I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for ICE CREAM!

   

I love living on the East coast. There are so many little things that are totally different than things back home in Utah. For instance, the way people just stick a sign out on their front yard and sell things. Every time I drive somewhere I have the opportunity to pull off the side of the road and pick up a few lettuces, or a dozen eggs, or a loaf of bread, or mmmmmmmm, strawberries!!! I was on my way to take Amelia to the doctor when I saw a great big strawberry shaped sign. I had a carful of whiney kids in need of distraction, so I pulled over. It was a really cute farm stand lined with rows of punnets full of tender, juicy, ruby colored strawberries. *sigh* I kind of didn’t want to get back in the car, I just wanted to plop down there on the lawn and stuff myself full of berries until I could get the screaming/whining ringing buzz from the kids out of my head! We’ve gone through half a dozen punnets (yes, I just really like to use that word!) of berries so far. Most of them we’ve just munched through, but I did make this cake of my mom’s. It’s so very, very, very good! Then I made this ice cream which is perfectly ideal for a warm afternoon lounging in the backyard. It is, as the title suggests, old fashioned. Not the smoothest, creamiest ice cream like, say, this one, but a quick, yummy, rustic ice cream that I think you’ll love too.

 

Old Fashioned Strawberry Ice Cream

2 cups strawberries, hulled and halved

3/4 cup of sugar, divided

ice water

1 pint half and half

2 large egg yolks

 

In a medium glass or stainless steel bowl, combine the strawberries and 1/4 cup of the sugar.

Mash those puppies up really, really with a fork or potato masher. You really don’t want big chunks of strawberries left because they will freeze solid and aren’t much fun to encounter in a nice dish of ice cream. Set the strawberry bowl in a bowl of ice water.

In a medium saucepan, bring the half-and-half and 1/2 cup sugar to a simmer, stirring occasionally over medium heat.

In a heatproof bowl, whisk the egg yolks and then gradually whisk in about 1/2 cup of the milk mixture.

Pour the mixture into the saucepan and cook, whisking constantly, over medium heat until steaming hot and frothy, about 3 minutes.

Strain the custard into the bowl of strawberries. Let stand, whisking occasionally until cool.

Pour the cooled custard into the bowl of your ice cream maker. Process for about 20 minutes. If you absolutely can’t wait any longer you can go ahead and eat it now, it will be soft-serve consistency.

For regular ice cream, transfer to an airtight container and freeze for at least 4 hours.

 

 

 

So, I have a quick Works For Me Wednesday tip for you. I used to freeze my ice cream in tupperware containers, which works fine, except that the ice cream tends to get freezer burned around the edges fairly quickly. I’m not sure why, but if you clean out a store-bought ice cream container and freeze your homemade ice cream in it, it tends not to get freezer burn! Sweet!

 

P.S. Please stop by We Are THAT Family to see all the other great tips!

P.P.S. This is my very favorite store-bought ice cream. Oh my goodness.

P.P.P.S. I’m sure if you had the time and inclination you could mod podge your container up all cute-like. I didn’t have the time or inclination :)

P.P.P.P.S. I recently had to replenish my stash of pressed sugar eyeballs. I bought them in bulk and got a great deal, so you can probably expect to see more of them around these parts. We’ve been ‘eyeballing’ everything lately! I do have to say that a mound of scrambled eggs are somewhat disconcerting when they are looking back at you though. On most foods the eyeballs look cute or startled. On scrambled eggs they look insane and horrified. Just thought you should know ;)

Um, My Bad.

Dear Marie,

I really, truly intended to save this in the freezer for your visit. Really. Every time I opened the freezer I would see it and think, 'Marie is going to LOVE this ice cream. I am such a nice daughter in law to make it especially for her!*' And then one day. . . dum, da dum, duuuuuuuum, I thought, 'Ooops, I forgot to cover Marie's ice cream with wax paper. I better try a little of it to make sure it isn't getting any freezer burn.' So I pulled out my miniature scoop and took one tiny little scoop out of the container, put it a dish, and got out a spoon. I took a bite and thought, 'dang! I am so glad I toasted those walnuts!' And. . . . . . . . I don't remember what happened after that.

Hopefully, it won't be so long in between visits next time and I promise to make you a batch next time you're here, but until then here is the recipe. . . .

Maple Nut Ice Cream

2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups cream
1/4 cup sugar
7 egg yolks
1 cup real, genuine maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of salt
1 cup walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped

In a saucepan, scald the milk over medium high heat.
In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar together.
Slowly pour about a cup of the scaled milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly.
Whisk the egg mixture back into saucepan.
Stir constantly with a wooden spoon until the custard coats the back of a spoon.
Strain into a medium bowl and stir in the cream.
Add the syrup, vanilla and salt and mix well.
Cover and chill for about 4 hours.
Churn in an ice cream machine according to machine's directions.
Toss in the chopped walnuts when the ice cream is just about done.
It should be soft-serve ready now, or you can park it in the freezer until hard.

Love,

*just kidding. Sorta. :)

For the Record:

Avocado Ice cream tastes exactly how you think Avocado Ice Cream is going to taste.


I saw this recipe for Guacamole Ice Cream over at Elle's New England Kitchen. She used Alton Brown's avocado ice cream base and added bunches of lovely stuff to it. As soon as I saw it I knew I'd be making it myself, but when the time came I just couldn't bring myself to add all the extras. I wanted to taste the ice cream in its pure, natural state. It took just a couple of minutes to buzz together the ingredients and then into the fridge it went to sit. When it came time to churn, the liquid was a gorgeous avocado green (imagine that!) and very creamy. And it tasted like avocado. I ran it through my little dream machine, I guess expecting some kind of magic to happen in its little drum. I tasted it when it was done. And it tasted like avocado.

Occasionally you will run across the perfect bite of food. You put it in your mouth and something magical happens. You feel all warm and fuzzy and loved and safe and satisfied and happy and inspired. When you put Avocado Ice Cream in your mouth something strange happens. Your tongue completely freaks out and has no idea what signals to send to your brain. You get little fits and starts of signals that peter out because your taste buds aren't quite sure what the hell just happened.

So, if you're feeling daring/curious, here is the recipe. . . .

Avocado Ice Cream
by Alton Brown

12 oz. avocado meat (I used 4)
1 tablespoon lemon juice (If I were making this again I'd go for 2 tablespoons)
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup cream

Peel and pit the avocados.
Put the avocados, lemon juice, milk, and sugar in to blender and puree.
Pour into a medium bowl and whisk in the cream.
Cover and chill for 4-6 hours.
Churn according to your machines instructions.
Serve immediately for soft serve, or freeze at least 3 hours for firmer texture.

And when you've got your ice cream all done, here is the ice cream eating procedure:

1. Open the container and grab some spoons.
2. Look over the expanse of ice cream searching for the precise spot that you can stick your spoon in without some scary looking monster reaching up to pull you into the container.
3. Quickly scoop some up and withdraw your hand. (In case of the monster.)
4. Scrutinize your spoon. Tilt your head to the side. Scrutinize some more.
5. Cautiously put the spoon in your mouth. Make involuntary face.
6. Relax a bit. Realize that nothing just exploded in your mouth. Taste the ice cream.
7. Roll the ice cream around your mouth, looking for the spot on your tongue which will recognize the flavor.
8. Fail at finding the spot.
9. Say: I think this needs . . . . . more sugar. Your partner then says: I think this might need. . . . more lemon.
10. Carefully reach back over the container and snag another scoop before the monster can drag you in.
11. Put the spoon in your mouth and again try to find the taste bud that will know what-the-heck signal to send to your brain.
12. Fail again.
13. Say: This could use. . . . some vanilla? Your partner then says: Maybe it could use . . . . some cinnamon?
14. Scoop up more ice cream . . . . . . .

You know, for an ice cream we didn't particularly care for? We ate quite a lot of it! Sometimes it takes a lot of testing before you can make up your mind. I'm glad I made it because I've wondered for several years now what avocado ice cream tastes like. Now I don't have to wonder anymore.



I gave some to the kid testers and the first thing Reese said upon tasting it was, 'I think this needs some shwoop!' (which is Reese-speak for whipped cream. You know, in a can?)



I told you there was a monster at the end of this post!

Ok, maybe I didn't. Sorry. My bad.

Bad Mood Brownies, now with Recipes!

First of all, since it's Friday, run over here real quick. No, it's okay, I'll wait. . .

Oh good, you're back! And speaking of chocolate, I promised you the recipe for the Chocolate Covered Cherry Brownie Bites I made the other day. For the brownie I turned to my favorite fudgy brownie recipe. It's from Alton Brown and it is sooo good! Word to the wise, that center square of brownie never quite gets all the way done, so don't overbake the brownies on its account. Just cut them like usual and snag that center one for yourself. Plop some ice cream on top and enjoy the ooey gooey chocolatey goodness yourself :)

Alton Brownies
Adapted from I'm Just Here for More Food

1 1/4 cups cocoa powder
boiling water to cover the cocoa
2 sticks (8oz) unsalted butter, melted
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 325.
Prep a mini muffin pan and/or an 8" square pan. (I use two strips of parchment, one going each direction.)
In a medium bowl, steep cocoa in boiling water for 5 minutes. Just keep adding a little water until you get a nice liquid chocolate going on. Maybe a cup worth.
In your mixer, whisk the eggs until light in color and texture.
Whisk melted butter into the chocolate slurry.
In a small bowl, mix the sugars together.
Slowly add the sugar to the eggs.
Add remaining ingredients, altering wet and dry.
Spoon batter into muffin cups and pour the rest into square pan.
Bake the muffin pan for 12-18 minutes. The square pan will take about 45-55 minutes.

The cherry component was this wonderful frozen yogurt that I found on Mike's Table. (I'm totally claiming the cool points too, Mike :)

Mike's Cherry Frozen Yogurt with Chocolate Stracciatella

3 cups cherries
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup greek yogurt (I used my mom's yogurt, which I left sitting in a mesh strainer overnight.)
1 Tbsp cognac (I left this out)
few drops of almond extract
Optional: 1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate (I used a whole bar of Lindt Extra Dark.)

Pit the cherries.
In a pan over medium high heat, stir together the cherries and sugar.
After the cherries release most of their juices, about 10 minutes, remove from heat.
Pour cherry syrup into blender and puree until smooth.
Pour into a bowl set over an ice bath and let cool, about 20 minutes.
Mix in the yogurt, cognac and almond extract and park it in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
Churn in your ice cream machine.
When you're a few minutes out chop the chocolate and melt in the microwave in 30 second bursts.
Let it cool a bit, and then slowly pour it into the churning ice cream, attempting to avoid the beater.
Pour into a freezerproof container and freeze overnight. (Or at least restrain yourself for 4 hours. It's better to wait, but sometimes crises arise. I get it.)

To serve, place a scoop of ice cream on top of each mini-brownie. (My mini scooper is one of my favorite kitchen tools!) I topped it with a little melted chocolate thinned with some cream.

Now I need to take a minute to rave about the stracciatella. I am SO happy to have learned this method of getting chocolate into ice cream! I love mint chocolate chip ice cream, but I rarely bring it home anymore. I went on a taste testing rampage and tried every brand our grocery carries. I cannot remember which it was that didn't have the big, nasty, waxy chunks of chocolate in it!

Anywho, I can't wait to make my own mint chocolate chip and introduce the chocolate with this method. The chocolate ends up in tiny, little, MELTable flakes of goodness instead of massive, rock hard chunks. (Well, there was one big chunk that got caught on the blade, Reese got to eat that.)

Enjoy!

The Best He's Ever Had

I had some extra egg yolks waiting for me in the fridge after the buttercream I tried the other day. I thought, 'custard!' Noooo, ice cream. Ice cream made from custard. I've always wanted to do that, I've heard it makes a much better ice cream, but when it came right down to it I was too lazy and just dumped stuff into my little machine. So I did a little Googling and a little adapting and came up with this. . . .

Lemon Custard Ice Cream

6 egg yolks
6 tablespoons sugar
zest of one lemon
1 cup milk
1 1/2 cup cream
1 teaspoon lemon juice

In a large bowl, beat the yolks, sugar and lemon zest until thick and lemon colored.
Heat the milk to a low simmer in a medium pot over medium low heat.
Temper a bit of the milk into the egg mixture and beat well.
Continue to slowly add the milk until incorporated.
Return mixture back to pot and stir constantly over low heat until mixture coats the back of a spoon.
Pour into a bowl and allow to cool, then stash in the fridge for 4-24 hours.
Whisk in the cream and lemon juice and pour into your ice cream machine.
Churn as usual and freeze for at least 2 hours.

It was fantastic! Sweet and smooth and creamy and lemony. It wasn't really tart, I'm thinking I want to try a sherbet with more of a tart flavor. And next time I make this I think I'll strain out the zest right before it goes into the ice cream machine.

So I gave some to my in-house food critic for a taste test. I was busy with the kids and he was doing schoolwork in the bedroom, so I didn't get to ask him what he thought right away. Later when I did get the chance he said, "it was good." Rave review, huh? And he knows better. I'm looking for a criticism, a compliment, a suggestion, a preference, whatever. More than, "it was good." I cornered him and demanded that he elaborate. "It was the best vanilla ice cream I've ever had." Wow. Really. You may notice that there isn't ANY vanilla in the recipe. Geesh.

Maybe my taste-tester is broken. Maybe I've forced one too many lemon, pine nut or brie concoctions down his throat. (He doesn't particularly care for those things.) Are there any applicants for the job? The requirements are simple: Must be at my beck and call to taste whatever I'm making regardless of personal preference. Must not mind being scrutinized and grilled after the tasting. Must have a good vocabulary, specifically a wide range of adjectives. Applicants with food allergies need not apply. (Telling me you don't care for or can't have a certain thing is just like waving a red flag in front of me and I won't be able to help myself. We could be eating nothing but fresh fruit and grilled meats and Jay will come home and announce that he's starting a low-carb diet. Next thing I know we are up to our elbows in pasta and fresh bread. I swear I'm not intentionally sabotaging his diet plans, something evil comes over me and it just happens!!!) Applications may be sent to tuffetblog@gmail.com.