Favorite Grapes

[talon]

My favorite grapes are in season. They are only available for 2 or 3 weeks out of the year, so I am a glutton when they arrive. An entire pound of them are only 250 calories, so I don't feel at all guilty about my gluttony.

I'm talking about the gloriously sweet, teeny, tiny little champagne grapes, also known as Black Corinth or Zante Currant Grapes. They are the size of tiny new peas, bursting with flavor.

They are called champagne grapes because they resemble champagne bubbles, not because they are used in making champagne.

They are perfect for eating straight from their clusters, but they also make marvelous tiny grape tarts, are an excellent accompaniment to a cheese platter, look wonderful draped from the rim of a glass (and are tasty, too), pair up wonderfully with poultry and ham, and make the best grape ever for salads.

I love them in my Tuna Waldorf Salad: tuna, champagne grapes, toasted pecans, boiled eggs, celery, granny smith and cameo apples, crispy dill pickles, sour cream, mayonnaise, mustard, dill weed, parsley, thyme.

I love mixing cream cheese with dill weed and grated cucumbers, spreading that on crackers, and topping it with a small cluster of these grapes.

Crowning lemon fairy cakes with these grapes makes a spectacularly delicious presentation, especially of you mix tiny blackberries and raspberries in with them for delicate Delia Robba wreaths.

Pan seared scallops with these grape clusters and toasted almonds is a treat.

A cluster of these grapes snuggled into a honeydew is the perfect cold sweet treat for this time of year.

These little grapes freeze well and if you can afford to buy lots and lots of them, I recommend this so you can treat yourself to these tiny treasures in the fruitless winter months.

For an end of summer barbecue dessert, cube up some watermelon, peaches, pluots, and raspberries, and spoon over a lemon granita, top with tiny clusters of these well chilled grapes, and garnish with crumbled applewood smoked bacon. This is my absolute, all-time, favorite dessert - sweet, salty, crispy, cold, tart, and sweet.