Three

Yesterday was the big "3" in the life Maryse and I have chosen to spend together - our third anniversary. Maryse loves Italian food and so I made reservations at La Roma http://www.laromaottawa.com/ on Preston Street. We had an absolutley scrumptious meal. Maryse had trout with pasta and I had a simply delicious seafood pasta. Maryse's appetizer was an antipasta and mine was snails in a garlic and pernod sauce. We each had a cream of asparagus soup.

The piece de resistance was the complimentary liqueur our server Shawna brought us when she discovered we were celebrating our anniversary. I've never had it before, but I'll be sure to have it again - Frangelico. Here's how one website describes this wonderful liqueur...

We’ve talked about nut liqueurs here on The Spirit World in the past. But to the best of my knowledge this one, Frangelico, is the granddaddy of them all.

From the first moment you see the bottle you know there is a story involved. The bottle, shaped like a monk in robes and often even belted with a little white rope, gives you the first clue that this spirit, like many others was developed by monks centuries ago. What you may not realize is that the name is actually another indicator. Frangelico is an abbreviation of Fra. Angelico, a hermit monk who roamed the Piedmont hills in Italy in the 17th century.

This hermit had a love for nature and using that knowledge created various liqueurs.

Hazelnuts (sometimes called filberts) are prized in many areas of the world and no less so in Italy. So the liqueur based on wild hazelnuts became especially precious. As with many of these liqueurs the recipe is secret but we know that in addition to hazelnuts, this elixir contains cocoa, vanilla berries, and flowers. Once the alcohol is added the mixture is held in oak to give it that final nutty character.

Frangelico is extremely versatile. Sweet by nature it is found in drinks that span the taste array. Often served by itself as an after dinner sweet, you will also find it mixed with tart ingredients or strong spirits where it smooths and rounds the edges.

Book: Exit Ghost by Philip Roth

Music: Woodsmoke and Oranges/Jack-Knife Gypsy by Paul Siebel