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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Cinnamon Raisin Bread

Ingredients
Makes 2 loaves
1/2 cup warm milk
1/3 cup warm water
1 tsp (~.175 oz) active dry yeast
1 egg
2 Tbs and 2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbs and 2 tsp butter or margarine, softened
1/3 cup raisins
2 2/3 cup flour
2 Tbs milk
2 Tbs sugar
2 tsp cinnamon


Procedure
In a large mixing bowl combine warm water and yeast and let sit until yeast begins to froth. Add eggs, sugar, butter or margarine, salt, raisins, and milk. Add flour gradually until you have firm dough. Knead for 10ish min. Let rise in an oiled bowl until doubled in size (~60-90 mins). Divide dough in two Roll out dough into two large rectangle 9 inches wide. Combine sugar and cinnamon. Moisten dough with milk and sprinkle sugar cinnamon mixture. Roll the dough tightly and place in greased 9x5 baking pans. Cover and let rise until doubled (~45mins). Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake for 45 minutes, until lightly browned and sound hollow when knocked. Let cool before slicing.

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Chewy Ginger Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Ingredients
3/4 cup flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup butter
1/3 plus 2 tbs brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
3 Tbs finely chopped candied ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp chili pepper
1 egg
2 tsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup old fashion rolled oats
3/4 cup golden raisins

Procedure
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl combine flour, baking power, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and chili powder. In a separate bowl combine butter, sugars, and ginger and cream together until light and fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla. Mix well. Add the dry ingredients in two batches mixing in between. Fold in oatmeal and raisins. Spoon onto greased or lined baking sheet and top with more candied ginger if desired. Bake for 13ish minutes.

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Recipe from here.

Greek Honey Pie

Ingredients
an uncooked pie crust
4 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbs flour
1/4 cup honey
1 15 oz. container ricotta cheese
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Procedure
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. In an electric mixer mix eggs on high for ~2 minutes. Continue mixing while adding the sugar, flour, honey, cheese and cinnamon, in turn. Put pie crust into a greased 9 inch pie pan. Pour batter into pie crust. Bake for 50-55 minutes, until center is set and edges are a golden brown. Let cool before eating.

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Recipe adapted from allrecipes

Simple Oil Pie Crust

Ingredients (makes 2)
2 3/4 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup oil (vegetable, olive, soy, anything really)
1/2 cup cold milk (use cold water in a bind)

Procedure
Mix it all together. Divide in half. Form each half into a ball. Roll it out between two sheet wax paper. Store in freezer in plastic bag or use immediately.