Who's got Panettone left over from Christmas?? Who bought too many and is wondering what to do with them now?

Me.
I love panettone, but there is always some left over in January when I've inevitably gone on a cleanse that doesn't include eating sweet breads with scrumptious raisins and dried orange peel, especially not when it's toasted and slathered in butter!

Slather it instead with some citrus semifreddo, put it in the freezer for a few hours and what you have is a delightfully light and wintery dessert. We're serving it as a finish at an Italian dinner at the University of Denver Knoebel School of Hospitality on February 2nd.

Semifreddo means "semi cold" and is a light dessert made with whipped egg whites and heavy cream, folded with a fruit syrup and put into the freezer until it's set. It doesn't actually freeze hard like ice cream because of all the air that's whipped into the cream and eggs, but it's creamy and cold in your mouth.

I love a citrus semifreddo in the winter when the oranges and grapefruits are in season. It's lovely frozen in individual cups, but also goes beautifully with panettone, flavored with candied orange peel.

Garnish the dessert with a mint leaf and some julienned orange or grapefruit.

Buon Appetito! Gina

Citrus Semifreddo with Panettone

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup fresh orange, lemon and/or grapefruit juice

2 tbsp zest of orange & lemon or grapefruit

3 egg whites

1/2 cup sugar

1 pint cream

panettone slices

Combine the first cup of sugar together with the orange and lemon juice and bring to a boil. Add the citrus zest and allow it to boil until thickened, about 10 minutes, then take it off the heat and cool completely, stirring it over an ice bath to release the heat.

Whip the egg whites with 1/4 cup sugar until stiff, then whip the cream with the remaining 1/4 cup sugar. Fold together with the cool syrup.

Slice a panettone into 1/2 inch slices and lay on a sheet pan or in a pan to completely cover the bottom. Spread the semifreddo over the top, about 2 inches thick, and freeze until set. To serve, slice the semifreddo into squares or triangles and decorate it with additional zest and a mint leaf.