Bananas Foster Ice Cream

I'm trying to be healthy. Well........sure. Healthy. Er. Ish. Adjacent. 

At the rate I consume  make ice cream, I should switch it up now and then for a less cream laden variety. Enter: the banana. 

Yes, I've heard and laughed at this idea of the yo-nanas frozen banana soft serve. Sorry, but as a die hard ice cream addict, I just can't get behind it. That said, I had a brief moment of health consciousness and decided to try it out the only way I enjoy eating bananas....covered in sugar. 

Did I say health conscious? Well.......um........it contains no cream. So that's something. 

All said and done, I actually rather enjoy it. I'm surprised by the consistency. The addition of 1 tablespoon of rum keeps the banana puree from freezing to a rock solid state, allowing it to remain scoopable after freezing and truly does add to the creamy consistency. In all, it really is rather like ice cream, and a rather delightful one at that. 

As for healthy..........well...........er? ish? adjacent?

Bananas Foster Ice Cream 
serves 2

2 bananas
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp. Vietnamese cinnamon
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 tablespoon rum

Mix all ingredients except bananas in a small sauce pan. Stir over medium heat until all the brown sugar is dissolved.

Peal and chop the bananas.

Put pealed bananas and warm sauce into a food processor. Pulse until completely smooth.

Pour into the bowl of your ice cream make. Follow manufacturers instructions.

Place into suitable freezing container and freeze for 2 hours.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Peppermint Ice Cream

It is HOT in DC, and it is humid. Such is the joy is living in Washington, DC in the summer! Less joyfully, the AC is not exactly working properly. After leaks in the subfloor, many jiggles, emptying a bucket of dripping water twice a day and more than a few temporary patches from my handy husband, today our 45 year old AC unit is being replaced! Huzzah!.....oh wait....no AC until it's actually finished. Huzz.........wait for it...........aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah. *Sigh of relief* 

Today's temporary AC outage calls for ice cream. Chocolate-Peppermint is the ultimate keep-me-cool-and-happy treat. I cannot get over just how soothing the peppermint actually is. Four scoops later and no regrets! 

Chocolate Peppermint Ice Cream 

makes roughly 4 scoops 

1 1/2 cup half and half 

1 egg

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon peppermint flavoring**

1 tablespoon dutch cocoa powder  

In a stand mixer combine the eggs and sugar. Beat for one minute until light and fluffy. Add dutch cocoa. Mix until combined. Gently mix in the half and half and peppermint flavoring.

Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker. Allow the ice cream to churn until finished and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

**specifically peppermint NOT plain mint which is 99% of the time spearmint. I use Frontier Organic Peppermint Flavoring which can be purchased online and in many natural foods stores. 

Vanilla Plum Ice Cream

Making ice cream in the summer is a favorite of mine. Absolute favorite. Using fresh fruit? Even better!

For this plum and vanilla ice cream I used a beautifully juicy fresh pureed black plum. Yes, that can affect the consistency, and you might get an ice crystal here or there. I don't notice it enough to mind, but if you think you would mind you can add a teaspoon of gelatin and the problem is solved. I was too busy reveling in plum and vanilla and creamy dreamy goodness.

Every time I post an ice cream recipe, someone comments about the use of raw eggs. Yes, it could increase your chance of a food borne illness. If you don't want to take that risk then make a custard. It doesn't bother me and this method is so much creamier. I am taking my life in my hands via ice cream! Oh what a daredevil am I! ...Not really. I did the math and if I ate one raw egg a day since birth, once in 82 years I would come across an egg with a food born illness. But it could happen, and I know that I take that risk. Personally, I am more afraid of spinach and ground beef. If you'd like to read other people's opinions try this forum, meanwhile, I will continue to make and post ice cream with raw eggs.

Vanilla Plum Ice Cream 

1 black plum

1 egg
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk

1 cup cream

1 tsp. vanilla

In a food processor add the plum and then pulse until smooth.

In a stand mixer combine the eggs and sugar. Beat for one minute until light and fluffy. Gently mix in the cream, milk, vanilla and plum puree.

Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker. Allow the ice cream to churn until finished and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Edible Ice Cream Cups

**Confession: This post was supposed to be all purple. Purple was my wedding color....I also was supposed to have the picture taken on my wedding day...in my dress....with a cupcake....with monogrammed fondant and purple sprinkles. Ya know when your photographer leaves the country for three weeks and asks if the 28th will be okay to get you the photo? Um......not so much. Aaaand, moving on. 

SPRINKLES!!!!!!

Aren't they best? Little pieces of happiness that just make everything in the world better. :)

Ya know what's a little crazy about sprinkles? I've never thought about how they were made. Not ever. In my 30 years of sprinkle love, I'd never thought about it. They are just pieces of rainbows, pixie dust and unicorn manes that make the world all better.

Now I know better! The new cookbook Sprinkles! by Jackie Alpersis is full of recipes on using sprinkles and MAKING sprinkles! You could learn to make the quins used to decorate these ice cream cups?! 
Quirk Books (the publisher) has been having a sprinkles round up! FUN. If you want to see some of the other sprinkles recipes check out  We Are Not Martha, Baked Bree,  Kitchen Konfidence, Kitchen Meets Girl and Bake or Break. 

Lots of love readers! You are not forgotten. My wedding is done, my house renovation is nearly done and I will be back with lots more fun and sprinkles soon! 

xoxo

Edible Ice Cream Cups

2 large egg whites

1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract (optional, can replace with vanilla)

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

8 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons granulated sugar

3 teaspoons water

food coloring (optional)

melted chocolate (optional)

sprinkles (optional)

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit and HEAVILY grease 2 9-X-13 inch baking sheets.

In a medium bowl, lightly beat the egg white, vanilla extract, almond extract (if using) and vegetable oil until frothy, but not stiff.

In a separate bowl sift together the dry ingredients, and then stir in the water. 

Add the flour mixture to the egg white mixture and stir until you have a smooth batter.  The consistency you are looking for is not runny. It will easily drop off a wooden spoon. If you want to dye the cookies, divide the “dough” into as many groups as you like. I usually do two or three colors at a time. Add the food coloring, stirring it into the batter. 

Place a tablespoon of batter onto the heavily greased cookie sheet, spacing them at least 3 inches apart. Using a spoon spread the batter out to form into a circle 4 inches in diameter.

Bake until the outer 1/2-inch of each cookie turns golden brown and they are easy to remove from the baking sheet with a spatula (14 - 15 minutes). If you’ve dyed the cookies this will be harder to recognize, especially if you used a white food dye, but you should be able to notice the change in the texture of the cookie, even if you can’t see the color.

Working quickly, remove the cookie with a spatula and flip it over in your hand. Mold over a cup or bowl, or wedged between two stacked brioche pans as I did. 

Dip edges in melted chocolate and decorate with sprinkles if desired. Store in an airtight container until ready to serve. 

Enjoy! 

Oatmeal Cookie & Cinnamon Ice Cream

Well, well, well. What do we have here? Could it be a knock off of one of the all time best ice cream flavors ever? Why, yes. Yes it can. 

Oatmeal chocolate chip cookie dough nestled in yummy cinnamon ice cream. Just the latest best thing ever to come out of my (read: my boyfriend's) kitchen. I'm in love...with the boyfriend, Ben, and Jerry. It's complicated, but hopefully you like it to because it's my little entry for:

Dun, duh duh DUUUHHHH! The Cookie Dough-lympics! It's a fabulous little cookie dough themed round up (and contest, cough cough, love me!) all using Lindsay Landis’s egg-free cookie dough from The Cookie Dough Lover’s Cookbook. 

Nice Right?

And without further ado,

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough & Cinnamon Ice Cream

2 egg yolks
3/4 cups brown sugar
3 cups half and half
1 tsp. Vietnamese cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
frozen oatmeal cookie dough bits (see recipe below)

Scald one cup of half and half over medium heat in a medium sauce pan. Remove from heat.

In a stand mixer whisk together the yolks, cinnamon and brown sugar until light and fluffy, then gradually pour the scalded half and half down the side of the bowl as the mixer is on a low speed.

Pour the mixture back into the sauce pan, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until the mixture has thickened and will coat the back of the spoon . Remove from heat, and pour through a fine mesh sieve into a clean bowl. Add in the remaining half and half, and vanilla. Chill the custard thoroughly. About two hours.

Transfer the custard mixture to an ice cream maker. Allow the ice cream to churn until finished, adding oatmeal cookie dough bits at the last minute and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

from Lindsay Landis’s The Cookie Dough Lover’s Cookbook

1 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons milk or cream
1/2 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugars with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.

Mix in milk and vanilla. Stir in flour and salt and mix on low speed (or by hand) until incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips.

Turn dough out onto a large sheet of parchment paper. Folding paper over, or using a second sheet of parchment paper, cover the dough. Using a rolling pin roll out dough until roughly a quarter inch thick. Transfer to freezer for roughly two hours. 

Cut into inch size pieces, and store in suitable freezing container until the ice cream is ready. 

Enjoy! 

Peanut Butter Ice Cream

Years ago, a bright eyed girl went off to college, had a roommate, lived away from home, and was truly in control of what was stocked in her fridge for the first time. At 18 I received a bit of a wake up call. Firstly, I had not considered that I would have to share the fridge with my roommate, and secondly, it had never occurred to me that there would be yogurt in it, many types of yogurt, and that she would eat yogurt daily. Yogurt had never taken up more than two seconds of my time thus far in my life.

Opening my shared fridge for the first time and finding yogurt was a bit of a wake up call. Perhaps that sounds dramatic, but I was an 18 year old who had no living memory of having ever tried yogurt, or seeing a person eat yogurt. That's just.....weird. It gets worse. I also realized I had never tried mustard. HOW does an American girl make it that far in life without eating mustard? On a hot dog? That's just not right. I mean, at least I have had apple pie, but no mustard? Not okay.

Through the years there have been concerted efforts to right these deviances from the normal American life experiences. I  tried yogurt for the first time in my dorm room. My roommate was stunned and gave me a yogurt to try. I was not a fan, but at least I now knew I was not a yogurt person and could move on in my life one step closer to normalcy. Mustard took more effort for me. I mustered (bad pun) up the courage one day in the Student Union building, and bought a ham sandwich with mustard and an old fashioned donut to reward myself for good behavior. I truly enjoy mustard. To be fair to my family, mustard is my own fault. We probably had mustard in a little yellow bottle that I just never thought to try. Most likely it's a holdover from being a stubborn four year old who says "no" about foods they've never tried for no intelligible reason. Yogurt however....well, Mama didn't grow up in a yogurt home either. It's a multi-generational problem I hope to correct for my own children down the road.

With all this thought about childhood foods peanut butter ice cream just had to happen, along with homemade peanut butter cups. *sigh* I also did not enjoy peanut butter until college either. Judge away. 

Peanut Butter Ice Cream

1 cup milk

1 cup sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

5 egg yolks

1 1/3 cup heavy cream

1 1/2 cup peanut butter (smooth or chunky, but I recommend organic either way) 

Scald milk and cream.

Lightly whisk eggs in a stand mixer along with the sugar, and then add the scalded mixture in a slow stream running down the side of the bowl on a low speed. Pour back into saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon add 1 cup of peanut butter. Pour custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl. If you’re making chunky reserve the peanut pieces to add in later.

Chill custard, stirring occasionally, until cooled. Freeze custard in ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. When nearly finished, add in the last half cup of peanut butter and the peanut pieces.  Allow to integrate and then transfer to a suitable freezing container and put in freezer to firm up. 

Enjoy!

Chocolate Pomegranate Ice Cream

The rain in DC lately has been slowing eating away at my reserves of happiness I store up on the days when it's above 60 and sunny. I very much believe that I somehow am a person who runs on solar power. Going for long periods of time in cloudy, rainy, snowy weather depletes my energy, my reactions, and my ability to move out of the way of puddle splashing cars. 

I confess: I love splashing through puddles. It was a rare treat if you grew up in the desert. DC however gets plenty of rain and puddles, and perhaps for this very reason is considered the fifth rudest city in America. Drivers down town couldn't care less about splashing the little people who walk to work, or even running down a pedestrian or cyclist. Sad but true. I received a head to toe shower on the corner of 18th and P St. NW from a shining example of our rude city status. Could the Jag have moved over one foot and avoided the puddle? Absolutely. Did he? Not so much. To make it that much more comical, being soaked with dirty street water distracted me so much, that when I went to cross the street I stepped on a road killed critter. I'm still debating which is worse.

There really isn't a recovery from starting your day off so poorly. Thankfully, that was not this morning. That day is behind me now, though not enough for comfort. Like many people, I turn to ice cream for comfort. The ice cream didn't fully take the sting off, but when you combine it with bad (and by bad I mean AMAZING) 80s movies, a snuggie, and a steaming hot shower it really makes you forget you stepped on a dead rat, and got sprayed with dirty rat street water. I ♥ DC. 

And on that lovely note: Enjoy! And may your commuting go better than mine! 

Chocolate Pomegranate Ice Cream

2/3 cup white sugar

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3 egg yolks, beaten

2 2/3 cups heavy cream

¼ cup pomegranate molasses (sold in whole foods, asian and arab markets)

In a stand mixer, stir together sugar and cocoa. Add egg yolks and molasses and blend on low. With the mixer remaining on low, add cream a little at a time. Once all cream is incorporated, continue to mix until soft peaks are formed. Chill mixture in refrigerator for roughly half an hour.

Freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. Pour ice cream into a suitable freezing container and allow to freeze until set hard.

Key Lime Pie Ice Cream

Sweety, tangy Key Lime Pie Ice cream complete with a caramelized graham cracker crust swirl. 

"Does that really say nine minutes?" 

"Yep."

That is the extent of a typical metro conversation. Like airplaines, elevators, and the men's room talking is discouraged. We say as little as possible, listen to music, read papers, and try our hardest to ignore being sardined into our idealistic-for-a-terrorist-plot metro cars. It's easy to pick out tourists, and people who rarely ride the metro, as their lack of awareness for the 75 hostages forcedly singing la la la internally over their conversation about a new pair of shoes puts a large red target on their foreheads. The last stranger who talked to me on the metro made degrading comments about my boyfriend-at-the-time, grabbed my hand and attempted to kiss me. The guys before that were black, and decided to include me, the little white girl, in their conversation about what happens to black men who rape white girls. Rape is not a topic I encourage on a first acquaintance, especially when the nature of it is so similar to our respective genders and races, but it proved worthwhile as I was very grateful for their gentlemanly help with my "big @$$ bags" getting off the train.

Monday's ride home from work (yes, work on a national holiday), was the G-3 of my metro experience bingo card. The guy who asked me to validate his annoyance with the delayed Red Line train continued to talk, about work, about life, about travel, art, music, working out, pool tables, trivia, and mixed mediums. I now presume I know him better than I know my father, and the best part is he calls himself C-Money. No fewer than four times did my disgruntled sarcasm invoke a "You are so funny!" He somehow liked me enough to ask for my phone number. I'm still unsure at what point I gave the impression of being charming. As far as I can remember all I ever said was "Yep."

Yep. So....the Spectrum of Awesomeness behind this ice cream went like this: C-Money to Miami to Key Limes to Key Lime Pie to Summer Time to Ice Cream and most importantly to Not Working On Federal Holidays. The ice cream at least had to happen. Caramelized graham crackers in Key Lime Pie Ice cream is about the only rival in awesomeness to a metro ride with C-Money.

Key Lime Pie Ice Cream

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cups brown sugar

1/8 cup corn syrup

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

8 squares of graham crackers, in quarter size pieces

2 eggs
3/4 cups brown sugar
2 cups cream
1 cup milk

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 1/3 cup key lime cocktail syrup

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Place graham cracker pieces in a small bowl.

In a medium saucepan melt butter. Stir in brown sugar, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil without stirring 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in soda and vanilla. Pour in a thin stream over graham cracker pieces, stirring to coat.

Place in two large shallow baking dishes and bake in preheated oven, stirring every 15 minutes, for half an hour. Remove from oven and let cool completely before breaking into pieces.

In a stand mixer combine the eggs and sugar.  Beat for one minute until light and fluffy. 

Gently mix in the cream, milk, sweetened condensed milk, and key lime cocktail syrup. 

Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker. Allow the ice cream to churn until finished. When transferring ice cream into a suitable freezing container layer with caramelized graham crackers. 

Maple Bacon Bourbon Ice Cream

Does anything get better than bacon? It does if it's maple, brown sugar and a wee bit of bourbon! An offbeat ice cream that is salty and sweet and prove that everything really is better with bacon. 

This post needs some clarification for a woman in Arizona, who undoubtedly is sitting in her office, pictures of relatives lining her walls, and a disgruntled looking plant next to her computer, reading this post in between co-workers questions and internally screaming: WHY IS MY DAUGHTER COOKING WITH BOURBON?!

I don't drink. My mother does not drink. So without a doubt she'll most likely be condemning me on some level for cooking with bourbon or at the very least for being a bad example, but, as an American I'd like to claim the "innocent until proven guilty" clause that I have a claim to by birth. I cooked with bourbon, guilty, if i had cooked with vanilla that would be fine right? Allow me to present two facts: 

1. Pure Vanilla Extract is made with alcohol, usually vodka. Mine (and my mother's) is 65% alcohol, aka 130 proof.  
2. My bourbon is liquor BUT only 50% alcohol (100 proof). 

Yes, that's right, two teaspoons of bourbon has LESS alcohol than two teaspoons of vanilla! Therefore, my guilt should be correspondingly less! Which leaves me in the realm of negative guilt. Aaaaah, negative guilt. I believe I can eat at least four pieces of chocolate before I break even on the guilt spectrum. **

Where I most likely should be feeling guilt, is about eating this for breakfast, but my rational mind is telling me that bacon, milk, eggs, and maple syrup are all accepted parts of breakfast, therefore no guilt. Denial is my new best friend. :) 

Enjoy! And for those of you who embrace your bourbon, just don't go over a tablespoon. Alcohol doesn't freeze, so you'll end up with a bacon maple bourbon shake instead......which doesn't sounds like a bad thing. For you. Not me. (Hi Mom! Bye Mom!) 

Enjoy! 

Bacon Maple Bourbon Ice Cream

5 strips bacon
about 2 teaspoons light brown sugar

2 eggs
3/4 cups brown sugar
3 cups half and half

1 1/3 cup grade A pure maple syrup

2 teaspoons bourbon
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Scald one cup of half and half over medium heat in a medium sauce pan. Remove from heat. 

In a stand mixer whisk together the yolks and brown sugar until light and fluffy, then gradually pour the scalded half and half down the side of the bowl as the mixer is still going. 

Pour the mixture back into the sauce pan(Add bourbon now if you want to cook off the alcohol), stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until the mixture has thickened and will coat the back of the spoon . Remove from heat, and pour through a fine mesh sieve into a clean bowl. Add in the remaining half and half, maple, bourbon (if you don’t want to cook off the alcohol), and vanilla. Chill the custard thoroughly. About two hours. 

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Lay the strips of bacon on a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat or aluminum foil. Sprinkle 1½-2 teaspoons of brown sugar evenly over each strip of bacon. Bake for 12-16 minutes, flipping half way, and sprinkling with a bit more sugar. Cool on a wire rack, and once cooled, chop or cut into small pieces.

Transfer the custard mixture to an ice cream maker. Allow the ice cream to churn until finished, adding bacon at the last minute and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

**I know that for some people this rationale does not work. Devout members of many world religions do not cook with alcohol or vanilla that contains alcohol. You can't even buy vanilla extract in the UAE for example. Should you find that you are just now realizing that you consider your vanilla extract to be improper, may I recommend cooking with vanilla sugar or vanilla beans (no alcohol, full flavor). Please avoid imitation extract if you can. Imitation vanilla is cheap, fake and produces food of a similar quality. 

Strawberry and Black Pepper Ice Cream

Similar to my strawberry balsamic ice cream, black pepper accents enhance the strawberry flavor and add a subtle warmth to a cool ice cream dish. 

Happy day after Super Bowl!!! That is, unless you are a Steelers fan. In that case, take a mental health day and go back to bed. I know I want to, and I'm not even a big fan! ...probably just the Monday morning talking...or the busy weekend of cooking, shopping, and baking in preparation for the big game. Turns out I spend far too much time in German grocers reading syrup bottle labels, to be a productive member of society (read: good person who sleeps at night instead of bakes into the wee hours of the morning)...but finding Elderflower (light and dark) syrup is just a wee bit too interesting to pass over.

Also interesting......what to do when your friend asks for a batch of your strawberry balsamic ice cream, you are half way through making it, go to add the balsamic and it's not there. Not anywhere. I've been re-arranging my kitchen (continuously) and I'm sure I've mislaid it, but where? I honestly looked everywhere I could think of! Well? Strawberry Black Pepper is actually the first ice cream I made after getting an ice cream maker. I made it for the college football championship last year (when Alabama won, Roll Tide, Roll Tide, Roll), so for another championship game, out comes the strawberry black pepper. :) But make sure you really grind the pepper well, as it can be a tad bit jarring to suddenly get a large clump of pepper in your mouth all at once!

Strawberry and Black Pepper Ice Cream

2 eggs
3/4 cups sugar
2 cups cream
1 cup milk
1/2 cup strawberry jelly
1/2 tsp. black pepper, freshly ground

In a stand mixer combine the eggs and sugar.  Beat for one minute until light and fluffy.

Gently mix in the cream, milk, strawberry jelly, and black pepper. 

Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker. Allow the ice cream to churn until finished and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Enjoy! 

Snowy Street Ice Cream

This playful take on Rocky Road Ice Cream features white chocolate, toasted marshmallows and hazelnuts.

I woke up to snow this morning. I'm from the Southwest so I wasn't really raised with an application for snow. I somewhat feel that is must be an acquired taste. I've lived in snowy climates for the better part of the last decade and still haven't felt that love. I learned to ski (in Dubai ironically) but haven't felt the urge to try it again. I know people love skiing. The idea of flying down a mountain with two pieces of wood tied to my shoes just sounds like a really bad idea. Maybe I just had a bad teacher. Actually, who wouldn't yell abusively after I slid down the bunny hill on my back, head first, into a fence while a four year old child skied circles around me? For the record, I was laughing not crying while he yelled. It was hilarious. Even I can see that! Just not to him.

Today in DC we are expecting more snow. After lasts years multiple blizzards I'm not feeling particularly excited to see any snow. At all. Even one flake. I call it post traumatic snowmaggedon disorder. Something about three feet of snow and being trapped in my house watching Martha Steward Bride for four days doesn't bode well with me. Especially not after spinning my car out a few weeks ago. If there is snow, I'm just going to bunker down. I am not braving the hour long lines at the store. I am a chef. I am creative. I have eggs, butter, milk and seven types of salt. I will thrive. It's an iron chef for one.

The only form of snow I'm interested in, is my snowy streets ice cream. Call it an epiphany based on looking out my living room windows. Why not a white chocolate version of rocky road? Sounds good to me, and since I'm bunkered down I have the time!

Snowy Street Ice Cream 

3 cups half and half

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

2 large egg yolks

3/4 cup sugar, divided

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup white chocolate (chips are okay, but high quality is highly recommended)

1 cup mini marshmallows, toasted

½ cup coarsely chopped hazelnuts, toasted

Scald one cup of half and half along with ½ cup sugar and salt over medium heat in a medium sauce pan. Remove from heat. 

In a stand mixer whisk together the yolks and ¼ cup sugar until light and fluffy, then gradually pour the scalded half and half down the side of the bowl as the mixer is still going. 

Pour the mixture back into the sauce pan along with the white chocolate, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until the mixture has thickened and will coat the back of the spoon. Remove from heat, and pour through a fine mesh sieve into a clean bowl. Add in the remaining half and half, and vanilla. Chill the custard thoroughly. About two hours. 

Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker. Allow the ice cream to churn until finished. Add in marshmallows and toasted hazelnuts at the last minute. Freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Choclate Raspberry Sauce

Chocolate and raspberries are always a winning combination especially on a syrup that can be used on pancakes, crepes, waffles, etc. 

I know that Ice Cream year is over but it felt a little odd to not have made ice cream in "so long." When you get used to making it every few days going any longer than a week seems somewhat lonesome...and I'd gone nearly two! Ice creams have condiments too so they won't be wholly forgotten this year, just not on center stage....wow, I feel sorry for ice cream, an inanimate object that I eat....I. Need. A. Life.

Actually, like I said in the last post I've been all too busy. But you should congratulate me on taking a few hours off to go have dinner with an old friend in town. Actually, Leeann and her husband Paul were two of the influences that had me falling in love with DC. Paul was "in charge" of me (which is a feat in itself) for a conference I attended in DC when I was a junior in high school (he will tell you the horror stories if you like). That was when I fell in love with this city. Through the years since I've moved here, Paul and Leeann have flown through a few times, and every time I'm reminded of how glad I am that Paul picked me to go to that conference. He probably didn't know how much that one choice would influence my life, but I'm so glad of it. I don't think I ever would have come to DC if it wasn't for Paul and Leeann! And if I never moved to DC, I probably wouldn't have had to the guts to start a cooking blog, to write for the Examiner. It's odd to think about, but that one trip really changed my life. I'm glad of it, and for having the time to visit with Leeann last night and have a lovely little dinner at Co Co Sala.

And with that, enjoy some raspberry chocolate syrup and have a lovely Friday!

Chocolate Raspberry Syrup

4 cups fresh (or frozen) raspberries  

1 ounce unsweetened chocolate square

1 1/3 cups sugar

1Crush berries thoroughly (and thaw if using frozen). Sieve to remove seeds if desired.

Measure 2 cups of crushed fruit and the sugar into a heavy saucepan. Chop or grate the chocolate and add it to the saucepan

Bring to a boil and cook until the mixture thickens slightly. Serve warm or cold over ice cream, pancakes, crepes, or waffles. Store remaining syrup in the refrigerator.   

Basic Vanilla Custard

5 egg yolks

2/3 cup powdered sugar

2 cups half and half

2 tsp. vanilla extract

Scald half and half over medium heat in a medium sauce pan. Remove from heat. 

In a stand mixer whisk together the yolks and sugar until light and fluffy, then gradually pour the scalded half and half down the side of the bowl as the mixer is still going. 

Pour the mixture back into the sauce pan, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until the mixture has thickened and will coat the back of the spoon. Remove from heat, and pour through a fine mesh sieve into a clean bowl. Add in vanilla. Chill the custard thoroughly. About two hours. 

Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker. Allow the ice cream to churn until finished and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Best of 2010

With 2010 ending tonight I can't help but get a little nostalgic. It's been quite the year, with many changes in my life, some I've loved and others I've merely tolerated. It's a little humbling to looks through all of the 140 posts I've put up this year, see how I've grown (and also grimace while planning to retake some photos). Above are the five most popular posts I put out this year old fashioned sugar cookies. butterbeer ice cream sandwiches, apple rosette crostata, the oatmeal cookie bake off, and chocolate buttermilk cake donuts topped the lists. Thank you for sharing them. :) 

2010 was filled with ice cream, and not that I won't be making ice cream anymore, but surely not once a week. (My waistline is very happy about this!). People ask me often what my favorites of them were, and I have to say it's hard to choose! Brown butter baked alaska, brownie batter ice cream, cannoli ice cream sandwiches, ricotta lemon cardamom ice cream & gingersnap sandwiches, salted caramel ice cream and triple chocolate cookie dough ice cream were at the tops of my list. Of all the ice creams I made I loved....most of them (frankly, I'm still deciding about white truffle ice cream) I'd call a year in studying ice creams to be a success. 


So what's for next year? Oh so many things! But for my focus of the year? Let's call it "condiments." This year I will be making sugars, salts, jellies, jams, syrups, butters, spices and oils. It's not as closely focused as ice cream, but will be SO much fun. :) To confess, I've already made one sugar, two jellies, one jam, one syrup, and two butters in my excitement! It's going to be a very flavorful year! There will be some canning involved, preserving, drying, and freezing. By the end of the year my pantry will be stocked full of amazing things! 


I hope that you all have a lovely New Years! I'll see you again in 2011! 


Cheers!

Pumpkin Ice Cream Pie with a Gingerbread Crumb Crust

Pumpkin pie is traditional for the season, but I went for a new take and made pumpkin ice cream pie! The gingerbread crust is a flavorful addition. 

I simply have to tell a horribly funny story.....well, funny for foodies. 

Yesterday was my office's "Christmas Party" which is a Christmas party, because our boss is staunch that saying "happy holidays" is wrong! Wrong I tell you! WRONG!.....I celebrate Christmas. I do. His vigor is far past insensitivity. In most ways he's a Scrooge, but heaven forbid you wish him a happy holiday.....in any event, a holiday lunch at The Palm. 

So, the waiter comes over to tell us the specials. He tells us that the soup of the day is a vichyssoise. He has to repeat it to every other person because the restaurant is so crowded and loud. So I hear him explain, not once, not twice, but five times that the vichyssoise is like a corn chowder with lobster. I had to bite my tongue to keep from asking the waiter how much corn France grows annually. I know the answer but it's not an obvious one. In fact France is the 6th largest corn producer in the world, and has been growing corn since the 1550s. However, I also know the cultural stigmas surrounding corn and that only in the last few decades has it become a somewhat accepted vegetable. None of these facts changes the point that Vichyssoise is a leek and potato soup. 

Each time he kept explaining that a vichyssoise was a warm corn chowder I laughed on the inside....and of course, I ordered it. I actually had the audacity to call the front desk and ask them what the soup of the day was. They told me it was a corn bisque with lobster. Close enough. The soup was closer to a bisque than a chowder. Our waiter had to have been new. Either way, I was amused. The soup conundrum kept me laughing for the rest of day. 

Okay, so none of that has to do with ice cream, and I can see no way to segue into it. So, I won't. 

Cheers!

Pumpkin Ice Cream 

2 eggs

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

1 tsp. nutmeg

pinch of kosher salt

1 cup pumpkin puree 

2 cups cream

1 cup whole milk 

15 small gingerbread cookies

3 tablespoons melted butter

In a stand mixer combine the eggs and sugar.  Beat for one minute until light and fluffy. 

Gently mix in the cream, milk, pumpkin and seasonings. 

Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker. Allow the ice cream to churn until finished and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions, or into an gingerbread pie crust to freeze. 

To make a gingerbread crust simply crumble gingerbread cookies and drizzle some melted butter onto the crumbs. Mix together and press into a pie mold. Layer ice cream over top and allow to chill until just set. Serve immediately. 

Gingerbread Ice Cream

Easily my favorite of the holiday ice creams I have made, this gingerbread ice cream is full of all the spicy goodness of molasses and cinnamon. I have to say I like it better than gingerbread itself!

Okay, okay, so the cutesy little gingerbread mittens may be just a smidge too adorable. I love them. I simply love them. Not to mention how much fun I had decorating them. It's a shame though that I didn't actually make the gingerbread so I don't have a recipe to share with you! All I did was decorate the lovely little cookies! So sad. 

As it turns out I realize I've never made a true gingerbread house. I've made the houses out of graham crackers sure, but it's just not the same. A few years ago my cousins held a gingerbread house decorating contest with my mother and I invited over to be the judges. It was amazing! They had a whole gingerbread neighborhood! Between two parents and their five children (all full grown adults mind you) and their spouses it was a sight to be seen! I tried to convince some of my friends into holding a gingerbread house contest....they weren't up for it! LAME! I miss my family. Two weeks and I'll be home with them! 

But, until I'm home with them at least I have ice cream! Not as good as family, but I'll take it! This gingerbread ice cream is easily my favorite of the holiday ice creams. Peppermint is a definite second, unless we count the Mexican Hot Chocolate Ice Cream as a holiday ice cream....it's a bit of a stretch but it's so good I just want to include it! 

Enjoy!  

Gingerbread Ice Cream

2 eggs

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons molasses

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. fresh ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp. cloves

pinch kosher salt

2 cups cream

1 cup milk 

In a stand mixer combine the eggs and sugar.  Beat for one minute until light and fluffy. 

Gently mix in the cream, milk, molasses, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. 

Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker. Allow the ice cream to churn until finished and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Eggnog & Snickerdoodle Ice Cream Sandwiches

Cinnamon Snickerdoodles are the perfect compliment to Eggnog Ice Cream! A fantastic holiday treat! 

What a week! The thing about working in fundraising is that this is CRUNCH time. Yesterday at work we had a fun problem....our database refusing to do anything we asked it to! How wonderful it is to not be able to pull any of our donors names and mail them when we really need to the most! 

By this point in my fundraising career I simply find it humorous. All I can do it sit back, laugh, and play Queen's I want to break Free loudly....because really, I do! Every December the president of our organization has a panic attack, my boss has to deal with it, and I get to deal with him! Then the CPA starts asking questions, the auditor wants to do the taxes.....and I just want to sit in the corner and remind myself it's the holidays....a time of happiness....and joy.....well, at least it is in the stories. 

Yesterday was the day that I want to pull an Office Space on our database. If I knew how I would. The irony of it all is that even if I could beat up a computer program.....it wouldn't be able to work any worse than it already does. 

Sad. 

So, here's to hoping that today's work day goes better! My fingers are crossed for working computers and the ability to do the job I am paid to do.............and in the event that it doesn't work out, at least be able to surf the internet to bide the time until the IT guy fixes it. :) 

Since the work day had most of my office craving a drink, it seemed only fitting to go home and indulge in some lovely eggnog ice cream. I made mine without the rum since I'm not much of a rum person, but if you want/need it add no more than three tablespoons! 

Enjoy!

Eggnog Ice Cream

3 cups half and half

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

7 large egg yolks

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

(3 tablespoons of rum if you like)

Scald one cup of half and half along with the salt over medium heat in a medium sauce pan. Remove from heat. 

In a stand mixer whisk together the yolks and sugar until light and fluffy, then gradually pour the scalded half and half down the side of the bowl as the mixer is still going. 

Pour the mixture back into the sauce pan, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until the mixture has thickened and will coat the back of the spoon. Remove from heat, and pour through a fine mesh sieve into a clean bowl. Add in the remaining half and half, vanilla and nutmeg. Chill the custard thoroughly. About two hours. 

Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker. Allow the ice cream to churn until finished and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Snickerdoodles

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1/2 cup shortening

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

2 3/4 cup flour

2 tsp. cream of tartar

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. kosher salt

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon (Vietnamese preferably)

Preheat the oven to 400. 

In a stand mixer combine butter, shortening, sugar, and eggs. Beat until thoroughly mixed. 

In a separate bowl mix the flour, cream on tartar, soda and salt. Add to the butter mixture in the stand mixer. Mix thoroughly. 

Shape dough by rounded teaspoons into balls. Mix the cinnamon and sugar together and roll the balls in the mixture. Place two inches apart on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes. 

OR

Roll the dough out between two sheets of parchment paper. Pull the top sheet of parchment paper off and sprinkle the cinnamon and sugar over top. Place the parchment paper with cookie dough on it, onto a baking sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until dough is baked through. 

Allow dough to cool, and cut using cookie cutters or into bars. 

To Assemble the Ice Cream Sandwiches: 

To make the ice cream sandwiches scoop a bit of ice cream onto one snickerdoodle and sandwich it with another!  OR If you are crazy like me and decided to go with the cookie cutters.....hold the cookie cutter so it lines up with an overturned cookie and press ice cream into the cookie cutter. Gently press the ice cream down as you pull the cookie cutter up (it takes some practice). Put another cookie on top and freeze until hardened!