Lollipops for gourmets: David Burke’s cheesecake pops in Chocolate Tuxedo, Toffee Top Hat, and Cherry Pink Cashmere.

Top Pops: David Burke’s Gourmet Lollipops   When award-winning chef and patron saint of New American cuisine David Burke gets an idea, you can be sure it’s going to go places. Co-owner and chef of New York City’s notably inventive haute dining establish-ment, David Burke & Donatella, David, who is known for his offbeat and original food presentation, tells us the decidedly un-haute tale of how his Gourmet Pops came to be. He was stranded at home with the kids one day with nothing in the fridge except some smoked salmon and cream cheese plus a drawerful of lollipop sticks left over from another kids’ project.

He puréed the two ingredients, rolled the  mixture  into balls and stuck each one on a lollipop stick. They were a miserable failure—the kids wouldn’t eat them—but aha! The idea for the gourmet pop was born.

And what a lucky thing that is for you! If you’re looking for a reason to have a party, Gourmet Pops are it. With their jaunty pop sticks and cheerful round profiles, they even look like a party. For yummy hors d’oeuvres, you can start out on a savory note with Smoked Salmon Pops—the cream cheese base is infused with a decidedly bold bolt of lemon, along with zingy capers and scallions, then it’s rolled up in a blanket of puréed smoked salmon. Just add Prosecco or Champagne.

Or you can go for Goat Cheese Pops—a can’t-stop-eating-them nibble that’s a true friend of any cocktail. Goat cheese is smoothed with creamy mascarpone and sundried tomatoes; then each pop is coated with toasted almonds and pistachio nuts.  

Smoked Salmon Pops	Goat Cheese Pops	Gourmet Pop Tree (Server)

Pops come frozen and individually wrapped. They can be quick-thawed in 30 minutes.

But leave room for dessert!  David’s Cheesecake Pops are the cream of the crop, in three gotta-have-‘em flavors—Cherry Pink Cashmere, Three-Chocolate Tuxedo and Toffee Top Hat (shown in the photo at the top of the page). All three start out with a base of the creamiest cheesecake you’ve ever eaten dipped in an ever-so-light shell of white chocolate. Then the fun begins. Cherry Pink Cashmere (half of the pop is tinted pink) is dipped in pistachio crunchies and sundried cherries; Three-Chocolate Tuxedo is dipped in white, milk and dark chocolate, then dipped in peanut crunchies and Reese’s Peanut Butter pieces; Toffee Top Hat has a milk chocolate coating dipped in dark chocolate crunchies and ground up Score candy bars. Serve them as a trio, or add just one to accent another dessert, or as part of an assorted dessert plate. A sip of sherry or tawny port would make this a dessert experience that really pops!

Best of all, the pops come individually wrapped, nestled and perfectly frozen in plastic trays. All the “work” you have to do is to defrost them for about half an hour before serving (you can buy a Lollipop Tree, shown in the photo above, for extra panache). So clear out some space in your freezer. You’re going to want a lot of these.

—Rowann Gilman
Updated November 2007

FORWARD THIS NIBBLE to your anyone who needs a great idea for cocktails or a dinner party.

DAVID BURKE GOURMET POPS Gourmet Hors D’oeuvre & Dessert “Lollipops” Cheese, Twelve Pieces Per Box Cheesecake Pops (three of each flavor) $17.67 Goat Cheese Pops $18.55 Smoked Salmon Pops $19.90 Gourmet Pop Tree $55.00 Purchase online at  GourmetPops.com

You’ll be proclaimed the “Host/Hostess with the Most/Mostest” when you serve dazzlers like David Burke’s Gourmet Pops.

Prices and flavor availability are verified at publication but are subject to change. Shipping is additional.

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