Summer Fun

Every summer I feel the need to use fresh ingredients, try new bright flavors, and experiment with ice cream. My mother-in-law gave us an ice cream maker; therefore, I have been trying to make various frozen confections that satisfies our sweet tooth.  This summer I have made peach ice milk, key lime pie ice cream, and am experimenting on blueberry cheesecake ice cream.  The key lime pie ice cream is fabulous.  I am still tweaking it to the best of its ability; however, I think it will satisfy most ice cream lovers.  I originally got the recipe from Cooking Light.com, but added a few changes.  I originally made it with mixing the lime juice and cream together.  This caused  a slight souring of the cream; therefore, I think if we stream the juice into the ice cream maker allowing it to mix the juice in, the mixture possibly will not sour.  Also I think white chocolate puts it over the top.  I am considering making a white chocolate sauce to mix into the cream mixture; however, I have only experimented with adding the white chocolate chips into it.  I will let you know when I have completely modified it to my liking.  The husband LOVES it, so I will definitely make it again.

Key Lime Pie Ice Cream

2 cups half and half
1/2 cup bottled key lime juice
Dash of Salt
1 (14 ounce) can fat free sweetened condensed milk
6 graham cracker cookies, coarsely crushed
1 cup white chocolate chips, coarsely chopped

Mix together the half and half, salt, and milk.  Pour into ice cream maker, and turn on.  Stream in the bottled key lime juice (this will prevent the milk from souring slightly).  Freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions.  When almost completely frozen, stir in the white chocolate chips and graham crackers.  Pour into a freezer ready container, and freeze for about 1 hour.  Serve with additional graham crackers and lime wedges.

Serves: 6.

Ice cream store number 2:

One of Tony’s friends was complaining about local ice cream shops no longer serving Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream.  This was a travesty.  I had just made the key lime pie ice cream and stated I would see what I could come up with.  This recipe is also a modification of Cooking Light.com.  The addition of the graham crackers is an inspiration from the above recipe, and I tried to make the recipe more cheesecake-y.

Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

Please Please understand this is completely a prototype.  It has not been tested but by two people.

1 (8 ounce) package of fat free cream cheese (this of course can be regular but this is what I used)
4 egg yolks
1 1/2 cup sugar
4 cups fat free half and half
1 pint blueberries, washed and slightly chopped
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup water
10 graham crackers, coarsly chopped

Blend together the cream cheese, sugar, and egg yolks, and set aside.  Bring the half and half to a boil.  Add a little of the half and half at a time to the egg mixture, while whisking continuously.  (This is somewhat tempering the egg mixture.)  Return to the stove top and bring the mixture to 160 degrees.  (It toke forever on low heat, but if one doesn’t watch it on medium to high heat the mixture will over cook.)  Place into freezer or refrigerator to cool completely down.  Meanwhile, mix the blueberries, powdered sugar, and water together in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, or until the blueberries begin to burst.  Allow to cook and mix into the “custard” mixture.  Freeze in ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions.  Mix in the graham crackers when almost frozen.  Place into freeze in an airtight container; freeze for 1-2 hours.

Serves: 8

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The Book Is On The Shelves

Good News!!!!  Mrs. Patty’s (my college roommate’s mother) has published another book!!!  It is called Easy Parties and Wedding Celebrations.  And it in stores!  I received my copy in the mail this morning. It is such an elegant book, which all of her cookbooks, minus the At the Table with Patty Roper, could be a coffee table book.  And boy are the recipes delicious!!!!  Some suggestion: the White Wine Cake (a different tasting cake, but Delicious!), Seafood Lasagna, and the White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Key Lime Pie!!!! So very good.  When I was cooking for her this past December, I noticed that she has a couple of ingredients that she uses over and over again.  Same goes for all cooks. If you don’t believe me, look at Everyday Italian, Paula Dean’s cookbooks, and Rachael Ray.  The only one who may be a little different is Barefoot Contessa.  However, I need to get back on subject.  I highly recommend getting the book, Easy Parties and Wedding Celebrations.  It has half a section on weddings, but the first section contains recipes for parties.  This book has Southern hospitality down to a “T”; although, Mrs. Patty is Southern hospitality personified!!!!

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Pretend Banana Foster

This was definately a spur of the moment food item. I was watch the international pastry contest. It made me crave something sweet! So I looked into my nearly empty fridge and saw a fruit dip I made a while ago. Then i glanced to the almost brown bananas. Sounded good.
The dip is Paula Dean’s recipe. It is so simple and delicious!!!! The key is to keep it warm! I LOVE it with bananas but any fruit can do. If you have some left over, keep it in the fridge and reheat in microwave (CAREFULLY). I like to put it into a bowl with cut a cut banana. It also has a similar taste to banana foster.

Butterscotch Dip

2 bag of butterscotch chips
2 can of sweetened condensed milk
2 tablepoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 tablespoon white vinegar
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Place a small sauce pan over medium low heat. Melt the butterscotch chips and the milk together. Take off the heat and stir in the rest of ingredients.
Makes 2 cups.

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Bread for the Soul

For some reason I feel that homemade bread is something one must achieve in ther own kitchen. This is possibly because I always imagined my children having sandwiches that all the other children were jealous of, due to the fact that I spent three to four hours on their sandwich as apposed to one. I should say though that I do not have children; therefore, I do not know the amount of time, effort, and exhaustion one takes to raise the children in the right way. This being said, I do love making my own bread, experimenting to find the right mixture of ingredients to give it the authentic taste. Just today i tried a Italian wheat bread. I added 1/4 cup Italian seasonings and had 2 cups of white flour, wheat flour, and bread flour each. The result was pretty good, but I not going to mix wheat and Italian seasonings again. The flavors are too different. Next I will try honey wheat bread, increase the honey amount and have 3 cups wheat flour and bread flour each. But that is another day and another time. Here is my best experimentation.

Homemade White Bread

2 cups warm water (110 degrees)
1/3 cup sugar
1/6 (Half of 1/3 cup) cup honey
1 1/2 tablespoon active yeast
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup oil
3 cups bread flour
3 cups white flour
1 egg, well beaten
1/4 cup Italian seasonings (optional)

In a large bowl, dissolve the sugar and honey in warm water, and then stir in yeast. Allow to proof until yeast resembles a creamy foam. Meanwhile measure and mix together the two flours and the Italian seasoning if using; set aside.
Mix salt and oil into the yeast. Mix in flour one cup at a time. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Place in a well oiled bowl, and turn dough to coat. Cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
Punch dough down. Knead for a few minutes, and divide in half. Shape into loaves, and place into two well oiled 9×5 inch loaf pans. Allow to rise for 30 minutes, or until dough has risen 1 inch above pans. Brush with the beaten egg plus 1 tablespoon of water.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 35 minutes.
Makes 2 loaves.

I like to serve mine with homemade pesto or make a tomato topping, broil with that on top and mozerella. Yummy!

Italian Wheat Bread

Bread with Pesto

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