lemon buttermilk ice cream

• This is one of the easiest ice cream recipes I have found because you don't have to cook
  

  

  anything. The texture is more like a sorbet. Very flavorful.

  3/4 cups sugar  

  1/2 cup fresh lemon juice 

  1 cup heavy cream 

  1 cup whole milk 

  1 cup buttermilk

  Combine sugar and juice in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk until sugar dissolves. Add half-and-half, whole milk, and buttermilk. Pour mixture into the freezer can of an ice-cream freezer; freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. Spoon ice cream into a freezer-safe container. Cover and freeze 1 hour or until firm.
  
  
  I adapted this recipe to fit my Cuisinart counter top ice cream maker and served them with these cookies.
  
  
  Peace,
  Milton

maple bourbon bacon waffle bread pudding

First, the bacon — two ways:

8 strips bacon
brown sugar

Press the bacon into the brown sugar to get it to stick to both sides. Sprinkle with black pepper and lay across a cooling rack that is sitting on a parchment lined baking sheet. Put in a 375 degree oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the bacon is well cooked. Set aside to cool and then chop into pieces.

10 slices center cut bacon, cooked until pretty crisp, chopped into small pieces.

Next the waffles:

3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

Mix first five ingredients together in a bowl. Add the last five and mix well. Spray the waffle iron with cooking spray. Pour the batter according the the waffle maker’s instructions and then sprinkle part of the cooked (not candied) bacon on top and cook the waffle.

Now the pudding:

8 cups 1" waffle pieces (four full sized Belgian waffles)
12 large egg yolks
2 cups whole milk
2 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Cut waffles into bite-sized pieces and set aside. In a large bowl combine egg yolks, milk, cream, syrup, vanilla and kosher salt. Mix well until combined. Add waffle pieces and candied bacon. Stir mixture together until waffles pieces are coated with the egg mixture. Pour into prepared 13x9 baking dish, confer with plastic wrap and let sit in the fridge for at least an hour.

Take out of the fridge a half hour before cooking and preheat the oven to 375. Cover with foil and bake for an hour. Remove foil and bake another 20-30 minutes, or until center is set. Remove from the oven and brush top with melted butter. Can be served warm or at room temperature.

Peace,
Milton

ice cream variations

One of my favorite food books of the past year is Michael Ruhlman’s Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking in which he talks about the basic ratios that make cooking possible. His basic ice cream recipe is as follows (this does well in one of the countertop ice cream makers):

1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups cream
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
3/4 cup sugar
6 ounces egg yolks (9-10 large egg yolks)

I have made ice cream twice over the last couple of weeks. Once was a curry ice cream to go with these cookies; the other was a Limoncello ice cream to go with an almond pound cake baked by my friend Laura (I don’t yet have that recipe). My point is, with this base, you can make most any flavor you like with a little help from your friendly web browser.

For the curry ice cream, I replaced the milk with coconut milk

(one can is right at 1 1/2 cups) and added 1 1/2 tablespoons of Madras curry powder.

For the Limoncello ice cream, I used the base recipe and added 2 tablespoons of lemon extract and a half a cup of Limoncello.

(I might also add Ruhlman adds 2-4 tablespoons of Maker’s Mark Bourbon to his vanilla recipe.)

The actual making of the ice cream is as follows:

Heat the cream and milk in a double boiler, or in a saucepan over medium heat, until the milk is to a simmering stage. Don’t bring it to a boil. Whisk the eggs and sugar (and curry powder or lemon extract and Limoncello) until the sugar is dissolved. Ladle about a half a cup of the hot milk into the egg mixture very slowly, whisking the whole time. This is called tempering the mixture. You are trying to raise the temperature of the eggs without cooking them. Repeat until you have added at least two cups of the milk to the eggs and then pour the mixture slowly back into the double boiler and cook the mixture until it thickens like a custard, which will take about six or seven minutes. This should require your complete attention.

When the mixture is ready, Pour it into a clean and cold bowl and then set that bowl in an ice bath to let it cool. After about 10-15 minutes, Put the bowl in the fridge and let it sit for at least two hours. It can sit overnight, if you like. If you do so, cover the top with a piece of plastic wrap so it doesn’t develop a skin.

Pour the chilled mixture into the ice cream maker and let it run for 25-30 minutes. The longer you leave it, the harder the ice cream will become. Transfer the ice cream to a container and put in the freezer for at least two hours before serving.

This one takes some work, but it sure is good.

Peace,

Milton

risotto al cioccolato

That's chocolate risotto to you and me.

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup arborio rice
8  cups of milk
4 tablespoons sugars
1 12 oz package semi-sweet chocolate chips

Melt the unsalted butter in a sauté pan and add the rice and stir for about a minute. Heat the milk in a saucepan or a micowave safe dish. Don't boil it, but get it good and hot so that it doesn't lower the temperature of the risotto when it's added. Pour about a cup and a half of milk into the pan and stir until the milk is almost absorbed. Add the sugar and another cup and a half do milk. You will need to stir almost continuously. As the milk evaporates, add another cup of milk to the rice and continue stirring until the milk is absorbed and the rice is tender but not mushy. Turn off the heat and stir in the chocolate chips until they are melted and the risotto has reduced to a creamy consistency. Let sit covered for about ten minutes before serving.

I served the dessert topped with marscapone cheese that was mixed with confectioner’s sugar and some fresh berries.

Serves 8-10.

Peace,
Milton

ginger molasses cookies

Here's how the story goes: in Asian cooking, ginger and chilis go together, so I decided to add some

cayenne pepper instead. Then I thought about the chili and chocolate combination in Mexican cooking and added a little cocoa powder. The result is one seriously good cookie.

In an electric mixer, beat together

2 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 cups butter (at room temperature)
1/2 cup molasses

I let the mixer run a good five to seven minutes. Add

2 eggs

Mix eggs are combined. In a separate bowl mix

4 cups flour
1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Add the dry mixture gradually to the butter-sugar mixture. Form 1 ounce sized balls and roll them in sugar before putting them on the baking sheet. Cook at 375 for eleven to thirteen minutes. I cook my one ounce cookies for eleven, the two ounce cookies for thirteen.

Peace,
Milton