Short Cake

Following a radical dinner with a low matainenence dessert that doesn’t bore your friends or destroy your kitchen is damn near impossible. Usually we just crank out a cheese course, serve some whiskey, and look all doe eyed until someone else owns up to doing the dishes.
This “cheesecake” is really quick to whip up and won’t stress you out. We stuck to our guns by making a slightly sweeter than savory little napoleon with fresh goat cheese, strawberries, and basil that will totally stand out at the end of any meal.
5 shallots, peeled and sliced
10 strawberries
3 Tbs. vegan butter
3 Tbs. brown sugar
1/3 cup cream sherry
4 3/4″ slices of prefab polenta
1 Tbs. golden balsamic vinegar
4 3/4″ slices of fresh goat cheese
6 large basil leaves
Heat a small sauté pan on medium heat for three minutes. Add the shallots and toast for two minutes. While the shallots toast, stem and slice 8 of the 10 strawberries, then add them to the pan with 2 Tbs. of the vegan butter and cook for an additional 2 minutes before adding the sugar. Sauté for 5-7 minutes; the strawberries should be dark and wilting, the shallots should be soft. Now, crank the heat to high and add the sherry and cook until the mixture has congealed into a thick syrup. Remove from heat.
In a medium sauté pan, heat the remaining vegan butter until it is bubbling. Cook the polenta slices until golden brown, about three minutes on each side. Add the vinegar and cook until it disappears, and remove the pan from the heat.
Make a basil chiffonade by stacking the basil leaves on top of each other and rolling into a tight joint-looking-thing. Slice as thinly as you can. Stem the remaining two strawberries and slice ’em super thin from tip to base.
Plate the polenta cake and top with goat cheese, strawberry shallot compote, and basil chiffonade. Place the sliced strawberry on top, fanning it out to make a pretty red mohawk.
Beverage: Stone Brewery’s 2007 Old Guardian Barley Wine
Soundtrack: Jesus and Mary Chain, Just Like Honey