Ingredients

1/2 cup granulated sugar

　　1/2 vanilla bean

　　2 teaspoons cornstarch

　　2 cups fresh blueberries

　　2 tablespoons brandy

　　1/4 cup dried blueberries

　　

Step 1

Place the sugar in a medium pot. Split the vanilla bean in half lengthwise, and use a paring knife to scrape out the seeds and pulp into the sugar. Add 1/3 cup water and bring to a boil over medium heat, without stirring. Cook about 10 minutes, swirling the pan occasionally, until the mixture is an amber caramel color.

　　

Step 2

Meanwhile, stir 1 tablespoon water into the cornstarch (this is called a “slurry” and will help thicken the fruit juices).

　　

Step 3

When the sugar has reached an amber caramel color, add half the fresh blueberries and the brandy to the pot. The sugar will harden. Cook for a minute or two over low heat, stirring gently, until the berries release their juices and the sugar dissolves.

　　

Step 4

Strain the mixture over a bowl, and return the liquid to the pan, whisk in the cornstarch slurry, and cook another minute, stirring often, until it comes to a boil. Transfer the cooked berries to the bowl and stir in the remaining fresh and the dried blueberries. Pour the thickened juices over the berries, and stir to combine.

　　Sunday Suppers at Lucques[by Suzanne Goin with Teri Gelber. Copyright © 2005 by Suzanne Goin. Published by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved..Suzanne Goin graduated from Brown University. She was named Best Creative Chef by Boston magazine in 1994, one of the Best New Chefs by Food & Wine in 1999, and was nominated for a James Beard Award in 2003, 2004, and 2005. She and her business partner, Caroline Styne, also run the restaurant A.O.C. in Los Angeles, where Goin lives with her husband, David Lentz.Teri Gelber is a food writer and public-radio producer living in Los Angeles.](http://astore.amazon.com/epistore-20/detail/1400042151)