It’s been a long time since The Clovers bought a bottle of Love Potion No. 9 to solve their romantic problems.

If you listen to the ingredients in the 1959 song by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, you’ll far prefer this 2011 recipe for Love Potion No. 299. (Also check out the 1963 cover by The Searchers.)

This 299th love potion was created for Valentine’s Day by Kenneth McClure, General Manager of Hospitality Holdings. It’s being served at Bookmarks, the rooftop lounge atop The Library Hotel in New York City. If you’re not in the area, whip up your own Love Potion No. 299.

The recipe includes rose sorbet (sherbet), which can be purchased at Middle Eastern markets, international markets and online. Those with organic roses—no chemical pesticides, please—can make their own with this recipe.
 
 
COCKTAIL RECIPE: LOVE POTION No. 299

Ingredients Per Cocktail

Will this love potion do the job? Photo
courtesy The Library Hotel | New York City.

1. STIR lightly together in mixing glass (heavy stirring will break the Champagne bubbles).

2. STRAIN into a chilled Champagne flute.

3. TOP with extra Champagne.
 
 
WHAT IS ROSE SORBET/SHERBET or FALUDEH?

The favorite Persian frozen dessert, rose sorbet is a rare and wonderful experience, made from cooked rose petals. You step into the very essence of the flower. In am authentic Middle Eastern faludeh, fine threads of starch noodles (like rice noodles, but made of wheat) are added for visual beauty and an appealing crunch.

Next time, don’t send a dozen roses: send a few quarts of rose sorbet from Los Angeles ice cream artisan Mashti Malone.

In addition to flavoring Love Potion No. 299, rose sorbet is a great palate cleanser between fish and meat courses, a dazzling dessert, and an invigorating refreshment. In Persian circles, faludeh (the Persian word for rose sorbet), is as ubiquitous as the ice cream is in the U.S. It is generally served in a bowl, garnished with sour cherries and/or a drizzle of sour cherry syrup, a squirt of lime juice, and pistachios.

It would make an absolutely great Valentine’s Day dessert, followed by a Love Potion No. 299.
 
 
FOOD HISTORY: THE WORD “SORBET”

Sorbet originated in China up to 4,000 years ago as snow and ice flavored with syrup. Through trade, the recipe arrived in Persia. Persians invented a dessert made of rosewater and vermicelli—faludeh—around 400 B.C.E. Alexander The Great brought the recipe back to Greece after he conquered Persia in 330 B.C.E. The recipe became a favorite with the Roman emperors.

According to TurkishCookbook.com, sherbet is served both as a liquid—the rose version of lemonade, served on hot summer days—and a frozen dessert. Ottoman Turks drank sherbet during meals as we drink water. As with lemonade, sherbet is made from fruit juices (or extracts of flowers or herbs) combined with sugar, water and ice.

See the History Of Ice Cream (and its predecessor, sherbet).
 
 

Raspberries grow on a tall bush. Photo
courtesy PickYourOwn.org.

Raspberries are a delicious food, a beautiful food, and equally important, a very healthy food: high in potassium, vitamins A & C and fiber, with no fat, cholesterol or sodium (in fact, they can lower blood cholesterol levels and are a diabetic-friendly food). They’re a good source of iron and folate.

And raspberries are an antioxidant-rich food. They contain ellagic acid, a polyphenol antioxidant also found in blackberries, cranberries, pecans, pomegranates, raspberries, strawberries, walnuts and other foods.

Everyone has seen red raspberries; but there are also black, gold and purple and gold varieties.

Pop them into the fridge as soon as you bring them home. Never wash berries until you’re ready to use them.

If you realize you won’t be using them, raspberries freeze easily. To prepare for freezing, just wash, pat dry and put them in a freezer bag, squeezing out the air.

Browse raspberry recipes and make something new. You can start with the Frozen Raspberry Soufflé recipe below.

And be sure to use them as a Valentine’s Day garnish, for both savory and sweet dishes.

It’s a frozen version of an Italian meringue, a soft meringue (beaten egg whites) that has been cooked by slowly pouring hot sugar syrup over it instead of sweetening with granulated sugar. There is also an eggier style of frozen soufflé, based on a Bavarian cream, that cooks the egg yolks with sugar.

For a special Valentine’s Day dessert, it’s easy to make individual Frozen Raspberry Soufflés. Use frozen raspberries to keep the cost down and save the fresh raspberries for garnish. (The dish is not named for the frozen raspberries, but because it’s a frozen soufflé.)

• Get the recipe.
• Find more of our favorite dessert recipes.

A frozen soufflé is a perfect Valentine’s Day
dessert. Photo courtesy Oregon-Berries.com.

A bright red Peartini. Photo courtesy Grey Goose.

• Cherry Martini and a Cherry Mojito
• Cosmopolitan with cardamom and rose syrup
• Crantini
• Love Potion Cocktail with cranberry juice
• Pear Vodka Cocktails
• Pink Tequila Cocktails
• Pomegranate Sangria

Keep checking for more Valentine’s Day cocktails.

• Each piece of Anna Shea Chocolate is a miniature work of art. The chocolates are designed to please someone with an eye (and palate) for beauty. But they’re not elitist: They’ll delight the chocolate connoisseur as well as the teenager. The boxes, in pink fabric or crocodile-stamped red leather, are keepers.
• Chocolate Malts is a masculine counterpart: handsome chocolates filled with single malt Scotch-infused chocolate ganache. The Scotches represent almost every region of Scotland; and yes, they’re delicious with a glass of Scotch. In a gold box with a plaid ribbon, they’re a treat for any Scotch lover.
• Whiskey 101: Understanding the different types of whiskey.
• Look up terms in our Whiskey Glossary.

Pretty in pink from Anna Shea.
Photo courtesy Anna Shea Chocolates.

• Pairing peaty Scotch and chocolate, plus conducting a tasting party.