chicken is cooked. Remove from the oven and break off the salt rub before serving.
     
     
     

    Justin Hamilton
     
    Serves 6
     
2
egg whites
4
egg yolks
1 ¼
cup confectioner’s sugar
1 ¾
cups mascarpone cheese
3
cups extra strong coffee (brew twice as much coffee to water)
2
oz. Frangelico
2
oz. Myers’s dark rum
7
oz. lady fingers (approximately 1 package)
2
cups cocoa powder
1
Hershey’s milk chocolate bar
 
 
     
    Stiffly whisk the egg whites in a bowl until they form peaks. In a different bowl, beat the egg yolks and confectioner’s sugar together until pale and fluffy. Gently fold the mascarpone cheese into the yolk mixture, then slowly fold in the egg whites, making sure that all the ingredients are well blended but still fluffy.
    Mix the coffee, Frangelico, and rum in a flat-bottom pan. Dip each ladyfinger completely into the coffee mixture and then arrange on the bottom of a deep, rectangular serving dish.
    Spread a layer of mascarpone cream over the ladyfingers and then sprinkle cocoa powder over the top. Repeat this layering process until the dish is full, and finish with a dusting of cocoa powder.
    Using a fine grater, grate chocolate bar over the top of cake.
    Cover with plastic or foil, making sure not to get the plastic stuck to the top of cake. Chill for three or more hours before serving.