Red, White, And Blue Parfait

So this is my contribution to the Independence Day menu: I call it my Red, White, and Blue Parfait. To be sure, there are all kinds of variations of this recipe in every food magazine published in July. (If you're like me, than you've read them all too.) I like to think my version is a little special because I use ricotta cheese instead of the perennial favorite of Cool Whip (nothing against Cool Whip)… and hey, this is my blog so I can think whatever I want, right? I'll also do this with yogurt, but the ricotta stands up really wel to the berries and sauce created by mascerating them. So here goes:


Ingredients:

1/2 cup ricotta cheese (I use part-skim ricotta)
1 tsp. Splenda
½ tsp. vanilla extract
¼ tsp. sea salt
¼ cup dark cherries
¼ cup strawberries
¼ cup blueberries
1 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
nuts to garnish (I used peanuts, but any kind would be good here)

In a small bowl, combine the cherries and balsamic vinegar. Set aside to mascerate for 10-15 minutes.

In another small bowl, whip together the ricotta cheese, Splenda, vanilla, and salt. Now here’s the fun part: time to layer. On the bottom of a glass, pour in the cherries and balsamic vinegar. Spoon 1/3 of the ricotta mixture on top of the cherries. Next are the strawberries, followed by another 1/3 of the ricotta mixture. Tumble on the blueberries, top with the remaining ricotta mixture, and garnish with the nuts.

Enjoy!