Hot Fudge Sundaes!

A couple of weeks back, the Wall Street Journal ran a big article about ice cream sundaes.  You know The Wall Street Journal, right?  That iconic publication which tells you everything you want to know about the financial news, with a healthy dollop of food thrown in for good measure?  OK, so I'm probably a little off kilter looking for the food news in the WSJ.  Tell me something new.

Back to ice cream.  This article said that the perfect sundae should have texture, ice cream, sauce, maybe some fruit and maybe whipped cream and sprinkles.  Terrific!  Gotcha!  And they had a recipe for your texture: Shortcake Crumbles!

SHORTCAKE CRUMBLES

2 cups flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt or kosher salt
6 tbsp cold butter
1 egg
1/2 c. buttermilk or sour milk
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract.

Stir together the flour, powder, soda and salt.  Cut the butter in 1/2" cubes and cut into the dry ingredients, or pulse together in a food processor.  Stir in the egg, buttermilk, brown sugar and vanilla with a fork.  Line a big baking sheet with parchment and drop the shortcake onto the parchment in 1" to 2" diameter crumbles.  Bake at 400F for 12 to 15 minutes.  Cool on the baking sheet, break into bite sized crumbles and serve dessert!  (These would also be an excellent base for strawberry shortcake.)

And from my 365 Great Chocolate Desserts cookbook, I give you the perfect topping for your ice cream sundae:

DARK CHOCOLATE FUDGE SAUCE

1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated white sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
pinch of salt
3/4 cup heavy cream*
3 tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla extract

Stir together the sugars, cocoa powder and salt in a large microwavable bowl.  Stir in the cream.  Microwave on high for 1-1/2 to 2 minutes, or until well mixed, stirring once.  Cook another 1 to 2 minutes, until the sauce is bubbly and all the sugar is dissolved.  Stir in the butter and vanilla extract and serve hot.  Can be refrigerated and reheated. 

*Note that I had to use about a cup of cream to get the sugars and cocoa powder to form anything other than an ugly gloppy ball of brown.  So don't worry if that happens to you; it's not fatal.

Ryan loved his sundaes with the shortcake crumbles; Mark grumbled that they were just weird.  But you all know and love Mark by now for the grumbler that he is.

Hope you all have a great weekend!  The baby granddaughter is coming on Sunday to spend a week with us, so you know everything around here will be happy!

Orange Sherbet

....because what says "Feed me ice cream!" like a chilly September day, when autumn is definitely on the way?

I was browsing through my Good Housekeeping cookbook (copyright 1986, BTW), and found a section on frozen desserts.  One of the first entries was orange sherbet.  I do love sherbet, and orange is my favorite, so I decided that meant that my dearly beloved also wanted orange sherbet.  Yes, that's how it works around here: If I want something, that means he wants it  And vice versa.  It's worked out pretty well for the past 33 years, so I see no reason to change the system.  Anyway, the recipe you've been waiting for all summer (or, for Carol and Hsin-Yi Down Under, and Mickle in NZ, a welcome to summer)....

ORANGE SHERBET

1 cup milk
1 envelope unflavored gelatine
1-1/2 cups sugar
3/4 tsp salt
4 cups cold milk
1/2 cup frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tbsp very finely chopped orange peel, optional
4 drops yellow food coloring, optional
2 drops red food coloring, optional

Put the 1 cup of milk in a sauce pan, and sprinkle the gelatine over it.  Let it sit for a minute or 2 to soften.  Put the saucepan on a burner set to medium heat, and stir gently with a wire whisk to dissolve the gelatine.  Add the sugar 1/2 cup at a time, stirring and heating until each addition is dissolved.  Stir in the salt and remove from the heat.  Let the mixture sit away from the heat for 5 minutes (that's a good time to gather the other ingredients).  Whisk in the remaining milk, then the orange juice concentrate, lemon juice, and, if desired, the orange peel and food coloring.  Whisk until well combined.  Let the mixture sit in the refrigerator for an hour or so until it's cold again, then whisk to recombine (it will have begun to separate).  From there, proceed one of two ways:  Either process in your ice cream maker per the manufacturer's direction, or pour into a shallow baking pan, cover with plastic wrap, and put in the freezer.  Stir with your whisk every half hour or so to break up the ice crystals (so the sherbet will be smooth).  When it's "soft serve" consistency, transfer your sherbet to the storage container you're going to keep it in (my favorite is the Pampered Chef batter bowl, which has a nice solid handle) and let it harden completely.

I changed this recipe from its original format to use orange juice concentrate instead of orange juice, and it really increased the flavor of the sherbet.  I also added food coloring so my husband couldn't gripe that it wasn't the right color.  And, I assure you, it was delicious.  What a great way to celebrate the end (or beginning) of summer!

Peach Ice Cream

We're headed into the last 2 weeks of summer. It's been a lovely summer, but gone by entirely too fast for my tastes. So, here's a little something I concocted to keep the flavors of summer around a little bit longer. I couldn't find a recipe I liked, so I put together something I thought would fill the bill.

PEACHES AND CREAM ICE CREAM

1-1/2 cups peach slices (fresh or frozen), grated
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup brown sugar
1-1/2 cups hot milk
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 egg whites
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup sugar

Melt 1/4 cup butter in a sauce pan. Add the peach slices, salt, cornstarch and brown sugar, and cook 5 to 10 minutes. Microwave the milk to heat it.

Beat the egg yolks for a minute. Add the 1/2 cup sugar, and beat until light. With the mixer at low speed, slowly beat in the hot milk. Combine with the peaches, and cook for another minute or 2. Remove from the heat, add the vanilla extract and 3/4 cup cream to the mixture. Chill for at least 3 hours, and up to 2 days, until very cold.

Beat the egg whites with cream of tartar, vanilla and 1/4 cup sugar until stiff. Set aside in the fridge until the custard base is cool. Beat the remaining cream with the remaining vanilla and sugar, and put that in the fridge as well.

When the custard base is cold, put the egg whites and cream into your ice cream maker, turn it on for a minute to combine, then add the custard and process according to your machine's directions. If you have no ice cream maker, use a whisk to stir the whipped cream and egg whites into the custard base, then put it into the freezer, stirring with the whisk every half hour or so, until the ice cream sets.
This was good, but the peach flavor still wasn't that strong. I notice this a lot with homemade ice cream, the flavor not being intense enough. I'm thinking of hunting down some peach extract and trying this again; does anyone have any ideas? I'm getting tired of the flavors never being quite strong enough. That's my gripe. But Ryan and my daughters quite loved this ice cream. So maybe it's not as bad as I think.

Butterscotch Swirl Ice Cream

I'm a plain food kind of girl. Alway have been. But one thing I do love is butterscotch. So, after I made my new, wonderful French Vanilla ice cream, I thought I'd see about making Butterscotch Swirl, a close second on the favorites list. It turned out to be pretty easy: make butterscotch sauce and mix it into the ice cream. You've just got to love easy.

BUTTERSCOTCH SAUCE

1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup light corn syrup
dash of salt
4 tbsp unsalted butter
1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp lemon juice

In a sauce pan, stir together the brown sugar, cream, corn syrup and salt; heat to a simmer, and cook until the sugar is melted. Remove from the heat, stir in the butter until it melts, and cool for 5 minutes. Stir in the vanilla extract and lemon juice. Makes about 2 cups, and can be used warm or cool.

BUTTERSCOTCH SWIRL ICE CREAM

1 recipe French Vanilla ice cream
1 recipe butterscotch sauce

Make the ice cream. When it's soft-set, drizzle the fully cooled butterscotch sauce over the ice cream and stir in. Note: this would work best with 3 hands, so you'll need a helper. Maybe it could be put in during the last minute that the ice cream processor is doing its thing, but I didn't try it. Freeze until the ice cream's firm.
Of course, you can drizzle still more butterscotch sauce over your ice cream for extra flavor!

What I was Cooking.

Some of you commented on my cooking in a white dress. Well, that's pretty normal, although when I'm cooking messier foods, I wear an apron. Remember, I'm the girly-girl who hasn't worn pants since August of 1983.

So, what was I making on a hot summer afternoon while wearing a white dress?

FRENCH VANILLA ICE CREAM

1-1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup whipping cream
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
2" vanilla bean
2 tbsp butter
2 egg whites
1 tbsp sugar
1 cup whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp sugar

Heat the milk and cream in a sauce pan until it just simmers. Meanwhile, beat the egg yolks until well combined, then add the sugar, cornstarch and salt; beat until thick and very light yellow in color. Split the vanilla bean and scrape the black powder inside it into the egg yolks, and beat a minute more. Put the outside of the bean into the simmering milk. Pour a little of the hot milk into the egg yolks with the mixer running at low speed, then return the pan to the stove, add all of the egg yolk mixture, and heat to a simmer; cook until it thickens somewhat. Stir in the butter, and chill for a few hours.

Beat the egg whites with 1 tbsp sugar until stiff peaks form. Whip the remaining cup of cream with the vanilla extract and 1 tbsp of sugar. Set both aside in the refrigerator until the custard is cooled.

When the custard is cooled, put the whipped cream and egg whites into the bowl of your ice cream maker, turn it on, pour in the custard base as it's running, and process according to the manufacturer's directions. If you don't have an ice cream maker, use a whisk to stir the egg whites and whipping cream, in that order, into the custard base, then freeze for several hours, stirring about once an hour until it firms up.

The egg whites keep this a little softer than most homemade ice cream, and it has a lot of flavor. I assure you that this will be reappearing in my freezer soon!

Frozen Lemon Souffle

It's hot everywhere now. So I know you're all looking for a frozen dessert that's pretty easy and quite delectable. I have it for you. Best of all, it requires no cooking, not even the microwave. Now that is the perfect summer dessert!

I made a strawberry chiffon pie last Thursday night, and my grocery order arrived Friday, with its usual 15 dozen eggs. That led me to wonder if I could make some kind of frozen Lemon Chiffon dessert. After hunting around for a while, I found the basis for this in a cookbook I got at last spring's book sale, changed it up a bit, and served it to rave reviews. I wouldn't be surprised if there's clamoring for me to make it again in a day or 2.

FROZEN LEMON SOUFFLE

9 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
zest of 1 lemon, finely chopped
1/2 cup lemon juice
4 egg whites
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 tsp lemon extract
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/4 tsp lemon extract

Beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until foamy. Add 1/4 tsp lemon extract and 1/4 cup sugar and beat until it forms stiff peaks. Set aside.

Beat the cream with the remaining lemon extract until stiff. Set aside

Beat the Egg yolks until they stat to thicken. Add the cup of sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, and beat until thick and fluffy, and the sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes. Beat in the lemon juice and zest. Beat the whipped cream into this mixture. Finally, gently whisk in the egg whites in 3 or 4 additions. Pour into a greased souffle dish, and freeze until solid. (The original recipe called for 4 hours, but I found it took about 6 hours to harden.)

If you like lemon, you will love this dessert. I'll be serving hubby the last of it tonight, and I promise you he'll be whining as if someone kicked him and his dog if I don't make more tomorrow!

Happy Monday, everyone!

Cranberry Sherbet

What says frozen confection more than 22 degree January nights? Well, it seemed warm by comparison to sub-zero temperatures. And I needed to use this jellied cranberry sauce. Really, I did!

CRANBERRY SHERBET

1-1/2 cups jellied cranberry sauce
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg white, beaten stiff
1/2 cup cream, whipped

Beat the cranberry sauce with the orange juice and sugar until well combined. Put in the freezer about an hour, until slushy. Stir in the beaten egg white and whipped cream, combining well, and process in your ice cream maker, or return to the freezer, stirring every hour or so until it's pretty solid.

Slice some banana on top if you want to feel like you're eating a really healthy dessert!

This is a really easy ice cream to make, not even requiring any fancy equipment. The recipe came from my 1950s Fannie Farmer cookbook, and the introduction to it says it's great as an accompaniment to a chicken or turkey dinner. I have the feeling Mr. Farmer wrote that, and when I read it to my dearly beloved, he said, "So, what's wrong with sherbet as a side dish?" I rest my case.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Earl Grey Tea Ice Cream

Do you like tea?
Do you like honey?
Do you like ice cream?
Are you on a diet?

Only kidding. I don't know any woman over the age of 25 who isn't on a diet, and men don't worry as we do.

Seriously, this ice cream is much lower calorie than that which I normally produce, and, therefore, "diet-ish". Just like the cake earlier this week, only more diet-ish. Really.

EARL GREY TEA ICE CREAM

2 tbsp tea leaves, Earl Grey or some other strong black tea
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup honey
1 egg yolk
1 tsp cornstarch
3/4 cup cream
1-1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup orange juice

Pour the boiling water over the tea leaves and let it sit for 15 minutes. Strain. While the tea is still strong, whisk in the honey, egg yolk and cornstarch. Cook in the microwave for 2 to 5 minutes (depending on how fast yours goes), stirring every 30 seconds, until the mixture begins to puff up. OR, for Pam and other ice cream non-cookers, just whisk in the honey and skip the egg yolk and cornstarch, and don't cook it. It'll just be a different in texture, I promise. Whisk in the milk and cream, and then the orange juice, and chill for about 3 hours. Process according to your ice cream maker's directions.
If you don't have an ice cream maker, don't whisk in the cream. Chill the mixture in the freezer until it starts to turn slushy, beat the cream and whisk it into the base. Then freeze it until it's solid. It'll work fine, I promise.

See? Little cream, less milk. Diet-ish.

Word of warning: If you don't like a strong honey flavor, use 1/4 cup honey and 1/4 cup white sugar. Then just stir the sugar in with the boiling water and tea leaves so it dissolves. And there you go! A cup of tea along with your ice cream; what could be better?
Have a great weekend, everyone!

Orange Cream Ice Cream

This is one fabulous ice cream. It tastes just like a Dreamsicle, which several of you mentioned after reading about my daughters' orange concoction on Wednesday.

I know some of you don't like making cooked custard base for ice cream. I have one word for you: Microwave. Really. It works. Try this.

First, if you don't have the Pampered Chef's 2 quart batter bowl, hop on over to visit my friend Chan and order one. It is perfect for ice cream. I stumbled upon it purely by accident, and I assure you, it works for every single step of the ice cream process. Actually, I have two, so I can have plenty of ice cream handy. And, now, you're ready to make....

ORANGE CREAM ICE CREAM

1-1/2 cups sugar
1 cup orange juice
2 egg yolks
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp orange extract
1/2 cup frozen orange juice concentrate
1/4 cup whipping cream
3/4 cup milk
Zest from 1 orange, finely chopped
2 cups whipping cream

In your Batter bowl or a suitable container, stir together the orange juice and sugar. Microwave 1 to 2 minutes, until hot. Meanwhile, beat the egg yolks with the cornstarch and orange extract (lemon extract can be substituted in a pinch) until thick and light colored. When the orange juice is hot, pour a little into the egg yolk mix and stir together. Pour the egg yolk mixture into the orange juice mixture, whisk together, and microwave 2 to 3 minutes, stirring every 15 to 30 seconds, until the mixture is hot, as evidenced by it puffing up within its container. It will thicken as it heats. Remove the hot mixture from the microwave, and whisk in the orange zest, 4 ounces of cold (or even frozen) orange juice concentrate, 1/4 cup cold cream and the milk. Place the mixture in the freezer to chill about 3 hours. 15 to 20 minutes before you're ready to process the ice cream, whip the remaining 2 cups of cream until it's softly whipped, and put that in the freezer for about 15 minutes. After that time, stir the unsweetened whipped cream into the orange custard base with a whisk, and process according to your ice cream maker's directions. (If you want your ice cream bright orange instead of yellowish, use food coloring. It seems that all ice cream comes out pretty much the same color without food coloring, doesn't it?)

If you don't have an ice cream maker, you can put the combination back in the freezer, and stir it with a whisk every 30 minutes or so until it's soft set, to prevent ice crystals from forming.

Note that this ice cream is really creamy, with the texture of ice cream from a dairy. I'm going to do further experimentation, but I believe this is thanks to the cornstarch. Since it's early August and still hot, I believe I will have many taste testers who can be beaten into trying my experiments, and will have more luscious flavors for you soon!

Meanwhile, make sure you go get that Pampered Chef Batter Bowl from Chan, if you haven't done so, and make yourself some ice cream! Have a great weekend, everyone.

Vanilla Bean!

I was really excited about all of the spices sent by Debbie, but the vanilla bean was the most exciting of all. I've seen plenty of people writing about using vanilla bean, but haven't ever purchased any. After this fun adventure, I'll be changing that!

Just in case any of you had a notion that I might be a fun and exciting person, I'm here to dispel that thought. My favorite ice cream is French Vanilla. You can keep your pricy, fancy Ben & Jerry's flavors; I want the plain, boring, solid, reliable French Vanilla. Breyer's was always just fine with me.

But this is even better. Try this; you will simply adore it.

FRENCH VANILLA ICE CREAM

1 cup whole milk
4 egg yolks
1 tsp cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
2" vanilla bean
1/2 cup cold heavy cream
1-1/2 cups heavy cream

In the microwave heat the milk until very warm. Meanwhile, beat the egg yolks with the cornstarch and sugar until thick and light colored. Slice the vanilla bean open, and scrape all the black powdery substance out of it. Lay the bark aside. Pour some of the warm milk into the yolk mixture, then scrape all of it into the milk container. Microwave again, stirring with a whisk every 15 seconds, until the mixture puffs up in your container. Whisk the 1/2 cup cold cream into the milk/egg yolk mixture, and place in the freezer about 2 hours, until it just begins to freeze around the edges. See the little black vanilla speckles in here? Yum. About 15 minutes before the milk mixture is cold, whip the remaining 1-1/2 cups of cream until it's soft, and place that in the freezer also. After 15 minutes, remove both the milk mixture and the cream, stir together with a whisk, and process according to your ice cream maker's directions. If you don't have an ice cream maker, return them to the freezer, and stir with the whisk to break up ice crystals every 30 minutes or so, until it's "soft serve" consistency.

This ice cream is creamy. It's sinfully delicious. Did I tell you that vanilla is my favorite flavor?

And having seen this suggestion many times, I stuck my vanilla bean bark in a small jar, with 3/4 cup of sugar. It smelled like vanilla after only a few hours. I'm looking forward to trying it in tea, and maybe cooking, too! Any other suggestions?

Happy Peach Ice Cream Day!

Actually, Peach Ice Cream Day is tomorrow, so you all have time to join in the celebration. Louise, thanks for that joyous little tidbit. I never find myself celebrating things at the right time, so this was a lucky break!

In my farmer's shipment, I received a good dozen of the most glorious, sweet smelling, tender peaches you can imagine, and I knew they needed to be something special. I hadn't even found Louise's post about Peach Ice Cream Day (although I knew that July was Ice Cream Month, quite appropriately, I might add), but I thought this was something I could dig my spoon into. So, with minimal fuss, try....

PEACHES & CREAM ICE CREAM

6 peaches, about 2 pounds, cut into chunks, stones removed
1/4 cup sugar
1-1/2 cups milk
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups cream

Place the peach chunks into the food processor and whirl until they're very finely chopped. Technically, I think you might be required to take the skin off, but I thought that since I'd washed them, I saw no reason not to add some healthful fiber to my ice cream. No one noticed. Sorry, I digress. After you've pulverized the peaches for a while, sprinkle on the 1/4 cup sugar, whirl a little longer to get the sugar and peaches blended, and let the mix sit for about an hour. (While the hour passes, eat a couple of the extra peaches you bought. You know you want to. I did.) After the time has elapsed, whisk the remaining sugar into the milk, combining well. Whisk in the vanilla and cream, then gently stir in the peach mixture, and process in your ice cream freezer according to the manufacturer's directions.
If you don't have an ice cream maker, put the mixture in a nice round bowl, put it in the freezer for about an hour, take out and stir with a whisk to break up the ice crystals, and return to the freezer. Do this again about an hour thereafter, then reduce the time between stirrings to 30 minutes. It will take about 4 hours, but you will get to sample your ice cream as it freezes to be certain it's behaving properly. I've been told cooking calories (which would include freezing calories) don't count against your diet. Honest.

My daughter's friend came for dinner last night, and was amazed to find the homemade ice cream in the freezer. Of course, I fed her some, since she said she'd never had any. She loved this. So did everyone else, including my infamous picky eaters.
So, you need to get yourself some Peach Ice Cream ingredients, so you can join in the celebration tomorrow! Have a Peachy weekend!

Maple Delight

I found this recipe (sort of) in my late-50's vintage Ladies' Home Journal Cookbook. It wasn't supposed to be ice cream; it was supposed to be folded together when partially frozen, and finished in freezer trays. Yeah, I'm a rebel, disregarding frozen dessert rules. *sigh* Boring! I know; I've been told.

This is the kind of ice cream recipe Pam likes: no cooked custard base. Truth be told, I prefer not to have to think hours ahead to, "Gee, maybe I'd like some fresh ice cream in, oh, about 9 hours..." So I'm with Pam on this one; anyone else joining in?

MAPLE DELIGHT DESSERT

1 cup pancake syrup (like Log Cabin) OR
1/2 cup pure maple syrup PLUS 1/2 cup corn syrup (which is what I used)
1 cup water
4 tbsp buttermilk powder OR 1 cup buttermilk and no water
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 cup whipping cream, whipped (makes about 2 cups)
Whisk together the syrup and buttermilk (or water and powder, which is what I used). Add the lemon juice. Meanwhile, whip the cream. Into the bowl of your ice cream maker place the whipped cream, then add the syrup/buttermilk blend with the machine running. Process according to the manufacturer's directions. Or, follow the original directions, freeze the syrup mix until it begins to crystallize, whisk it into the cream, and return to freezer.

Either way, this is a great treat. It's sweet enough, but with a nice tang to it. My kids were not overly thrilled with it, but my dearly beloved was. In fact, I served him a sundae made with this, 2 tbsp of pure maple syrup and a good handful of chopped walnuts. He wanted more. I told him not to be piggy, because he'd want it another night, too. The only downside to this recipe is that it's a small batch. Feel free to double it. After all, as Pam has said on more than one occasion, Every season is Ice Cream season. Or something like that.

Pumpkin Pie and Honey Nut Ice Cream

I persist in my quest for pie crust perfection, although I've chosen not to bore you regularly with said quest. However, I have found the tool which satisfies the engineer, or maybe perfectionist (or perhaps the touch of OCD) in me. I can roll my pie crust out to the proper size. Jeff Bezos had my answer.

It's a silicone mat. It has concentric circles with the sizes labeled. See? Just rolling, and without any picking, cutting or excessive fussing, I got my pie crust to 11" diameter. I have determined that's the size I need for my beautiful, huge, deep pie plates.

And with this lovely silicone mat, I can pick it up, flip the pie plate over my hand containing said mat and pie crust, and, voila! Crust is in pan! Just look at the first pumpkin pie of the season; isn't it lovely?

Of course, you can't have pumpkin pie without either whipped cream or ice cream; my dudes, naturally, want ice cream. The little ad line at the top of my gmail one day was advertising somebody's Honeybee ice cream to save the bees. Now, I don't know how eating ice cream will do anything other than enrich and enlarge my rump, but honey sweetened ice cream seemed like a good idea. And nuts go with honey, right? So here's my contribution to the use of honey and appreciation of honeybees.

HONEY NUT ICE CREAM

2 cups milk
3 egg yolks
2 cups heavy cream
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

In a bowl, combine 1 cup milk, sugar and honey; microwave until warm, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in the egg yolks and cook another 3 to 5 minutes, until the mixture simmers, whisking every 15 to 30 seconds. Cook 1 more minute, stirring every 15 seconds. Stir in the balance of the milk and cream, and chill. When the mixture's cold, stir in the vanilla and pour into your ice cream maker; process according to manufacturer's directions. In the last 2 minutes of processing, add the nuts. This ice cream doesn't get nearly as hard as some other varieties, although, truthfully, the Pampered Chef ice cream scoop is the most wonderful one I've ever used. (I can put you in touch with our friendly blog-neighborhood Pampered Chef lady if you really want one!)

Ice cream and pie: what could be better?

Buttered Almond Ice Cream

You know your weekend won't be serene when your daughter goes to her best friend's house to sleep over on Thursday night, then calls at 11:30PM and says, "The wheel came off my car in the Waffle House parking lot." Yes, she said that. Of course, I couldn't remain sane without AAA, so she called the tow truck and had the car taken to one of my favorite repair shops. A miracle occurred, and Bobby had time Friday morning; the front ball joints were replaced before noon that day. At under $250, I felt lucky. Of course, the rest of the weekend was spent with her whirling around me trying to get everything packed to return to WVU, Thor, knowing something was up, was whirling around, and the house was a circus. So, I did what any sane person would do: I sewed and made ice cream.

This dress, and one of identical fabric except that the background is dark olive. And I look like crap in this picture, because it was about 4AM - sorry.

I also made an A-line skirt of the same fabric as the dress above. The olive skirt is cut but not sewn.

But you really want my ice cream. I promise.

BUTTERED ALMOND ICE CREAM

2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup slivered almonds
3-1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
1 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp almond extract

Melt the butter on a cookie sheet, then stir the almonds into it. Toast the almonds at 325 for 5 to 8 minutes, stirring every 3 minutes or so, until they're nicely toasted. Set the sheet aside to let the almonds cool. Meanwhile, combine the milk, cream, and brown sugar. Beat vigorously with a whisk until well combined, then stir in the almond extract. Pour into your ice cream maker, and process according to the manufacturer's directions. A minute or 2 before the ice cream is ready, add the almonds and butter. Just scrape the whole thing off the sheet into the ice cream machine. When the processing's finished, put it in the freezer until you're ready to eat it. Or, if you just adore the smell of almond extract, set a little aside to enjoy right away.

I also made an orange sauce for this. Actually, it was for an applesauce snack cake, but who's counting? 1/2 cup brown sugar stirred with 1 tsp cornstarch and 1/2 cup orange juice, then microwaved until it thickens, less than 3 minutes. My dearly beloved greatly enjoyed it.

Sadly, we're out of both ice cream and sauce. Something else will have to appear soon. And as long as all remains calm in my little corner of the world, I'll be back tomorrow! Hope you all had wonderful weekends, and no one else lost a wheel from their cars!

Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

If there's anything better on a warm summer evening than ice cream, it's cheesecake. Strawberry cheesecake. When the kids went strawberry picking last week, they stopped at a local dairy farm on the way home (OK, they went a few miles out of the way, I admit it) and raved about the strawberry cheesecake ice cream they had. Of course, I thought that if the farm could do it, so could I. I had no recipes to follow, of course, but I've learned to wing it well enough.

STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE ICE CREAM

1 pint strawberries, pureed
8 ounces cream cheese
1 cup sugar
1 cup cream
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
dash salt
about 1/2 cup coarsely chopped strawberries

Puree the strawberries in the food processor; add the sugar and let it sit in the processor for 15 minutes. Add the cream cheese, cut into 8 chunks, one chunk at a time. Process to combine thoroughly. In a bowl or pitcher, mix together the cream, milk, vanilla and salt; whisk in the cream cheese mixture. Whisk together, then add the chunks of strawberries and process in your ice cream maker until done. Let it freeze for a few hours before serving, if you can wait.

This was dubbed "delectable". Sadly, I used the end of our 3 baskets of strawberries for this. We shall see when (if?) the kids decide to go get more, since the girls were griping about the lack of strawberries in the house.

(Sabina, contact me here.)

Frozen Yogurt and Cucumber Salad

Two recipes in one day. Now I'm sure you'll all feel that you got a real bang for your buck here. Or else, you'll realize that you get what you pay for....anyway...

Last week, my farmer had an introductory special on Greek (drinkable) yogurt, so I bought a quart. I tried a bit of it, but it wasn't exactly my cup of tea, so I had to find something else to do with it. Since my girls were home, frozen yogurt seemed like a no-brainer. This is as easy as life gets, ladies and gents, and it has a nice little tang to it, too!

FROZEN STRAWBERRY YOGURT

3-1/2 cups Greek yogurt
1/2 cup whipping cream
2 cups fresh or frozen strawberries, pureed to make 1 cup
1 cup sugar

Stir it all together, put it in your ice cream machine, and drool in anticipation while you process according to manufacturer's directions. Put in the freezer for a few hours and drool some more. This will be the hit of your Memorial Day picnic or midnight snack!

This recipe is absolutely the only idea I have ever taken from my mother's cooking. She put chopped raw onions in hers, which I despise, but aside from that, it's pretty much the same as hers.

CUCUMBER SALAD

2 peeled, sliced cucumbers
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tbsp white vinegar
1 tbsp ground pepper
1/4 cup fresh or dried chopped chives

Whisk together the mayo and vinegar; add the pepper and chives. Stir in the cucumbers, and refrigerate for several hours to allow the flavors to meld. This is a great side dish; of course, I tripled it to have enough for everyone here!
And this made me laugh. My 3 daughters and 2 of the big sons drove to Denville, NJ to catch a train to NYC for the day. One of the sons bought this for his sister.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Maple Walnut Has Been Displaced.....

...as the greatest ice cream ever. Ah, how fickle is the heart of man.

Last week, when I went to the book sale, I found a "Weekend Cookbook". Now, unless company's coming, I really don't get why I want to cook more on the weekend, instead of doing what I want. But that's a philosophical difference between me and the rest of the world, doubtless exaggerated by the fact that I work from home, and so can just race to the kitchen if inspiration hits. (I found 2 more cookbooks this weekend, so I guess I'm searching for a lot of inspiration.) Anyway, in the Weekend Cookbook was a recipe for strawberry-lemon sherbet. I read it, and promptly changed it a lot. This ice cream was made Friday afternoon, and gone Sunday afternoon, and my dearly beloved is whining at me to make more! more! more! I have to admit that it's outstanding, and relatively low calorie besides. There you go - diet ice cream! Who could ask for more?

STRAWBERRY SHERBET

4 cups frozen strawberries, piled loosely in the measuring cup
1-1/2 cups sugar
3 egg whites
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup milk

Rinse the frozen strawberries, if necessary, to remove any frost from them. Sprinkle 1/2 cup sugar over the berries and let stand to thaw, or microwave for 3 to 5 minutes to thaw. Stir the sugar in completely. Meanwhile, beat the egg whites until stiff with 1/2 cup sugar. When the berries are thawed, puree them with the last 1/2 cup sugar and lemon juice, and chill both the berry puree and egg whites until cold (1 to 3 hours). Stir the milk and cream into the puree, beat this mixture into the egg whites, and turn into your ice cream maker. Process according to manufacturer's directions.

And there you have it. With under 1000 calories in the whole batch, this is as close as one can get to "diet ice cream" and still have excellent flavor. And since I'm currently thawing berries for another batch, at the urging of my dearly beloved, I suppose this may indeed be "the greatest ice cream flavor ever!"

"The Best Ice Cream Ever!"

Well, I probably haven't heard this line before. But so said my dearly beloved when I gave him a bowl of maple walnut ice cream.

Saturday was, as one would like to have every weekend, a picture perfect day. Sunny and 68, birdies singing outside the windows, little boys and dog frolicking in the yard. Of course, that meant only one thing: Make Ice Cream! As Pam says, there's never a wrong time for ice cream, and Saturday seemed even more right than many.

A couple of weeks back, my milkman offered quarts of pure maple syrup for $17.50. Well, I thought, locally produced maple syrup should be dandy! This is what I got. Isn't it beautiful?
Anyway, every time we have taken the kids to a local dairy farm which makes awesome ice cream, my dearly beloved has gone looking for maple walnut ice cream. So, with that lovely mason jar of maple syrup staring at me, inspiration hit. Since my dearly beloved declared this the best ice cream he has ever had, you should all give it a try!

MAPLE WALNUT ICE CREAM

1-1/2 cups milk
2-1/2 cups heavy cream
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup maple syrup
pinch of salt
1 tsp maple extract
1/2 cup toasted chopped walnuts

Toast the walnuts by spreading them on a baking sheet, and cooking at 325F for 4 to 5 minutes, turning once or twice. Set aside to cool, then put them into a bowl and into the freezer.

In a microwavable pitcher, heat 1 cup cream and the sugar for 1 minute. Whisk in the egg yolks, and microwave for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds, until the mixture thickens. Be careful not to let it boil. Stir in the remaining milk, cream, syrup, salt and extract, and chill until cold. Pour into the bowl of your ice cream maker, and process until it's almost done. Add the walnuts from the freezer 1 to 2 minutes before the ice cream is finished.
And rain notwithstanding, you can see out my kitchen window that spring is finally on the way. If we can keep having sunny weekends, my little corner of the world will be a happy place indeed!

Peach Ice Cream

Well, the computer's limping along, able to check emails and connect to the web, but I've spent two miserable days trying to reinstall my business software. A friend dropped by with his son, who's a computer engineer, and who informed me that my hard drive is ancient and cranky. Maybe, he suggested, I should create a new restore disk, format the hard drive, and see if I can get another 6 months or maybe even a year out of it. Yeah, then I'll make tea for the Queen of England. So I bit the bullet, called in a $500 order, and a new one should be here Friday or Monday. I don't know how much I'll be posting between now and then, because, after doing my payroll by hand today, I'm quite irked (to put it mildly).

Anyway, to put myself in better spirits, I made some lovely peaches and cream ice cream. It truly was wonderful, and made me long for summer during the snowstorm that hit us this morning. It's been a great week all around, folks, just magnificent. Well, drool over my ice cream, resolve to make some for yourselves, and maybe be a little envious that I think I'll have another bowl while I watch the evening news tonight.

PEACHES & CREAM ICE CREAM

1 pound frozen peaches, thawed
1 cup sugar
1 cup whole milk
3 cups heavy cream
2 tsp vanilla extract

Chop the peaches in the food processor until they're fairly small pieces. Put in a microwavable measuring cup, stir in half the sugar, microwave until the peaches develop a clear, somewhat thickened sauce around them, stirring every minute or so, then chill the peach mixture. Whisk in the milk, cream, balance of the sugar and vanilla, and put in your ice cream freezer. "Process according to manufacturer's directions," as they say.

Think spring and summer, everyone. Easter's almost here, and that's always a good harbinger of better weather to come!

Not Quite Apple Pie A La Mode

Q: What do you get when you combine a sauce anglaise with this glop?
A: A tribute to the Blond Duck's Pie Week!

Confession being good for the soul, I'll admit once again that I don't do well with pie. Oh, I can make a great graham cracker crumb crust, and fill it with marvelous cream fillings. Regular pie crust sends me running in fear to Pillsbury and their "fit it in your own pie plate and pretend you're competent" crust in the refrigerator case.

My dearly beloved adores pie. His mother was a champion pie baker in her day (although she has refused to cook anything since she was widowed in 1988). She made mountains of cookies, too. At least I can keep up with her in the cake department *sigh*.

All that being said, let me introduce you to Apple Pie Ice Cream. "Marvelous!" proclaimed Ryan with his first bite. His Daddy concurred; they ate a lot.

APPLE PIE ICE CREAM

3 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
3/4 cup sugar
4 egg yolks
1 tbsp vanilla extract
filling:
2 cups shredded apple
2 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp white sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp water

In a microwavable 2 cup measuring cup, combine all the filling ingredients. Microwave 1 minute, stir, and microwave 1 more minute. Set aside to cool.

In a large microwavable bowl (like my Pampered Chef batter bowl), combine the cup of milk with the sugar. Microwave 2 minutes, until the sugar is dissolved. Pour some of the hot milk into the egg yolks and stir, then whisk into the hot milk mix. Microwave another 3 to 4 minutes, stirring every 30 to 45 seconds, until the mixture thickens. Don't let it boil, to keep the eggs from curdling. When it's done, add the cold cream and vanilla; whisk vigorously and put in the refrigerator to chill. (Note, if anyone cares: if you put your cream in the freezer, in 30 minutes the bottom inch will have frozen into a slushy mix, and you'll have to cut the carton open to scrape it out.)

When the custard mix is cold, freeze in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer's directions. A minute before it's finished, spoon the pie filling into the ice cream, let it combine, and scoop into a bowl. Freeze at least 3 hours before serving.

As Ryan said, "Marvelous!" (And, yes, I ate this scoop; it was well worth the calories!)

Happy Mardi Gras, everyone; tonight I'm making a King Cake!