Category: Food

Strawberry Tart

Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour, unbleached
1/2 cup finely ground almonds
1/3 cup organic sugar
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) organic butter, cut into pieces
1 egg, free-range and organic
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup seedless strawberry jam
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 pints organic strawberries, hulled and sliced

Stir together flour, almonds, sugar, lemon rind and salt in a medium bowl. Cut butter into flour until mixture is the consistency of course crumbs. Whisk together egg and vanilla. Stir into the flour mixture to form a dough. Shape into a disk and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Rub wax paper butter covers on baking sheet to grease. Place dough on baking sheet and pat into a 10-inch circle with an elevated edge. Pierce bottom of dough all over with a fork. Bake about 25 minutes until slightly browned. Cool completely.

Melt jam with lemon juice in a small saucepan over low heat. Spread 1/2 cup of jam mixture over the bottom of the tart shell. Arrange berries on top, cut sides down. Brush with remaining jam mixture.

September 3, 2012
Chocolate S’mores Ice Cream

One of my family’s fondest summer memories is of roasting marshmallows on an open fire. My husband had built a fire pit behind our cabin in Maine, just a few steps away from the lake shore. There was a pile of kindling next to the fire pit, most of it for building the fire; some, the long skinny twigs, for poking a marshmallow at the end of it and roasting. The Chocolate S’mores Ice Cream is an homage to this warm summer memory. Here’s my version of the recipe, based on The Ciao Bella Book of Gelato and Sorbetto: Bold, Fresh Flavors to Make at Home:

Ingredients:
2 cups raw organic whole milk
1 cup raw organic heavy cream
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup organic sugar
1/2 cup ground graham crackers
1/2 cup mini marshmallows

Combine milk and cream in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally so a skin doesn’t form until tiny bubbles form around the edge and the mixture reaches 170 degrees Fahrenheit. Turn off the heat and whisk in the cocoa powder and chocolate chips until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth.

In the meantime, whisk egg yolks in a ceramic bowl until smooth. Slowly whisk in 1/2 cup sugar until well incorporated into a thick pale yellow paste. Slowly pour in the hot chocolate milk mixture while whisking continuously. This is important: The chocolate milk should not be poured into the egg mixture too quickly or you will get scrambled eggs.

Return the egg and chocolate milk custard to the saucepan and cook over low heat. Stir frequently with a wooden spoon until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon. Temperature of the custard should reach 185 degrees Fahrenheit. Do not allow the custard to boil.

Pour the custard through a fine mesh strainer into a clean bowl and let it cool to room temperature. Stir the custard every five minutes until cooled completely. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Also refrigerate mini marshmallows and ground graham crackers.

Prepare ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Churn until thickened into a soft serve consistency. Add the graham crackers and mini marshmallows just before churning ends. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze until firm.

August 8, 2012
Strawberry Ice Cream Premium Recipe

I recently tried this premium recipe for Strawberry Ice Cream from The Ciao Bella Book of Gelato and Sorbetto: Bold, Fresh Flavors to Make at Home. It’s a lot more complicated than the simple Strawberry Ice Cream recipe I previously posted but it’s so much richer and yields a lot more. Here is my version of the recipe:

Ingredients:
2 cups raw organic whole milk
1 cup raw organic heavy cream
4 large egg yolks
3/4 cup organic sugar, separated
1 quart strawberries, hulled and thinly sliced
juice of 1 lemon

Combine milk and cream in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally so a skin doesn’t form until tiny bubbles form around the edge and the mixture reaches 170 degrees Fahrenheit.

In the meantime, whisk egg yolks until smooth. Slowly whisk in 1/2 cup sugar until well incorporated into a thick pale yellow paste. Slowly pour in the hot milk mixture while whisking continuously. This is important: The milk should not be poured into the egg mixture quickly or you will get scrambled eggs.

Return the egg and milk custard to the saucepan and cook over low heat. Stir frequently with a wooden spoon until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon. Temperature of the custard should reach 185 degrees Fahrenheit. Do not allow the custard to boil.

Pour the custard through a fine mesh strainer into a clean bowl and let it cool to room temperature. Stir the custard every five minutes until cooled completely. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

While the custard is cooling, prepare the strawberries: hull and slice thinly. Combine strawberry slices, lemon juice and remaining 1/4 cup of sugar in a medium saucepan. Toss until sugar dissolves and strawberries are well coated. Let it sit for 15 minutes.

Cook the strawberry mixture over medium low heat until strawberries are soft and syrup thickens, about 10 minutes. Transfer the strawberry mixture into a clean bowl and let cool completely. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Blend 3/4 of the strawberry mixture with half of the custard. Pour back and whisk into the remainder of the custard.

Prepare ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Churn until thickened into a soft serve consistency. Add the remaining strawberry mixture just before churning ends. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze until firm.

Enjoy this luxurious treat!

August 6, 2012
Blackberry Sorbet

We just got several pints of sweet juicy blackberries. We ate the first pint the day the berries were picked. The rest of them went into Blackberry Sorbet that will last us for as long as it’s in the freezer. We love it so much; I doubt it will be in there too long. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:
1 cup water
1 cup organic sugar
2 pints blackberries
juice of half a lemon

Combine water and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat, whisking regularly to dissolve sugar into water. Do not bring to a boil. Remove from heat once sugar is completely dissolved in water. Set aside and allow to cool.

While the sugar syrup is cooling, mash blackberries. Add lemon juice and puree in blender. Pour through a sieve into a bowl, whisking to help the blackberry puree come through the sieve more efficiently. Throw away seeds filtered by the sieve.

Pour cooled sugar syrup into blackberry puree and refrigerate at least an hour.

Prepare ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Churn at least 30 minutes or until thickened into a soft serve consistency. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze overnight to ripen into a firm sorbet.

This deep purple Blackberry Sorbet is a decadent after dinner dessert while looking at the summer sunset.

July 16, 2012
Apricot Sorbet

A few days ago I was visiting my aunt and found her apricot tree heavy with fruit. My daughter and I helped ourselves to the ripest ones. “If you touch it and it just gives itself to you, then it’s ready.” We came home with a shopping bag full of ripe apricots. Here’s what I did with them:

Ingredients:
1 cup water
1 cup organic sugar
4 cups pitted and mashed apricots
2 teaspoons lemon juice

Combine water and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium low heat. Whisk occasionally to help dissolve sugar. Once sugar is completely dissolved in the water, remove from heat and pour into a bowl to cool. Cover and refrigerate. While cooling, pit and mash the apricots. Put the mashed apricot in a blender and puree until smooth. Once the syrup is cold, remove from refrigerator. Pour the apricot puree through a mesh sieve into the bowl of syrup. I used a whisk to help the apricot go through the sieve faster. When only the tough skins remain on the sieve, discard. Add lemon juice and whisk together until smooth.

Prepare ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Churn the apricot syrup concoction until thickened into a soft serve consistency. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze overnight to ripen into a firm sorbet.

This apricot sorbet is so rich and smooth on the tongue. Enjoy this summertime treat!

July 5, 2012
Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe

July is National Ice Cream Month! I’m going to start things off with the simplest and surprisingly most popular ice cream flavor in the world, Vanilla. Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:
2 cups of raw milk
1 cup of raw cream
4 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine milk and cream in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally so a skin doesn’t form until tiny bubbles form around the edge and the mixture reaches 170 degrees Fahrenheit.

In the meantime, whisk egg yolks until smooth. Slowly whisk in sugar until well incorporated into a thick pale yellow paste. Slowly pour in the hot milk mixture while whisking continuously. This is important: The milk should not be poured into the egg mixture quickly or you will get scrambled eggs.

Return the egg and milk custard to the saucepan and cook over low heat. Stir frequently with a wooden spoon until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon. Temperature of the custard should reach 185 degrees Fahrenheit. Do not allow the custard to boil.

Pour the custard through a fine mesh strainer into a clean bowl and let it cool to room temperature. Stir the custard every five minutes until cooled completely. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Prepare ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Whisk vanilla into the custard and churn until thickened into a soft serve consistency. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze until firm.

Delicious!

July 1, 2012
Lemon Sorbette

What do you do with an abundance of lemons in the summer? Lemon Sorbette!

I tried this recipe from The Ciao Bella Book of Gelato and Sorbetto: Bold, Fresh Flavors to Make at Home. Here’s my version:

Ingredients:
2 cups water
2 cups organic sugar
1 cup freshly squeezed organic lemon juice (from about 6 large lemons), strained and chilled
1 tablespoon finely chopped grated organic lemon zest

Directions:

In a medium saucepan, bring to a boil water and sugar over medium-high heat. Whisk often to dissolve the sugar. Simmer on medium-low for 4 minutes, still whisking to dissolve the sugar completely. Remove from heat and cool. Transfer to a bowl or container, cover and chill for at least an hour.

Prepare ice cream machine according to manufacturer’s instructions. Combine lemon juice, sugar syrup and lemon zest in the ice cream machine. Let it churn until the sorbette is of the desired consistency. I spent an hour at least letting it churn. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze for at least 2 hours before serving.

I sprinkle a little bit more lemon zest on top when serving.

Enjoy this excellent palate cleanser after your meal!

June 15, 2012
Strawberry Sorbet

I love strawberries! This year we live close to strawberry farm gardens and we’re able to buy several quarts of sweet strawberries harvested on the same day. In my house, that means ice cream and sorbet! I’ve posted my recipe for Strawberry Ice Cream before. Today I’m posting my recipe for Strawberry Sorbet. Sweet!

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 quart fresh strawberries
Juice of 1 lemon

Bring sugar and water to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer without stirring until the sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool.

Remove stems from strawberries and cut into quarters. Add the juice of 1 lemon to strawberries. You could use a food processor to puree the strawberries. I don’t have a food processor, so I used a potato masher then a blender to make the puree. Some people like to put the puree through a cheesecloth or sieve to take the strawberry seeds out, but I prefer to leave it in for a little crunch.

Whisk the sugar syrup, strawberry puree and maple syrup together until smoothly combined. Chill for at least an hour.

Prepare ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Churn the mixture in ice cream maker for 30 minutes or until thickened into a soft-serve consistency. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze for at least 2 hours to overnight to ripen into a firm sorbet.

June 13, 2012
Halo Halo Ice Cream

Ingredients:
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 jar Halo Halo 16 oz (Mixed Sweet Beans from Asian stores)
2 cups heavy cream, chilled
1 tsp vanilla extract

Follow manufacturer’s instructions on how to prepare your ice cream maker.

1. Heat whole milk in a medium saucepan until it bubbles around the edges.
2. Whisk sugar into the heated milk.
3. Transfer to a medium bowl and let it cool completely.
4. Stir in heavy cream, vanilla and halo halo.
5. Chill for at least 30 minutes
6. Churn the mixture in an ice cream maker for at least 30 minutes or until thickened into a soft-serve consistency.
7. Freeze for at least 2 hours if a firmer consistency is desired.

Enjoy!

June 12, 2012
Strawberry Ice Cream

I consider myself lucky because my local farmers market has an abundance of the sweetest organic strawberries I’ve ever tasted. Harvested on the same day, these strawberries are ripe when I buy them. Much of the berries are eaten same day by my voracious family, but when there’s still at least a pint left, I turn these beautiful strawberries into my favorite dessert, Strawberry Ice Cream.

Ingredients:
1 pint fresh ripe strawberries, stemmed
freshly squeezed juice of 1 medium-sized lemon
1 cup sugar, divided
1 cup whole milk
2 cups heavy cream, chilled
1 tsp vanilla extract

Follow manufacturer’s instructions on how to prepare your ice cream maker.

1. Combine the strawberries, lemon juice and 1/3 cup of sugar in a medium bowl. Mash the strawberries roughly (I prefer mine with larger chunks than you might. It’s up to you.) and allow them to macerate together for 2 hours.
2. Heat whole milk in a medium saucepan until it bubbles around the edges.
3. Whisk sugar into the heated milk.
4. Transfer to a medium bowl and let it cool completely.
5. Stir in heavy cream and vanilla.
6. Churn the mixture in an ice cream maker for at least 30 minutes or until thickened into a soft-serve consistency.
7. Add strawberry mixture slowly while ice cream is churning.
8. Freeze for at least 2 hours if a firmer consistency is desired.

Enjoy!

June 11, 2012