Week Eighteen - Chocolate Almond Brittle

I shall begin this long-overdue post with a giant hug and an apology: I'M SORRY I AM THE WORST AT BLOGGING! I've had quite the busy May, beginning with a back injury, then a trip to Florida and a trip to our nation's capital, then a thirtieth birthday (eek!) and a few friends' birthdays sprinkled in between all that fun. So I haven't forgotten about you, my loyal readers. I've merely been selfishly concentrating on me. And for that, I am truly sorry. I promise to make it up to you by writing multiple spellbinding posts this week! And we'll start with this one, Chocolate Almond Brittle...

This flavor was intended for the first week of May, during which my big brother had a birthday. In deciding on a flavor fit for this Canadian King (This shall henceforth be your nickname, brother. At least, for the length of this post.), I wracked my brain for something that reminded me of him: Pizza Goldfish-flavored ice cream? I'd probably eat that but I fear I'd be alone. Perhaps something inspired by the Chunky candy bar, which he would oddly accept in a monumental candy swap at Halloween for four delicious Fun Size Snickers bars? I didn't like Chunky bars then and I'm sure not changing my tune now. But wait! What was that silly salad he tried to pawn off on the family at Christmas a few years back? It was his infamous "Chocolate and Almond Salad", a salad that sounds most delicious but is quite deceiving in its title. Allow me to further explain...

I take you now to Christmas Eve, circa 2005ish, at my parents' house in New Jersey. For a few years now, my family has been eating Christmas Even dinner at the Chinese buffet. Gross and classy, I know. But it was my grandfather's only Christmas wish and we were happy (through gritted teeth) to grant the man this much. This year, however, we were taking a stand. You see, my grandfather has passed away at this point and it had come out in the past day or so that none of us actually enjoyed eating at the Chinese buffet. Why then, we wondered, would we keep the tradition alive? We would not! We quickly scrapped the Chinese buffet plan and began working on a new one, one that involved all of us cooking a different course of the meal and then voting on the best - because we're glory hogs like that. At this point, it was 4pm on Christmas Eve and we all piled into the car to head to the grocery store to procure the necessary ingredients. Alas, friends, grocery stores don't stay open this late on Christmas Eve. Up the river we went, utterly paddle-less.

It was at this point that my darling mother remembered a beloved tradition from her childhood, whereby my Nana would decide she didn't feel like cooking for her family of eight and she would loudly declare "EXPERIMENTAL DINNER!" This declaration would bring her six children barrelling into the kitchen on a mission to create the most delectable dishes the could using only what they could find in the cabinets. As she finished the explanation, my siblings and I let out an astounding "Yes!" in unison. "This is a challenge we are willing to accept!" (Note: We didn't actually say that but I'm building the story so bear with me.) So off to the kitchen we scurried, tearing open cabinets, drawers, and refrigerator doors. The youngest of us took off to prepare his favorite, Chicken Francaise. I zeroed in on a box of graham cracker crumbs and a package of instant chocolate pudding...to the wine glasses for a tasty parfait dessert! My sister began to pile up the veggies and in steps the Canadian King with the suggestion of his "Chocolate and Almond Salad". "That sounds great! What is it?" we asked, excitedly. And then he showed it to us: a cereal bowl filled with a sad melange of slivered almonds and chocolate chips. We scoffed at him, because obviously that is no salad, and then gladly ate the entire contents of the bowl.

Meals were plated, food was pushed around, and eventually a winner was declared. It had been decided that the egg hadn't been given enough time to drip from the chicken before breading it in the Chicken Francaise dish, thus leaving us with Lemon-Flavored, Scrambled Egg-Coated Chicken Surprise. Slight fail. My sister's dish mustn't have been too horrible, nor too memorable, because I have no idea what it was. (Sorry, sis.) The red beans and rice that my older brother eventually decided upon were palatable, though they lost the bulk of their points when he explained that "you can tell when they're done when the go from looking like baby vomit to baby poop." Mmm. And my beautiful parfaits were enjoyed for at least two minutes before I declared that they were disgusting and everyone loudly agreed: while an inch-thick layer of graham cracker crumbs might look nice, it ends up creating the sensation of ingesting sawdust. So in the end, the winner of this sad meal was my father's cornbread. Cornbread that came from a ten cent box. Dinner was served.

So there you have it. The inspiration and insanely long tale behind it. I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I've enjoyed eating this new flavor...

Chocolate and Almond Brittle Ice Cream

Ingredients:

1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 1/2 cups almond milk
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup sugar
6 egg yolks
2 cups almond brittle (recipe to follow)

1. In a saucepan, combine the cocoa powder, 1/3 cup sugar and the water. Cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, about three minutes.

2. Chop the chocolate and add to the cocoa mixture, stirring until smooth.

3. Pour the almond milk and heavy cream into a saucepan and heat over medium high until bubbles start to form around the edge.

4. In a bowl, combine the egg yolks and sugar and whisk to combine.

5. Add a small amount of the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Once combined, slowly pour egg mixture into the milk mixture, whisking constantly to avoid curdling.

6. Add the chocolate mixture and continue to cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon.

7. Pour into a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap, pressing it down directly on top of the mixture. Refrigerate until completely cooled.

8. Transfer cooled mixture into bowl of ice cream maker and churn. When done, mix in the almond brittle and pour into a freezer-safe container.

9. Enjoy after dinner, preferably not an experimental one.

Almond Brittle, adapted from Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup water
3/4 tsp salt
8 tbs butter
1 1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 tsp baking soda

1. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat and spray lightly with cooking spray.

2. In a saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup, water, and salt and heat over medium-high, stirring constantly.

3. Once the sugar is dissolved, insert a candy thermometer and add the butter, allowing the mixture to come to a boil.

4. When the temperature comes to 300 degrees, remove from heat and add the almonds and baking soda, stirring quickly to fully combine.

5. Pour the mixture onto the prepared sheet and spread with a silicone spatula. Allow to cool.

6. When completely cooled, break the brittle into smaller pieces and put in a zip top bag. Using a mallet (or ceramic spoon rest, in my case) break the candy into bite-size pieces.

7. Keep two cups aside for the ice cream and enjoy the rest! Beware, it is probably not good for those with fillings or crowns. Or anyone who cares about their teeth, I suppose.

Week Seventeen - Sweet Corn with Blueberry Compote

This past week's flavor was Jersey-inspired! My manager at work just left to move to Boston so I wanted to make him something to represent the great state he's leaving behind. Pork roll-flavored ice cream was definitely not an option so I looked to the Garden State's produce offerings and decided that these two flavors would work perfectly. (Full disclosure: Jersey corn and blueberries aren't quite in season yet...so this batch was made with some imposter produce. I'll have to remake it later this summer when the good stuff is bountiful. But for now, it's the thought that counts...right?)

Most of you, my lovely-and-loyal readers, are either current or former New Jersey residents. For those who aren't, let me let you in on a little secret: this state is so much better than reality television leads viewers to believe! While Seaside Heights does have its fair share of raunchiness and there are definitely some killer accents, the majority of this state has much more to offer. The beaches are beautiful. Well, most of them are beautiful. Our waters are home to Ellis Island. We were also home, at one point or another, to Thomas Edison. And David Copperfield. And Whitney Houston. AND THE BOSS! Our state is so good, in fact, that we have sports teams from other states residing here. (In your face, New York!) And to top it all off, Jimmy Hoffa is probably buried here.

All this is to say that for as much bad publicity that New Jersey gets, it's still an okay place to be. And if you're gonna be here, you may as well eat some delicious produce. Either in the healthy way that nature intended or in a delicious ice cream...

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups whole milk
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup sugar
6 egg yolks
1/2 cup sweet corn, cut from the cob

1. Pour the milk and heavy cream into a saucepan and heat over medium high until bubbles start to form around the edge.

2. In a bowl, combine the egg yolks and sugar and whisk to combine.

3. Add a small amount of the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Once combined, slowly pour egg mixture into the milk mixture, whisking constantly to avoid curdling.

4. Add the corn and continue to cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon.

5. Pour into a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap, pressing it down directly on top of the mixture. Refrigerate until completely cooled.

7. Transfer cooled mixture into bowl of ice cream maker and churn. When done, layer into a freezer-safe container along with blueberry compote (recipe below) and freeze.

8. Enjoy this one...'cause it's pretty delicious!

Blueberry Compote

Ingredients:

2 cups blueberries
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water

1. Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until blueberries start to pop.

2. Lower heat to a simmer and continue to cook for 20 minutes, until thickened. (Note: my compote wasn't as thick as I would have liked by the end of cooking so I made a cornstarch slurry - 2 tbs cornstarch and 1 tbs water - and mixed that in, then heated the mixture for another ten minutes.)

3. When done, allow to cool then place in a container and refrigerate until use.

Week Sixteen - Quisp Cereal

Welcome to the long-overdue "I HAVE A NIECE!!" post! As I mentioned ever-so-briefly in a previous post, my husband's sister had a baby on Easter! Not just any baby, the first grandbaby in the family! And not just any first grandbaby, but the cutest little girl in the whole wide world! (Note: To any future daughters I may have, Mommy loves you and thinks you're just as cute as her niece!) The past few weeks have been filled with lots of baby-cuddling and a few fun shopping trips and I am loving every minute of it!

Now, why, you might ask, am I making an ice cream based on a weird 1960's breakfast cereal in honor of my new niece? Fair question. To answer this question, I must first rewind to the weekend we all first found out about this beautiful baby. This past August, my husband and I had planned a trip to the New Jersey Shore along with his sisters and their significant others. While composing our grocery list, it was decided that each couple would bring three different types of breakfast cereals. (We're a cereal-lovin' bunch and didn't want to be left hungry!)

 Our most-impressive selection

Upon arrival, my husband and I proudly displayed our selections: Corn Pops, Golden Grahams, and Peanut Butter Cap'n Crunch. As the other cereals made their way to the kitchen counter, we all wondered aloud about a strange blue box with a peculiar alien-like fellow on the front. My sister-in-law's husband immediately grew wide-eyed and happily frantically described Quisp cereal and it's honorable mascot, Admiral Quisp. He listed the many reasons why it is awesome, including the fact that it tastes like Cap'n Crunch but doesn't stab the roof of your mouth - which Cap'n Crunch most certainly does. Also, Admiral is a higher rank than Captain (or in this case, Cap'n) so obviously this is a superior breakfast treat.

 The Admiral - pretty lame mascot, no?

Quisp was the first cereal to go that week, though I won't agree that it is the best. (Golden Grahams! You're not just good, you're golden!) I should also add that all nine of the other cereals were finished by the end of the week - cereal slobs! But if one thing was clear by the end of it all, it was that we found the world's #1 Quisp fan. And that guy is now a dad. And if he is anything like my dad, I know he'll be feeding his baby Quisp as soon as humanly possible.

So in honor of the new Dad (and Mom, and Beautiful Baby Girl)...

Quisp Cereal Ice Cream

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups whole milk
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup sugar
6 egg yolks
2 cups Quisp cereal

1. Pour cereal into a bowl and crush with your hands, just to break it up a bit. Add milk to cover and top with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for three hours.

2. After three hours, remove plastic wrap and pour cereal mixture through fine sieve. Clean sieve and pass mixture through again to ensure all the solids are removed. (That scrambled egg-looking mess was most delicious and I'm certain it could have a second life - I just haven't figured out what. But don't waste it!)

3. Measure out two cups of cereal milk (Drink the rest! You won't regret it!) and combine with heavy cream in a saucepan. Heat over medium high until bubbles start to form around the edge.

4. In a bowl, combine the egg yolks and sugar and whisk to combine.

5. Add a small amount of the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Once combined, slowly pour egg mixture into the milk mixture, whisking constantly to avoid curdling. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon.

6. Pour through a fine sieve into a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap, pressing it down directly on top of the mixture. Refrigerate until completely cooled.

7. Transfer cooled mixture into bowl of ice cream maker and churn. Add the cake halfway through, allowing it to mix throughout the ice cream. When completely incorporated, transfer to a freezer safe container and freeze.

Week Fifteen - Red Velvet Cake

This flavor serves as a very late birthday present to one of my sister-in-laws. She loves red velvet cake so I figured I'd try to create a flavor of ice cream she could enjoy for her birthday. Her birthday was almost two weeks ago but it's the thought that counts, right? So Happy Belated Birthday, C!! Hope you enjoy!

In trying to decide how to make a flavor of ice cream based on a flavor of cake, I went back and forth between flavoring and coloring the ice cream itself to mimic the flavor and deep red color of traditional red velvet cake...or just adding cake to the mix. Although it might seem like the easy way out, I opted for the latter for two reasons: one, I thought the flavor would be more authentic (and more interesting) than if I were to try to make a (probably gross-looking) red ice cream that had that slightly-chocolatey-yet-not-chocolate flavor; and two, I wanted to mash ice cream and cake together. Because it's fun. And because who doesn't like ice cream and cake mashed together? Haters, that's who.

My love of mashing ice cream and cake together started early on in my childhood, when I was seven or eight, and witnessed the fine folks of PeeWee's Playhouse mix a cake with ice cream to create a "pudding" treat. My siblings and I were charmed by this idea and would make our own "pudding" at every birthday celebration from then on. It was and continues to be a totally awesome way to eat cake and ice cream. So check it out, haters:

Red Velvet Cake Ice Cream

Ingredients:

2 cups whole milk
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup sugar
6 egg yolks
3 cups red velvet cake (cut into 1/2 inch pieces)

 1. Pour the milk and heavy cream into a saucepan and heat over medium high until bubbles start to form around the edge.

2. In a bowl, combine the egg yolks and sugar and whisk to combine.

3. Add a small amount of the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Once combined, slowly pour egg mixture into the milk mixture, whisking constantly to avoid curdling. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon.

4. Pour through a fine sieve into a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap, pressing it down directly on top of the mixture. Refrigerate until completely cooled.

5. Transfer cooled mixture into bowl of ice cream maker and churn. Add the cake halfway through, allowing it to mix throughout the ice cream. When completely incorporated, transfer to a freezer safe container and freeze.

 I need to figure out how to take non-blurry photos.

Week Fourteen - Pistachio

As I sit here by the computer painting my nails a pastel green, I just realized that I never posted this past week's flavor. In a week where I made three ice creams in five days...and then ended the week by going to see my fabulous sister-in-law and her husband kick out the jams Friday night, worked Saturday morning then went to see the Queen tribute band (whoa!), and spent the day Sunday at the hospital MEETING MY NEW NIECE (!!!!!) this post just slipped my mind. Stay tuned for more on my niece...for now, my nails are done and I have a few minutes to spare so let's go!

I believe I was 23 or 24 years old before I tried anything pistachio-flavored, the nut or otherwise. I'm not entirely sure why I avoided it for so long. Green is my favorite color and I love most other nuts. Those seem like good enough reasons to try one, right? Wrong. Something about pistachios always seemed weird to me. Maybe because I associate them with the lame five pound burlap sack of nuts my dad always gets at Christmas from a client. That stupid bag would sit in our house for months before finally we'd just throw it away. It was a nuisance and I wanted nothing to do with it! Little did I know how truly delicious that dumb bag's contents were. If only I could motivate myself to pick it up and open it those many years ago, I might be leading a very different life these days. Alas, my tastebuds missed out until one fateful day when I decided to taste (read: steal) my husband's Pistachio & Honey ice cream from Jeni's. "What's this?" I thought to myself. "Pistachios aren't the gross old-person-only flavor I had imagined in my mind; pistachios are TOTALLY AWESOME!"

A new day had dawned, friends. And I'm delighted to be able to share that with you here today. Feast your eyes on this:

Pistachio Ice Cream

Ingredients:

2 cups whole milk
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup sugar
6 egg yolks
1/2 cup pistachio paste (I bought mine at Whole Foods)

1. Pour the milk and heavy cream into a saucepan and heat over medium high until bubbles start to form around the edge.

2. In a food processor (or the super convenient mini food processor attachment to your immersion blender!) combine the pistachio paste with a couple tablespoons of water. Pulse, adding additional water, until smooth.

3. In a bowl, combine the egg yolks and sugar and whisk to combine.

4. Add a small amount of the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Once combined, slowly pour egg mixture into the milk mixture, whisking constantly to avoid curdling. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon.

4. Pour through a fine sieve into a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap, pressing it down directly on top of the mixture. Refrigerate until completely cooled.

5. Transfer cooled mixture into bowl of ice cream maker and churn. Transfer to a freezer safe container and freeze.

Week Thirteen - Mango Lime

Alright, alright...I'm almost all caught up! This is last week's flavor...

Spring has sprung. Totally. And I'm very happy about it. I think every season is my favorite season, at one point or another. And the beginning of Spring is certainly some kind of wonderful. The days when you can go outside without a coat, looking cute in a flannel and flip flops. Cute? Maybe that actually looks dumpy...but whatever. So you're hanging out in your flannel and flip flops, windows open, music up (this week was all Queen, all the time in preparation for the super cool Queen cover band I'm going to see with my in-laws tomorrow night!) and nothing can stop you! ("Don't stop my nooow!")

Now let's think about how you feel in that particular moment (or create your own moment, if my dumpy Freddy Mercury mood doesn't suit you) and try to put a flavor to it. It's warm, but it's not Summer-y peach or melon warm. And you're on top of the world, but not in that chocolate-smothered-in-caramel kind of way. You're just havin' a good time (havin' a good time!) and you don't wanna stop at all. You're mango, baby. You're mango with a touch of lime, and you look goooood. Good enough to eat. So let's get down to it...

Mango Lime Ice Cream

Ingredients:

2 cups whole milk
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup mango puree (I purchased puree at Trader Joe's but you could just cut up a mango and puree it)
1 cup sugar
6 egg yolks
1 tsp lime juice (I was scared to put too much, in fear of curdling the milk. But you can't really taste it so I'd recommend either putting more in, carefully, or adding some zest)

1. Pour the milk and heavy cream into a saucepan and heat over medium high until bubbles start to form around the edge. Add the mango puree and stir to combine. Bring mixture to a boil.

2. In a bowl, combine the egg yolks, sugar, and lime juice in a bowl and whisk to combine.

3. Add a small amount of the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Once combined, slowly pour egg mixture into the milk mixture, whisking constantly to avoid curdling. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon.

4. Pour through a fine sieve into a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap, pressing it down directly on top of the mixture. Refrigerate until completely cooled.

5. Transfer cooled mixture into bowl of ice cream maker and churn. Transfer to a freezer safe container and freeze.

Week Twelve - Green Tea

Time to play catch-up...

Boy, has life been crazy these past few weeks! Last weekend was my lovely sister-in-law's baby shower (First niece or nephew! Yay!!) so the week prior to that was filled with lots of fun planning and preparations. Then this past week, I worked like a crazy person. Yes, a crazy person. The kind of crazy person who doesn't make ice cream. But I've risen from the madness with last last week's flavor and will post this past week's flavor within a day or two. Now let's get down to it!

As I mentioned, last weekend was all about little Baby H and his or her beautiful Mommy-to-be. Myself and the rest of the killer party planning brigade had spent a couple months trying to create a shower that my sister-in-law would love; one that would suit her perfectly. We ended up going with a tea party theme, complete with doilies, tea sandwiches, and fabulous mismatched china. Ladies were asked to wear a "tea hat" to the luncheon and prizes were awarded for the prettiest hat, the most creative, etc. All in all, everyone seemed to have a great time - success!

A cup of tea to keep me company

And so, when choosing my flavor for last last week, I wanted to go with something tea-like. I thought about a black tea ice cream (mostly because I had a delicious one at Per Se a few weeks ago) but I figured that was too similar to the Chai flavor from Week Three. Green tea was the next logical option and I know a certain coworker of mine has been hinting at me making this flavor for weeks. (There's a container with your name on it in my freezer!) So put on your fancy hats and join me...

Green Tea Ice Cream

Ingredients:

2 cups whole milk
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup loose green tea leaves
1 cup sugar
6 egg yolks

1. Pour the milk into a saucepan and heat over medium high until bubbles start to form around the edge. Add the tea leaves and steep for thirty minutes.

2. Once tea is fully steeped, pour through a fine mesh sieve, pushing the tea down to release as much liquid as possible. Return the milk to the saucepan.

3. Add the heavy cream to the saucepan and heat over medium high until bubbles start to form around the edge.

4. Combine the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl and whisk to combine.

5. Add a small amount of the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Once combined, slowly pour egg mixture into the milk mixture, whisking constantly to avoid curdling. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon.

6. Pour through a fine sieve into a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap, pressing it down directly on top of the mixture. Refrigerate until completely cooled.

7. Transfer cooled mixture into bowl of ice cream maker and churn. Transfer to a freezer safe container and freeze.