As you can tell from reading Kasey’s post, we are trying to do something a little different by suggesting a full menu for an impressive-looking, inventive and seasonally-fitting (perhaps celebratory or romantic?) dinner at home. And although we are starting at the end of your meal, I’m going to try to craft the perfect playlist for your meal. So check back over the next couple days if you’d like to see my suggestions for the pairings to go with your first course and entree. This dessert recipe – nectarines with ricotta-vanilla cream and pine nut brittle – is sweet, cheery and playful. It calls for a warm, intimate and laid back record – something perfect for a romantic evening at home with your special someone or relaxing dinner party. With that in mind, I can think of no better pairing for this recipe than Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong – The Complete Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong on Verve. Ok, to be fair, this is a three disc set that collects the 1956 album Ella and Louis, the 1957 Ella and Louis Again, and the 1958 album Porgy and Bess. While my favorite of the three albums is Ella and Louis, all three are fun and relaxing music for a Sunday afternoon cleaning around the house, making the 3 disc collection worth your money.
The first two discs collect Ella and Louis performing jazz renditions of a collection of standards including “Isn’t This a Lovely Day,” “Moonlight in Vermont,” “They Can’t Take That Away From Me,” and “Let’s Do It (Let’s Fall In Love).” I find the track “They Can’t Take That Away From Me” to be playfully seductive, whimsically cool, and brilliantly minimalist – like a good number of the other cuts found in this excellent collection. You can pick up the three disc set from Insound here, or if you just want to start with the Ella and Louis record, you can get that here.
Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong – They Can’t Take That Away From Me
Head back to eating/sf to read the recipe for the nectarines with ricotta-vanilla cream and pine nut brittle recipe and stay tuned for Wednesday’s first course pairing.
