I make this garnish with the vanilla pods I have left in the restaurant from other desserts. I’m not giving quantities here, since it will all depend on how many vanilla pods you have on hand. (The photograph is page 178.)

　　

Ingredients

Dried pods from scraped vanilla beans

　　Simple Syrup (page 184)

　　Sugar

　　

Step 1

Cut the pods into 2-inch lengths, then lengthwise again into very thin strips.

　　

Step 2

Put the vanilla in a small saucepan and cover with simple syrup by about an inch. Bring to a simmer and cook gently for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and let sit for 8 hours or so.

　　

Step 3

Drain the vanilla and dredge in sugar. Lay out on a baking sheet lined with a Silpat or parchment and slide into a cold oven. Leave overnight to dry completely. Store in an airtight container.

　　Reprinted with permission from Dessert Fourplay: Sweet Quartets from a Four-Star Pastry Chef by Johnny Iuzzini and Roy Finamore. Copyright © 2008 by Johnny Iuzzini and Roy Finamore. Published by Crown Publishing. All Rights Reserved.Johnny Iuzzini,, executive pastry chef of the world-renowned Jean Georges restaurant in New York City, won the award for Outstanding Pastry Chef from the James Beard Foundation in 2006. This is his first book.Roy Finamore, a publishing veteran of more than thirty years, has worked with many bestselling cookbook authors. He is the author of three books: One Potato, Two Potato; Tasty, which won a James Beard Foundation award; and Fish Without a Doubt.__