Ice Cream Sandwiches

My sisters are coming to visit!!!  First time either of them will get to see our house here in Southern California, and I'm so excited.  Besides the two days we got to see each other over spring break for Goong Goong's funeral, we haven't seen each other since Christmas, 2011.  That is sad.  So in honor of sisterly love, we all thought it was high time for a sister get-together vacation!  Thank you Mom for helping us all get together - we'll miss you :)

Both Carina and Jamie have their birthday in late July.  Carina's was just last Sunday, and Jamie's is this coming Saturday.  It will be so fun to get to celebrate together!  We'll have all the friends over, so everyone can meet - I love watching my different worlds collide :)  And I thought for a treat at the party, it would be fun to have little ice cream sandwiches!  Why little?  Well I guess I've kinda just in the mindset of small finger food, and it sounded like fun.

I found a recipe for the "classic" ice cream sandwich on one of my favorite food blogs: smitten kitchen.

Ingredients
2 2/3 cup  all-purpose flour
2/3 cup plus 1/4 cup extra dark or Dutch-processed unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 tsp salt
2 large egg yolks
1 Tbs vanilla extract (I ran out, so I used a tsp of ground vanilla bean)
1/2 gallon of your favorite ice cream (I used vanilla bean and coffee)

Procedure
Preheat oven to 350°F degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Sift together the flour and cocoa and set aside. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar, and salt together until light and fluffy. Add the yolks and vanilla and mix until combined, then scrape down sides and mix briefly again.
 

Add the flour mixture a little at a time then mix until combined.

 
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and divide into two equal pieces. If the dough is too soft to handle, wrap and chill it until firm enough to roll out (I didn't have this problem, but if you do, smitten kitchen recommend 30 minutes only; any longer and it becomes crumbly to roll out). Roll each batch into a 1/4-inch thick rectangle, about 10 by 8 inches. Cut into rectangles.  You can make them whatever size you desire, just try and make them uniform!  Go ahead and re-roll the scraps.

 
Use an offset spatula to transfer the rectangles to the prepared baking sheets; you’ll only need an inch space between them. Poke the cookies with holes using the blunt end of a skewer, or at smitten kitchen advised, "use the tip of a thermometer (totally brilliant tip from Amy, by the way; it made far better indentations than skewers that I usually use for docking) to poke the cookies with holes (Amy recommends 14 holes but I used this as my guide and made more)."

Bake the cookies for about 18 minutes, or until they stay relatively firm when tapped in the center. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining cookie dough, rerolling scraps as needed.

Meanwhile, line the bottom of a jellyroll pan with parchment paper, allowing it to overhang on two sides (it will act as a sling for the ice cream). Spread the softened ice cream into the pan, smooth the top and freeze until firm, about one hour.

Run a knife along the exposed sides of the pan to loosen the ice cream. Holding onto the parchment paper, lift ice cream out of the pan and onto the work surface. Using one of the cookies as a template, cut ice cream into rectangles.  I used a spatula to transfer the ice cream onto the cookies.  Alternatively, you can use kitchen shears to go right through the ice cream and the paper underneath, then flipped each piece of ice cream onto a cookie, peeled off the paper, and finished sandwiching the rectangle of ice cream with a second cookie.

When the ice cream begins to get too soft to handle, simply pop it back in the freezer until firm.  I had a try sitting in the freezer, and immediately transfered the sandwiches to the tray as soon as each one was assembled.   Wrap each ice cream sanwich in plastic wrap.  If your ice cream is too soft, they will continue to lose their shape unless you wrap them in plastic wrap right away. I however, didn't want to individually wrap so many mini ice cream sandwiches, so I just made to to work quickly, and refreeze the ice cream when necessary, so as not to deal with soft soupy ice cream.  Either way, when you're finished, wrap everything up well, so it doesn't take on the freezer flavors and smells.  Freeze until just before serving.

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Edamame Pea Soup

I know it's summer, and I know it's hot out, but I just can't resist making soup every now and then.  I found a recipe for a Spanish fava bean cilantro soup that looked light and refreshing enough for a hot summer day, and decided to try it out.

I've never actually bought fava beans before, but I've seen them around at the farmer's market enough to know what they look like and to think that they wouldn't be impossible to find.  So that's where I started my search: the Redlands Saturday morning farmer's market.  No luck.  Maybe they aren't in season?  Although I checked around, and most websites said late spring into the summer.... So I decided I'd head to the specialty natural organic grocery store in Loma Linda.  On my way I stopped at the Jacinto Farms market - no luck.  But I picked up some delicious strawberries since I was there anyway :)  Then no luck at Clark's.  So why not try Vons (and Trader Joe's since it's right next door), since I have to head back that way anyway?  Still no luck.  That's four grocery stores and a farmer's market.  But by this point I was fixated on this recipe, so I decided to tweak it ever so slightly - by completely changing up the main ingredient.  I decided to substitute both edamame and peas for the fava beans.

The outcome?  Delicious!  Although I have absolutely no idea how it compares to the actual recipe, seeing as I don't think I've ever eaten fava beans before.  But I will definitely make this soup again, and if and when I ever come across fava beans at the market, I'll try the original recipe.

Ingredients
2 Tbs olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 large russet potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 lb shelled frozen edamame (soy beans)
1/2 lb frozen peas
32 oz vegetable stock
1 bunch fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
1/2 cup cream
salt and pepper to taste

Procedure
Heat the oil in a large pot, and saute the onions until soft, about five minutes.  Add the potatoes, edamame, peas, and vegetable stock, and bring to a boil.  Simmer until the potatoes are soft.  Add the cilantro and simmer for another ten minutes.  Blend the soup using an immersion blender, or blend in batches in a food processor or blender.  Stir in the cream, and season to taste.
Serving suggestion: top with a drizzle of cream and olive oil, a few sprigs of cilantro, and freshly cracked pepper (note: if you drizzle half and half instead of cream, it doesn't look nearly as pretty - I tried.  You can tell the difference in the photos).

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Cherry Pie take 2

No better excuse to make a pie than a church picnic.  And no better excuse to have a church picnic than "we don't have a building to meet in today."  It did sprinkle on us a little, but in mid July in Redlands, it was much appreciated and welcomed weather.  What a fun Sunday morning!

Last time I made a cherry pie, Carina, Jamie, Mom and I all did it together.  Or at least we did all the cherry picking and pitting together.  Standing around the kitchen counter together at home in Eugene.  And it was for a picnic then too, just a fun small family picnic.  This time I had to do the cherry pitting by myself, but it's really not too bad.  I used cherries from Trader Joes, and only had trouble pitting three of them (even without a cherry pitter!)

I know my first recipe was delicious, but I decided to try a new one, just for fun.  It too turned out wonderfully.  I pretty much followed the recipe I found here at Chic Eats, with slight adaptions here and there.

Ingredients
For the pie crust
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2 Tbs sugar
2 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter cut into small pieces
1/4 cup vodka
1/4 cup cold water
ice

For the filling
2 red plums
2 lbs fresh cherries
1/3 cup sugar
1/8 tsp salt
juice of half a lemon
2 tsp brandy
4 Tbs corn starch
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 egg, lightly beaten with 1 teaspoon of water

Procedure
Place a large mixing bowl in the freezer.  Combine cold water and vodka with a few ice cubes, and place in the fridge until you need it.  In a small mixing bowl combine 1 1/2 cups of the flour with the salt and sugar, and place in the freezer for a few mintues, to keep very cold.  In a food processor, process the flour mixture. Add the cold butter and process until the butter is in small, pea size clumps.  Pour dough mixture into the large, cold mixing bowl, and add the remaining flour.  Mix with a rubber spatula.  You don't want to use your hands yet, or the dough will get warm!
Add 1/4 cup of the water vodka mixture, and mix with the rubber spatula.  Press and fold the dough to incorporate all the wet ingredients.  Continue to add the water vodka mixture one tablespoon at a time, until there is no more dry powdery flour.  There will still be many many small crumbs, but they will look moist.  At this point, use your hands to push dough together in a solid clump.  Work quickly, and DON'T mix the dough any further.  Simply press it together.  Divide the dough into two equal portions, pat into disks, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes (up to 2 days).

Halve and pit the cherries.  Since I don't own a cherry pitter, I pimply run a small knife around the pit of the cherry, and twist to separate the two halves (as if I were cutting a peach).  The it's surprisingly easy to grab hold of the cherry pit and twist to remove it.  Combine 1 cup of halved cherries with the two peeled and pitted plums in a food processor. Process until smooth.  In a bowl combine the puree, remaining halved cherries, lemon, sugar, salt, brandy, corn starch, and cinnamon. Toss gently to combine.  Cover and refrigerate until you are ready to assemble the pie.

To assemble, remove one disk of dough from the refrigerator and roll it out on a well-floured surface. The dough may be sticky, so be generous with the flour, and ref-lour your surface often!  You want it to be about 12 inches in diameter.  I gently fold the dough in half, then in half again, and lay it into the pie pan before unfolding.  You may also roll the dough loosely around the pin and unroll it over your pie plate. Gently make sure the dough is settled into the corners, then trim the edges, leaving 1/2 to  3/4 inch overhang. Refrigerate for 40 minutes.

Remove the second disk of dough from the fridge, and roll it out in the same manner.  Pour all the cherry mixture - juice and all - into the pie pan, then lay the second crust on top.  Trim the edges, this time letting the top crust extend about a 1/2 inch beyond the bottom crust.  Tuck the top crust under the bottom, and pinch to seal the two together.  Flute the edge to make it pretty, and using a shard knife, cut 5 slits in the top of the pie to help keep the pie from bubbling too much.  Brush the top with the egg wash.  (I forgot this last step, and it turned out beautifully anyways).

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, place the oven rack near the bottom of the oven, and place the pie in the freezer for 20 minutes.  (It also would be smart to put a pan or some aluminum foil under the rack where you'll put the pie - just in case it bubbles over.  I put my oven racks on the lowest two shelves, with the aluminum on the bottom one).  Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes, then turn down the oven to 350, and bake for another 40 minutes or more - until the crust is deep golden brown.  Let cool for about an hour before serving.

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Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Swiss Meringue Buttercream

A friend form school turned 30.  Time for a celebration, am I right?  So I started planning a fun dinner party.  First things first - get the house ready.  Having people over is the best way to get myself to give the house a good cleaning.  And this time my house (all of it by my bedroom and the eagle's nest) got a good deep cleaning.  Carsten and I also took a self-guided tour through the garden section of Home Depot, and picked out some new plants for the back yard.  So the back patio got a makeover and the house got a face lift.  Thank you Parker for turning 30!

I asked the birthday boy what kind of cake he wanted, and he requested a carrot cake.  I was so excited, because I'd recently found a carrot cake recipe that looked amazing.  I had been trying to learn how to frost a cake properly for Carsten's birthday, and found this great video tutorial on BraveTart.  The cake she uses in the video is the most delicious looking carrot cake I've ever seen, so I decided to use her recipe, substituting walnuts for her pecans or pistachios, and allspice for her mace.  I also meant to add raisins, (because every carrot cake should have raisins!) but alas, I forgot.  I also used the BraveTart recipe for Cream Cheese Swiss Meringue Buttercream frosting, but ran into some troubles...

I've made Swiss Meringue Buttercream frosting three times before this (three times in the last 4 months), and have never had any problems, so I didn't even think that there might be an issue.  Usually, you make the meringue, then whip in the butter.  Sometimes it gets a little soupy (if the meringue is a bit too warm), but it always seizes up and turns into the perfect thick frosting texture.  However, something about adding part cream cheese instead of butter messed it up.  It first turned lumpy (my fault - I probably didn't let the cream cheese come completely to room temperature before adding it), then soupy.  And it stayed soupy no matter how long I whipped it.  I didn't want to give up on it.  It was a whole pound of butter, an entire pound of cream cheese, and ten egg whites.  I couldn't let it go.  I probably continued to whip it for 30 minutes, hoping that it would magically transform.  But it didn't.  So I began scouring the internet for solutions.  I found someone who had done the exact same thing as me, and had come up with a solution.  Her advice (Briana's Kitchen) was perfect.  Her solution was to take a small batch of successful butter cream frosting, and slowly whip in a little of the soupy cream cheese mess at a time.  It worked.  I made a new half batch of plain Swiss meringue butter cream, which turned out perfectly (thank the Lord!!), and slowly added a 1/4 cup of the cream cheese soupy frosting at a time.  After each addition, I waited until it was fully incorporated to make sure that the frosting was holding it's perfect texture.  I ended up adding over 3/4 of the original mixture.  Not quite all of it, because I didn't want to push my luck.  And because I now had PLENTY of frosting.  Fortunately, I'm told this frosting freezes beautifully, so I saved all the leftover and will use it later :)

All that to say, if you're going to make this cake and this frosting for a party, just give yourself plenty of time.  I made the cake the night before, wrapped each layer tightly in plastic wrap and stored them in the fridge.  The frosting I made the day of (recommended), but thank goodness I had plenty of hours to spare!

Credit: I found the cake recipe here, and the frosting recipe here. 

For the Cake (adapted slightly from BraveTart):
Ingredients
16 oz unsalted butter
14 oz sugar
7 oz brown sugar
1 Tbs baking soda
1 ½ tsp baking powder
1 ½ tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 ½ tsp ginger
½ tsp allspice
½ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp cloves
6 eggs
16 oz whole wheat flour, sifted
1 Tbs vanilla extract
32 oz carrots, peeled, trimmed, and shredded
16 oz walnut pieces, lightly toasted
(If I had remembered, I would have added about 1 cup of raisins)


Procedure
Preheat the oven to 350° and line three 9” cake pans with parchment paper. Lightly grease them and set aside.
In a small pot, melt the butter over low heat. Once it has melted completely , turn up the heat to medium. The mixture will begin to bubble, possibly spit, and make a bit of noise. You’ll notice brown bits forming on the bottom of the pot. When the butter stops bubbling and goes completely silent, you’re done. Set the butter aside to cool.
Using a hand or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, combine the sugar, brown sugar, baking powder and soda, salt, spices and eggs. Whip on medium to medium high speed until light and fluffy, about five minutes.  (I should have taken a picture at this point.  It was beautiful!  I set the timer and let it whip for five minutes, I'm glad I did, because otherwise I probably would have stopped way too soon).
Reduce the speed to medium low and with the mixer still running, slowly drizzle in the brown butter, making sure to include all of the browned bits from the bottom. Add the vanilla next, then reduce the speed to low and add in the sifted (important!) whole wheat flour all at once. Mix until just incorporated.
Shut off the mixer and use a rubber spatula to fold in the nuts and shredded carrots (and raisins if you so choose).
Measure 32 ounces of batter into each 9” cake pan (or about 3 ounces into each cupcake liner if you're making cup cakes). Bake about 25-30 minutes for cake or 15 minutes for cupcakes, or until the cakes have puffed and lightly browned. A toothpick inserted into the center of the cake should come out with very few to no crumbs stuck to it.
NOTE: I found a secret to baking perfectly flat cakes, that rarely need to be leveled before frosting!  Cut strips of towel (I cut them about 4 inches wide, and doubled them over to be extra thick).  Saturate the towels in water, and lightly squeeze out water, just so that the towel strips aren't dripping.  Tightly wrap the towel strips around the cake pans.  I used safety pins to secure the strips.  The more evenly the pan is surrounded, the flatter the cake.
Allow cakes to cool about 10 minutes before removing them from the pan.  Once completely cooled, wrap in plastic wrap and store in the fridge until you're ready to assemble the cake.

For the Frosting (adapted out of necessesity from BraveTart, using help from Briana's Kitchen):
Ingredients
10 oz egg whites (about 10 egg whites, it’s okay to go a tad over)
10 oz sugar
1/2 tsp  salt
the scrapings from 1 vanilla bean or 1 tsp ground vanilla bean (I use this)
1 lb unsalted butter, cut into 2" chunks and softened to a spreadable state
1 lb cream cheese, cut into 2" chunks and softened to a room temperature
Juice of 1 lemon
AND If need be...
5 oz egg whites (about 5 egg whites)
5 oz sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 lb unsalted butter, cut into 2" chunks and softened to a spreadable state

Procedure
Combine the egg whites, sugar, salt, and vanilla bean together in an clean metal bowl. Set the bowl over a pan of water and turn the heat to medium low. You don’t need the water to even simmer, you just want it hot enough to steam, since steam is what actually heats the whites.
Whisk frequently to prevent the eggs from cooking on the sides. Aim to get the mixture to 145° for food safety reasons, I just used a candy thermometer.
When the mixture is sufficiently hot, remove from the heat.  If using a stand mixer, wipe the condensation off of the bottom of the bowl (to prevent any water from getting into the egg whites), and transfer mixture to the bowl of your stand mixer. Use the whisk attachment to whip on medium high speed until the mixture has doubled in volume and turned snowy white. Continue whipping until the meringue is cool. Use your hands to feel the bowl itself, rather than simply testing the temperature of the meringue. You want it to feel perfectly cool to the touch with no trace of warmth. Note: if you are using a glass or ceramic bowl, even if the meringue has cooled, the bowl itself may still be quite warm and continue conducting heat into the buttercream over time. If you are using a glass or ceramic bowl, transfer the meringue to a new bowl before proceeding or continue mixing until the bowl itself is cool.
Turn the mixer down to medium-low and begin adding in the butter, one chunk at a time. If you didn’t let your meringue cool enough, this is when you’ll really regret it. By the time you’ve added all the butter, you may need to scrape down the bowl to fully incorporate any butter or meringue that’s stuck at the sides.  Then add the cream cheese one chunk at a time.  Continue whipping until the mixture is smooth.  Whip in the lemon juice.  If you're lucky - unlike me - the frosting will become the perfect thick texture of a Swiss meringue buttercream.  If, on the other hand, it turns to a soupy mess and doesn't thicken after 15 minutes of whipping, transfer the soupy mixture to another bowl, and set aside.  Use the remaining ingredients to make another half batch of regular Swiss meringue butter cream.  Once you've completed the procedure and have a perfect frosting, continue whipping on medium speed and start adding the soupy mixture a 1/4 cup at a time.  Let the soupy mixture fully incorporate after each addition.  Continue adding the soupy mixture, paying close attention to the thickness of the frosting.  I stopped when I had added a little over 3/4 of the soupy mixture, but you might be able to add it all without compromising the thickness.  You're finally done!  You should use it to frost your cake right away.  Any leftover frosting can be frozen for later use (just thaw in the fridge, and whip again before using).

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Edamame Mushroom Ravioli in Brown Butter Balsamic Sauce

 
I remember my dad making homemade pasta growing up.  He would make a dozen batches around Christmas time, and gift them to friends and family at the Lee Family Homemade Christmas Party.  I remember watching and helping him pass the pasta dough through the press until it reached the correct thickness, and then passing it through again, to cut the dough into long delicate noodles.  Then he would lay them out on the dining room table to dry a bit, before packaging them.

That was years ago.  When I went off to college, Carina and I convinced my dad to let us bring the pasta maker to Calvin with us.  I think we ended up using it once.  Then when Carina got married and moved to Pittsburgh, I sent the pasta maker with her.  Needless to say, I haven't had much practice making pasta.  But Carsten and I now have our own pasta maker, and we finally decided it was time to try our hand at pasta again.  Ravioli to be precise.

We looked at a lot of different dough and filling recipes, and finally settled on one recipe for the dough, and an outline of a recipe for the filling.  The pasta recipe we got from one of our favorite cooking and baking blogs, smitten kitchen.  We just cut the recipe in half.  The filling we made was an adaption of a recipe we found on Veggie Belly.

Since pasta making can be quite the task, and so much fun, we had a friend over to help us cook and eat :)

For the pasta:
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbs water

Procedure
Mound flour on your work surface, preferably wooden, and make a crater in the center, like a volcano. Add eggs, salt, and water to well, and with a fork, gently beat eggs and water until combined. Gradually mix flour into the egg mixture to form a paste, pulling in flour closest to egg mixture and being careful not to make an opening in outer wall of well. Once you've got a paste, put the fork aside and use your fingers! Knead remaining flour into mixture with your hands to form a dough, adding more water, drop by drop, if dough is too dry (dough should be firm and not sticky). Knead dough until smooth and elastic, 8 to 10 minutes. Cover and let stand 1 hour (to make rolling easier).

For the filling:
Ingredients
1/4 cup pecans
1 cup frozen Edamame, (no shell)
2 small garlic clove
1 + 2 Tbs white wine
Juice of half a lemon
Salt and Pepper
Olive oil
1/2 cup chopped portabella mushrooms
1/4 cup white wine

Procedure
Place the walnuts in a large pan. Toast the pecans on medium heat until fragrant. Add the frozen, shelled edamame, garlic cloves, 1 Tbs white wine, salt and pepper.  Simmer over medium heat until the liquid has evaporated, then transfer the walnut-edamame mixture to a food processor. Add 2 Tbs white win and lemon juice, and blend into a smooth paste.  You want to reach the consistency of thick hummus.  So add olive oil a bit at a time, until you've reached the right consistency.  Add more salt and pepper to taste.
In the pan, sauté the mushrooms in 1/4 cup white wine until cooked.  Mix into the edamame purée.

For the Sauce:
Ingredients

6 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

To Assemble the Ravioli:
Divide the pasta dough into two equal portions.  Pat into a rectangle, and pass it through the pasta press on the thickest setting.  Repeat the process, on the next thickest setting.  Continue to decrease the thickness of the dough until you've reached your desired thickness.  You can go very thin!
Lay pasta onto your worksurface, and cut into rectangles, about 2 inches wide.  Place a small scoop (about 1 tsp) toward the bottom of each rectangle.  Fold over the top half of the dough and press the sides together to seal in the filling.  Make sure to press out all air bubbles!  Any air trapped inside the ravioli will expand when boiling, and will cause the pasta to burst.  If you have trouble getting the pasta to stick to itself, use a dab of water to act as glue.

Boil a large pot of water.  Throw in a few pinches of salt.  Once the water has reached a full boil, add the ravioli and boil for about 5 minutes, or until done.

While the ravioli are boiling, melt the butter in a large pan over medium heat, stirring occasionally.  After about three minutes, the butten will stop bubbling, and will turn golden brown.  Turn off the heat, and let cool for one minute (if you don't let it cool, it will splatter all over you when you add the vinegar).  Stir in the balsamic vinegar.

When the ravioli is done boiling, drain them thoroughly, and add them to the sauce.  Stir to coat each ravioli well.  Serve immediately!


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Tiramisu

Baking is pretty much my favorite distraction or method of procrastination.  We were having a girls night a few months ago, and I volunteered to make the dessert.  I thought I'd make something yummy but simple, after all, I was supposed to be studying for my Complex Analysis qualifying exam.  But the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to spend my evenings baking instead of studying.  Everyone needs a break from working the brain too hard every now and then!  So I took on the challenge of making tiramisu, completely from scratch :)  Well, almost completely.  I did buy the mascarpone cheese.  Maybe next time I'll try making the cheese too.

It was worth it.  So worth it.  I should have taken more pictures.  I'll just have to refer you to one of my favorite baking blogs, Sprinkle Bakes, where I found the recipe I used.

I thought it would be fun to make little individual portions, so instead of making regular shaped lady fingers, I made them round, about 3 inches in diameter.  And used two per portion.  I didn't have little spring form pans, or molds, so I ended up making cylinders out of parchment paper around the lady fingers.  They turned out beautifully!

lady fingers in the oven :)


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Strawberry Balsamic Ice Cream

There is an ice cream place here in Redlands that is, hands down, my favorite ice cream place ever.  Better than Prince Pückler's in Eugene, and better than any gelato I had while living in Europe. Situated right in the heart of downtown Redlands, à la minute, (translates "made to order") is a bit of a novelty, but the quality and taste of their ice cream keeps it far from cliché.  Each order of ice cream is made right in front of you, with fresh local ingredients and liquid nitrogen!  My favorite flavor?  Strawberry Balsamic.  They make this amazingly delicious strawberry ice cream, and top it with a sweet balsamic reduction.  I've been craving a small scoop of this goodness for about a week now, and decided to try make it myself.

I made quite a few stupid mistakes as I went along... but hopefully I've learned my lessons for the next time.

Lesson one: Make your ice cream the day before you want to serve it!  I knew this already, of course, but somehow I never got around to starting it on Thursday... maybe because it was the 4th of July

Lesson two: I use the ice cream maker Kitchenaid attachment, which says it should be frozen for at least 15 hours prior to churning ice cream.  So that was my second mistake... forgot to put that in the freezer the day before.  I thought if it were frozen solid, that would be enough.  And it probably would have been, but I filled it with ice to help it freeze faster, which was a big mistake.  The ice cubes half melted, and I couldn't remove them from the bowl without melting them out with hot water!!  So.... the bowl was no longer frozen.  In short, prepare ahead of time, and read the instructions on your ice cream maker!

Lesson three: If you decide to make up your own ice cream recipe, because you aren't completely satisfied with any of the recipes you are reading, make sure to fully read the parts that you do like!  I ended up combing three or four recipes that looked like that had some pros and cons.  I liked the idea of marinating the strawberries in the balsamic vinegar, and I liked the idea of using brown sugar instead of normal.  However, while in a rush to get the ice cream done, I poured the marinated strawberries and all the juices into the custard.  If I would have read that one particular recipe more carefully, I would have noticed that it's all those juices I should have used to make the balsamic reduction.... oops.  So the sauce went out the window.

Lesson four:  If you aren't satisfied with how your ice cream freezes, get your ice cream maker ready again, and let your ice cream partially thaw in the refrigerator.  Then re-churn it!

Alright, I think that's about it. Overall, it turned out pretty well, unfortunately, not in time for the company we had over Friday night :/  But that's where a quick batch of homemade brownies comes in handy!!  Thanks to Carsten for being able to think on his feet.  Me, I just get flustered and angry at the ice cream machine.  So this is the recipe that I came up with - including the changes I will make next time I make this ice cream.  Which I will do again!

Ingredients

1 pint fresh strawberries, washed, dried, and chopped

1 cup brown sugar

3 Tbs balsamic vinegar

 2 cups heavy cream

1 cup half and half

1 vanilla bean pod

6 egg yolks

1 Tbs vodka (optional)

Procedure

In a small bowl, mix chopped strawberries, brown sugar, and balsamic vinegar.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight.

  

In a medium sauce pan, combine heavy cream, half and half, and the vanilla beans scraped from the pod.  Throw the pod in there too!  Bring to a simmer over medium heat.  Once it starts to simmer, turn off heat and let cool steep for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk 6 egg yolks until slightly frothy.  Temper the yolks, by adding about a cup of the warm cream mixture while whisking.  Then add the eggs to the rest of the cream and return to medium heat.  Cook until custard is thick and coats the back of a spoon.  Pour through a fine mesh strainer, and refrigerate until very cold.

Drain the strawberries, saving the vinegar liquid.  Mash half of the berries, then combine the strawberries with the custard, and mix until combined.  Freeze according to your ice cream freezer’s directions.  At the very end of the churning, you may add the vodka to help prevent ice cream from becoming too icy.

Heat the vinegar liquid in a small sauce pan over medium heat until it thickens to a syrup-like consistency.  Store in an airtight container until ready to serve.  When ready to serve, drizzle the balsamic reduction over a generous scoop of the strawberry ice cream!

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English Muffins

 
Summer is finally here, I've returned from Berkeley, and now I've got time to cook and bake again!  Carsten requested a "gourmet sandwich" for dinner the other night, with homemade bread.  With only half a day to work with, I decided not to try and bake a real loaf of bread.  Good bread requires a bit more time.  Instead, I decided to try my hand at these English muffins I'd been eying for quite some time.  Back in college, Carsten and I found this cookbook, which we referred to often for our Sunday brunches.  But we never got around to trying out this particular recipe.  They turned out super delicious!  A little sweeter and slightly more biscuit-like than store bought muffins, but I think I prefer them this way!

I ended up serving them for dinner with fresh mozzarella, arugula, tomatoes, and a balsamic reduction.  It was delicious, however I still preferred them the simple way: toasted with butter (and maybe some of the chai infused honey I just bought up in San Francisco!).

Dathan, who is the master of Eggs Benedict, will be staying with us for the month of August!  He is doing a rotation out here at Loma Linda, and we're so excited to have him.  We'll have to make these again when he comes, so he can dazzle us with his egg poaching skills :)

 I apologize for the horrible pictures... I only had my phone around :/

Be warned though, while this cook book has many good ideas, I'm pretty sure the portion sizes are all wrong -- not just on this particular recipe.  For example, this recipe says "Yield: 8 muffins"  However, following the recipe exactly, we made 16!!  I should have guessed when I read "8 cups of flour..."

Ingredients
make about 16 muffins
1 Tbs yeast
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups warm milk
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup powdered sugar
8 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp salt

Procedure
In a medium mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water and milk.  Let stand for 5 minutes, until foamy.  Add the melted butter, eggs, and powdered sugar, and mix well.  In a separate large mixing bowl, combine flour and salt.  Slowly add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture, and mix well with your hands.  Turn dough out onto a floured surface, and knead for 4 to 6 minutes.

Gently pat the dough down until about 1/2 inch thick.  Use a 3-inch round cookie cutter to cut as many muffins as you can.  Combine the scraps, and continue to cut more muffin rounds until there is no more dough.  Sprinkle your surface with cornmeal, and set muffins about 1 inch apart.  Let rise for 1 hour.

Heat a greased skillet over low to medium low heat.  (I have a gas stove, and had to have mine as low as possible.  I also had two skillets going at once, to speed up the process).  Cook the muffins about 7 minutes per side, until golden brown.  If your muffins are turning deep golden brown before 7 minutes, try lowering the heat.  Let muffins cool on a wire wrack.

To serve, split muffins with a fork, or with your hands (this will give that classic muffin texture, which cannot be achieved by slicing with a knife!) and toast in the toaster.

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