Chocolate Sauce
Serves 7
2 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into
1/4-inch pieces
6 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon instant coffee granules
1 cup hot water
1/3 cup dark corn syrup
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Roasted Pecans
Serves 12
1 egg white
1 tablespoon water
1 pound pecan halves
1 cup white sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Buy some good ice cream: It’s better to use plain vanilla or strawberry ice cream because the flavor of the chocolate sauce and the pecans can be appreciated more fully.
    You can buy chocolate sauce from Chocolate Secrets, or use Martha Stewart’s recipe to make your own chocolate sauce. Combine chocolate, cocoa, sugar and coffee granules in a food processor. Process until finely ground, about 1 minute. Stir together water and corn syrup in a small saucepan; bring just to a boil over medium-high heat. With the food processor running, add the syrup mixture, then vanilla. Continue processing until the sauce is smooth, scraping down the sides as needed. (The sauce will seem thin, but will thicken during cooling.) Transfer to a container and refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours. Stir well before serving; if the sauce seems too thick, stir in a little water.
    For the roasted pecans: You can go the easy route or go all out. The easiest way is to toast pecans in the oven or in a saucepan for just a few minutes. If you want to go all out: Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Grease one baking sheet. In a mixing bowl, whip together the egg white and water until frothy. In a separate bowl, mix together sugar, salt and cinnamon.    Add pecans to egg whites, stir to coat the nuts evenly. Remove the nuts, and toss them in the sugar mixture until coated. Spread the nuts out on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 1 hour at 250 degrees. Stir every 15 minutes.
    Combine ice cream, chocolate sauce and pecans together and enjoy yourself.    Use special dessert glasses or combine everything in a big bowl and pass out spoons to the kids.

French Crepes

Serves 4
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup sugar (optional)
3 tablespoons of unsalted butter
Pinch of salt
1 cup of whole milk

Filling options: Bananas (half a banana, sliced), strawberries (two sweet strawberries, sliced), lemon juice (couple of drops), brown sugar (just a pinch),
1 teaspoon Gianduja (Hazelnut Chocolate liqueur)

Crepes should be served the way they are on the streets of Paris. Just keep it simple, use fine ingredients and eat them with good friends. Melt the butter in your crepe pan or 8-inch nonstick skillet. Mix/blend first seven ingredients, and pour ingredients into the melted butter. Heat your crepe pan or skillet. Do not allow it to start smoking. Pour about 2 tablespoons of batter onto your crepe pan or skillet. Immediately begin to swirl and tilt or spread your batter in an effort to create a thin, even layer. Cook until crepe is golden around edges and dry in center. This should only take about 30 to 45 seconds. The successive crepes will cook even faster. Flip your crepe carefully and cook on the other side until golden, about 15 seconds more. Make all your crepes at the same time if you’d like and just stack them as you cook.
    Now have fun filling your crepes. I like to fold mine, but you also can roll them. Try the following combinations for filling: 1) bananas, lemon and sugar; 2) bananas and Gianduja liqueur; 3) strawberries, bananas and Gianduja; 4) brown sugar and butter (beurre-sucre); 5) pecans; and 6) vanilla ice cream.