Cardinal Sundaes

painting by Francesco Caccianiga

The memorial of St. Charles Borromeo is a very special one at our house. My husband and two oldest sons are alumni of our all-boys Catholic prep school named after St. Charles, and my youngest son is a student now. We always attend the feast day Mass celebrated by our bishop and it is a wonderful event which we look forward to annually. Saint Charles is the patron of seminarians, so remember to pray to him for your favorite seminarians, and even your own young men for which you might be praying for a vocation.

Tonight we celebrated the feast with a special ending to dinner. A simple dish, but one to remember for its connection to this great saint. It would, of course, be great for any of our great saints, who happened to be cardinals.

Cardinal Sundaes

serves 6-8

2 cups frozen red berries -- a mix or just one (I used 1 cup raspberries and 1 cup strawberries)

1/2 cup sugar

1 T. cornstarch

1/2 cup water

2 quarts strawberry ice cream

In a small saucepan, mix sugar and cornstarch. Add water slowly to incorporate. Place saucepan over medium heat and stir until mixture bubbles and sugar completely melts. Mixture should thicken slightly. Meanwhile, microwave berries for about 2 minutes until they soften up (alternately you could let them sit at room temp until soft). 

When sugar has melted add berries and cook until berries are cooked and mixture is thickened, about 3 to 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and pour mixture into a blender or food processor (alternately you could leave mixture chunky). Process briefly just until mixture is smooth. You can strain mixture at this point to remove seeds, but we don't mind them.

Let mixture cool to room temp. (As an alternative to making the sauce, you could use a strawberry or raspberry jam, heating it until it is saucy.)

Place a few tablespoons of sauce in a pretty bowl or dish. Place a large scoop of strawberry ice cream on top and spoon another tablespoon of sauce on top. Serve immediately.

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