Homemade Coffee Ice Cream

The first ice cream recipe I tried with my ice cream maker was a strawberry. It came out so creamy and delicious with tons of fresh strawberry chunks in it. Sadly, I did not take any photos of the entire process or even of the ice cream afterward.
The next recipe I decided to try was a coffee ice cream. It took a little more time and effort, but man was it worth it. Even Cory thought it was fabulous and he doesn't even like coffee.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups whole milk (I use 2% if that's all I have)
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups whole coffee beans--I chose a nice chocolate-y coffee bean
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
5 large egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground coffee (press grinds through a fine mesh sieve)

1. Heat the milk, sugar, beans, salt, and 1/2 cup of cream in a saucepan until warm and steamy, but not boiling. Once warm, cover, remove from heat, and steep at room temperature for 1 hour.


2. Pour remaining cream into a medium metal bowl, set on ice over larger bowl. Set mesh sieve on top and set aside.
3. Reheat first mixture until hot and steamy. Whisk yolks together in a separate bowl. Slowly pour heated mixture into yolks, whisking constantly. Scrape warmed egg yolks back into saucepan.
4. Stir mixture constantly over medium heat scraping the bottom until mixture thickens and coats the back of your spatula, about 10 minutes.
5. Pour custard through strainer and stir into cream. Press on coffee beans to get all liquid through and discard the beans. This process took me quite some time.

6. Mix in vanilla and ground coffee and stir until cool.
7. Chill thoroughly (at least 4 hours) and then freeze according to ice cream maker instructions.

Makes 1 quart.

[My apologies for lack of photos of this amazing ice cream. This is probably one of the best coffee ice creams I've ever had.]

Red Wine Chocolate Cupcakes

Red Wine Chocolate cupcakes. Yeah, they are as good as they sound. I have made this recipe a few times and each time I marvel at how good they are.
These ones in particular were made for a co-worker's birthday.

For the cupcakes:

1/2 C cocoa powder
5 oz chocolate chips
1/2 C boiling water
2 sticks of butter, room temp
1 1/2 C sugar
4 eggs
1 1/4 C flour
1 1/2 t baking powder
1 t salt
3/4 C red wine

Mix the cocoa, chocolate chips, and boiling water in a medium bowl.

Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl. Beat in the eggs one at a time.

Combine dry ingredients and mix with the butter/sugar/eggs. Add parts of the chocolate mixture
and wine to the bowl alternating between the two...

Until you get this nice creamy, chocolaty concoction.

Pour into muffin tins and bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

These cupcakes are tricky. The last couple times I have made them they plump up beautifully in the oven, but then sadly deflate in the center when pulled out. I'm sure it has something to do with the chemistry of the ingredients. Maybe the type of red wine you use?
Regardless, the flavor is not affected and you can cover up the concave center with frosting.

For the Frosting:

1/2 C butter
pinch of salt
4 oz cream cheese
2 1/2 - 3 C powdered sugar
1 T vanilla

Beat butter with salt, then add cream cheese. Mix in powdered sugar bits at a time until you get the consistency that you prefer.

Cowbell

I first heard word of Cowbell through my co-worker, Gay. The restaurant is in an old gas station where Oak Street meets River Road, so nice and close to me. It was also mentioned that something called an "adult grilled cheese" was on the menu, which right away sparked my curiosity. Let's not forget that this place is organic and locally sourced, from what I understand. I decided to finally check the place out for a Friday lunch.



Right away I fell in love with the decor. The inside is light and airy, tables made of distressed wood, flowers in glass bottles, and various sculptures including an awesome egret. Look how they post their specials with a little magnet.


Although I really wanted to try their naturally raised beef burger, I opted for a cheaper course since it was lunch and got that much anticipated Adult-style grilled cheese with a mug of the daily soup. Cory copied and got the same thing. We also split an order of fries as an "appetizer".


The grilled cheese consisted of goat cheese, grilled asparagus slices, tomatoes, and something sweet. Fig? The soup of the day was a delicious white bean and vegetable.
I was very happy with my meal. The service was a tad sub-par. Our fries came at the same time as the grilled cheese and it was hard to get a hold of any of the 3 different people that waited on us. Since Cory was on a lunch break for work ('twas my day off!) I think he felt the stress of the wait more than me. I'm not really holding the service against them just yet because I'm anxious to get back there and try more food! The burger and also their brunch.


Cowbell
8801 Oak St
NOLA 70118

Pineapple-Mint Sorbet

I got an ice cream/frozen yogurt/sorbet maker for Christmas this year (thanks mom!) My first concoction was a pineapple-mint sorbet to ring in the new year. And oh my god is this sorbet amazing. It tastes like pure pineapple bliss. I probably could have added more mint, but it is so good nonetheless, and quite easy to make.

Ingredients:

1/2 a fresh pineapple, peeled and cored (500 mL purée)
8 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup champagne
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh mint

Prepare pineapple and place in blender with sugar. Puree until no chunks remain. Add water and champagne, pulse to combine. Add mint and pulse again. Chill the mixture thoroughly, at least 3 hours. I chilled it overnight.
Once chilled, pour into ice cream maker and follow manufacturer's instructions. Mine took 10 minutes to become sorbet. Freeze until firm, at least 4 hours.


I had a few people over for New Year's Eve and served my guests a glass of champagne with a scoop of the sorbet in it. So fancy and quite the crowd pleaser.

Maple Pecan Shortbread Cookies

One thing I learned from my UK adventure last spring was that I love shortbread. I also get such a joy cooking and baking with home-grown ingredients, so when I saw this recipe for a shortbread cookie, and I had a bunch of pecans sitting at home, I knew I had to make them.


(me eating an elephant shaped shortbread cookie in Scotland)

What you'll need:

2 and 3/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup pecans (toasted and finely chopped)
1 cup unsalted butter (@room temp)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 large egg yolk and 1 large egg white (lightly beaten)
1/2 cup pecan halves
1/4 cup raw turbinado sugar

First, mix the flour, salt, and chopped pecans. Cream the butter and sugar in a separate bowl until light and fluffy.
Beat in maple syrup followed by the egg yolk. Mix in flour until a dough forms.
Form dough into 1 and 1/2 inch thick log, wrap in plastic and let chill 2 hours to overnight. (I left mine in the fridge for a couple days.)
Slice log into 1/4 inch thick slices. Place on baking sheet, brush with egg white and top with pecan halves and raw sugar.
Bake at 350 degrees until lightly golden brown on edges: about 10-12 minutes, turning baking sheet around half way through.

the day after christmas

This morning I had the luxury of sleeping in until 8am for the second day in a row. I love mornings and I love breakfast.

Yesterday I made strawberry-banana pancakes and scrambled eggs (fresh yard eggs from my co-worker's chickens!)
This morning I quickly fixed a breakfast sandwich: toasted wheat bread, 2 scrambled eggs, a slice of cheddar cheese, and a slice of turkey heated on the skillet.

And then I had second breakfast.

...A bowl of cheerios with sliced strawberries. Just letting y'all know second breakfast actually exists in my life. Now I'm heading back to the kitchen to whip up some maple-pecan shortbread cookie dough.

Improvised Black Bean Soup

Last year I moved into my apartment right before January 2010. Since I was moving into my first New Orleans apartment, and because it was close to New Year's, the first thing I cooked in my kitchen was a black eyed pea soup for good luck. Today I basically switched out the black eyed peas and replaced them with black beans to get this black bean soup. It still came out darn delicious.


Here's what you need:

olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 carrots, chopped
3 celery ribs, diced
1 large green bell pepper, diced
3 cans of black beans, rinsed
32 oz or so of vegetable broth (I used less, just finishing off an open container I had in the fridge)
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
salt as needed



In a large sauce pan, over medium heat, cook onions, garlic, carrots, celery, and bell pepper in a little bit of olive oil. Saute about 10 minutes, or until tender. Stir in black beans, broth, tomatoes, and spices. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.



This makes a pretty huge batch of soup, so be prepared to share or eat it all week.

Persimmon Bread (Muffins)

Every winter I somehow end up with a huge box full of locally grown persimmons. What the heck is a Persimmon, anyway? I am not really sure...Some sort of a fruit, obviously. I am also not really sure what they taste like. Every time I bake something just to get these things out of my house, the end product does not really taste like a 'persimmon'. And when I taste the fruit in its raw form, it has an awful bitter taste. According to wikipedia, the bad taste is due to the tannin, which doesn't go away until the fruit is all the way ripened. Oops.
Regardless, these muffins came out pretty awesome. Especially when they are fresh out of the oven.


Here's what you need:

2 cups white sugar
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup oats
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups ripe persimmon pulp
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs


To get the persimmon pulp, I simply cut up the ripest 2 persimmons from my box and then tossed the pieces into my food processor.
In a large bowl, stir together the sugar, flours, oats, salt, spices, and baking soda until well mixed. Set aside. In another bowl, stir the persimmon pulp with the applesauce, vegetable oil, and eggs until well blended. Combine wet and dry ingredients. Divide batter into two greased 9x5 loaf pans, or into 24 muffin tins.
Bake at 350 degrees until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (About an hour for the loaf pans, and considerably less time if using muffin pan.)



Each muffin is approximately 206 calories with 2.7g of protein.