I was in charge of snacks for one of our recent backpacking trips with friends. So I decided to make “Chewy Trail Mix Cookies”. They turned out AMAZING! I think I was supposed to use raisins and opted for Reese’s pieces instead (oops!)

Here are some pictures of mint ice cream I recently made.  I used the non-egg base and steeped the milk in mint before adding it to the ice cream (let it cool completely).  I usually like homemade ice cream best on Day 1, but this one was much better on Day 2 after the mint flavor had more of a chance to soak in.

Mint before steeping.

Mint added to the milk

Ice cream with a little mint garnish.

I LOVE s’mores!  But I replace the graham crackers with nutter butters and the chocolate with white chocolate…so good!  So after a recent camping trip we had some nutter butters leftover so I decided to make nutter butter ice cream.  No pictures (sorry) but here’s how I did it:

Use this base recipe.

Add 1/3-1/2 c crunchy peanut butter.  I use a homogenized PB (not the kind that separates).  Add this slowly after all the other ingredients are mixed.

Add 8 crushed nutter butters at the end of the freezing cycle before placing into the freezer.

I’ve also made this ice cream without nutter butters and it’s a really good, creamy peanut butter ice cream.

Cheers,
K

The great thing about making ice cream so often is that it’s not such a daunting task.  It’s really quite easy to make for a quick dessert after a weeknight meal with friends.  When the weather is warm (we don’t have AC) it’s a little more difficult to do it quickly, but it’s still very yummy and adds that special homemade feel.

I usually make ice cream for our weekly croquet gathering, but this week I wanted to make ice cream for some friends who joined us for a weeknight dinner at home.  I wanted something that was easy but a little different.  I thought about adding berries or simply making vanilla.  BUT, we forgot the berries at the store and I felt like plain, vanilla was not very exciting.  So, I went with cinnamon and it turned out really well!

I used the “With Eggs” base recipe and added 1.5 t cinnamon with the vanilla.  Be sure you whisk all the ingredients very thoroughly so that the cinnamon is evenly distributed.  It would have been fabulous with a crunchy, little cookie.  Anyone have cookie suggestions that might go with cinnamon ice cream?  Yummy!

Cheers,
K

This week’s ice cream flavor is Orange Creamsicle.  Last year I tried to make this and it’s the only one of my ice creams that I considered a failure.  I tried to make it with orange juice, but in order to get enough orange flavor I had to add so much OJ that it wasn’t very creamy in the end.  So here’s my second try.

I started with the “non-eggs” base recipe.

Ingredient adjustments:

Increase the vanilla to 1 1/2 tsp
Add: 3/4 to 1 tsp orange extract
Add: Orange zest from 3/4 of an orange

Instructions:

Whisk all ingredients, except the orange zest, together until the sugar is dissolved. This is easy and quick to do by hand. Add the orange zest and whisk until evenly distributed and there are no clumps. Place in ice cream maker and follow manufacturer’s instructions. Enjoy!

I forgot to take pictures, sorry!

NOTE: This makes a pretty small batch, so you may want to double or even triple the recipe.

Cheers,
K

This is the ice cream recipe that doesn’t need a disclaimer!  The other one, you know, the one with eggs, is generally creamier though.  Read that post for more specific info on ingredients and portion sizes.  This recipe makes a particularly small batch, so adjust accordingly.

Ingredients:

1 cup milk
1 cup cream
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 t salt
1/2 t vanilla

Instructions:

Whisk ingredients together.  Pour into ice cream maker and follow manufacturer’s instructions to freeze.  Enjoy!

Cheers,
K

Almost all of my ice cream recipes are based off of one of two base recipes: with eggs or without!  I’ve adapted the “without eggs” version over the years, but don’t remember where it came from.  The “with eggs” version came from my mom, who got it from my dad’s mom…

DISCLAIMER: My grandparents grew up with farm fresh eggs so cooking them before throwing them in the ice cream never made sense.  We’ve never adjusted it to abide by the current USDA rules; one day I’ll take the time to cook the custard first, but for now I should tell you that “raw eggs can kill you”.

I have a pretty small ice cream maker (1.5 qt), so you may want to adjust the recipes according to the size of your ice cream maker.  It’s a good thing mine isn’t any bigger because I would eat it if I made it!

Ingredients:

2 eggs
1 scant cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 cups cream
1/2 t vanilla
1/4 t salt

A couple of notes about the ingredients:

• Eggs: Yes, use the yolks
• Sugar: I like to use refined sugar.  I think the larger sugar crystals in some of the natural sugars make the ice cream less creamy.
• Milk: I usually use 2% because that’s what’s in the fridge, but whole would probably make it even yummier.
• Cream & Milk: I like to use non-homogenized, local dairy milk (it tastes better and the glass bottles are cool!)
• Vanilla: Use the good stuff, not the imitation. Feel free to add more or less depending on your preferences.
• Salt: I usually grind my own directly into the bowl.  Unlike the sugar, I haven’t found any issues with the larger salt crystals.

Instructions:

Beat the eggs till blended.  I usually use a hand/stick blender with the whisk attachment.  Gradually add the sugar to the eggs and continue beating until stiff (basically, thick and creamy looking.  They won’t get stiff like egg whites because they have yolk as well).  Add milk, cream, vanilla, and salt.  Whisk until well mixed.  Pour into ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions.  Enjoy!

I’ll post more info on the “non-egg” recipe (it’s not as good in most applications) and some more creative ice cream flavors (e.g., orange creamsicle, mint) as the summer progresses.

Cheers,
K

Robert and I cook a lot.  Last year we remodeled the kitchen.

Before:

After:

Our cooking styles work perfectly.  I do all the prep work and he does all the heat and meat.  We usually share a nice glass of wine and chat while each of us owns our piece of the process.  We joke that I’m the sous chef and he likes to think he is the executive chef (though I’m not willing to give him that just yet!)  I recently decided that I also want to be the pastry chef.  If he wants to be called executive I better have two titles.

I started with French macaroons, which I still can’t quite get right (3 tries so far—didn’t take pictures, sorry), and have moved on to yeast breads.  I’ll post my creations along the way, though I don’t have many pictures thus far.

Cheers,
K

Remember the beef en croute I made in Brioche part 1?

Well, when I wrapped the beef I had some leftover brioche dough so I made a cinnamon roll.

It was so good I decided to use an entire receipt of brioche to make cinnamon rolls.  I rolled the dough and spread softened butter over the top.  Then heavily sprinkled with cinnamon sugar (1:4), rolled, sliced and baked.  Yummy!

Cheers,
K