Grace's Sweet Life Cookbook - Vanilla Cream & Cookbook Giveaway

A while back I received an offer to check out Grace's Sweet Life's cookbook; being a big fan of sweets and desserts, of course I said yes!
First things first - there are tons of photos in this cookbook, which I really like.  My knowledge of Italian desserts doesn't go much outside of tiramisu, cannoli, and some pastries, so seeing the photos of the desserts was great.

Another thing I appreciated about this cookbook is that it has lots of recipes for dessert components - for example, how to make a ganache, or custard, or a choux pastry - which you can build from to create very elegant-looking desserts.  Each recipe is thorough and easy to understand. 

The first recipe I tried out was for a Vanilla Cream.  In my version I added chopped strawberries, but any fruit or other topping would also go great with this creamy dessert.  The use of fresh vanilla beans really made this cream so rich and wonderfully vanilla-y without any of that artificial "vanilla" flavor that some desserts can have.  This would make a wonderful make-ahead dessert for a dinner party, especially since a little goes a long way to feel like you've had a decadent dessert.

And now, time for a giveaway!  The PR firm has generously offered another copy for me to give away to one reader, woo! 

Here are the rules:

• Enter to win a copy of the Grace's Sweet Life cookbook by commenting on this post with your favorite dessert to order in an Italian/Italian-American restaurant.
• Giveaway will run from 10:00AM September 10th - 5:00PM September 14th (Eastern Standard Time).
• Winner will be chosen via random.org and notified via e-mail (so please make sure there is a valid e-mail address somewhere in your entry). The winner will be announced on my blog the following week (pending winner verification).
• One entry per person, please.
• This giveaway is open to residents of the US with a valid shipping address (no PO boxes please).  The PR firm will mail the cookbook directly to you. 

Good luck everyone, and I'm looking forward to hearing about your favorite Italian desserts!