Super Fantastic Ice Cream

This recipe is based on one from Joy of Cooking.  I used half and half instead of cream first because that's what I had but mostly because I intended on adding a lot of candy to the finished product and I thought a lighter texture cut the richness maybe just a little.

beat together

3/4 cup sugar
2-3 egg yolks

depending on how much egg yolk you use, you might not get the ribbons that you would normally look for when combining egg yolks and sugar because there may not be enough yolk to fully dissolve the sugar.  At the very least mix it until it is combined and a pale yellow.

Add:

1 1/2 cups 1/2 and 1/2
pinch salt
one vanilla bean split down the middle

whisk together and then put over a low heat and, stirring constantly, slowly heat until the temperature reaches 175.  It's very important to get to that temperature because that's the temperature needed to kill salmonella.  Don't let it get hotter than that.  Remove from the heat and strain.  Don't skip the straining step because ice cream needs to be perfectly velvety and not have any stray bits of egg white floating about.  It's best to strain the mixture right away because it's at its thinnest when its hot.  Add the vanilla bean back to the strained liquid.  Let it cool and then refrigerate.  I always refrigerate ice cream overnight.

The next day assemble your ice cream freezer.  Remove the vanilla bean and add the custard to the freezer along with

2 cups half and half

Freeze until just soft serve and then add

crushed candy or cookies

You need to work out for yourself what kind of and how much cookies or candy to add.  I used about a dozen girl scout cookie thin mints and the same number of these dark chocolate, almond, and dried cherry clusters we got at Costco.  I thought that worked out OK.  Reserve some of the candy/cookies to decorate the top.  Turn the ice cream freezer back on until combined.  Remove to a container and freeze until solid.

bon appetit!

 

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

This recipe is based on one from the Joy of Cooking.  I increased the amount of chocolate chips by 50% because one cup of chocolate chips seemed a little austere and we like to assume that we've won the war here on Joseph's cooking blog.  My cookies took a lot longer to cook than the recipe indicated--  about 20 minutes-- and I'm not sure if that was because of my terrible oven or that I made them a lot larger than the recipe said I should.  Feel free to make these pretty big.  They don't spread as much as regular chocolate chip cookies do because of the oatmeal.


Heat oven 350

Whisk in a bowl:

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder

Cream together:

2 sticks butter (1 cup)
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt

Add:

2 eggs
2 1/2 tsp vanilla

Slowly add:

3 1/2 cups oats
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
3/4 - 1 cup walnuts

Place in golf ball sized amounts on a lined cookie sheet and bake 12-14 minutes or much more.  They're done when they start to firm up in the center.  Remove to drying rack when cool.  Makes 4 dozen.

bon appetit!

Saffron Rice a la Madame Poe

This is a vegan recipe that we've been eating quite a bit.  It's very easy to make and a great way to use up bits of things that you've got lying around.  Once you've got the proportions down it's super easy to add just about anything that you want.  This recipe is easily unveganized by adding cooked meat at the end.  Ingredients get separated into three categories:

1) Ingredients that get fried in oil -- things like spices, onions, garlic and root vegetables that you might want to get a little caramelization on.

2) Ingredients that need a long cooking time -- rice, beans and anything else that you didn't want to fry but you did want to get the full cooking time.

3) Ingredients that go in at the beginning of the resting period.  -- the rice has to sit for 10 minutes to finish cooking.  you can add things that you don't want to get a whole of heat before the rest.  olives, fresh herbs and vegetables like spinach go in then.

1/4 cup of olive oil
1 tsp cumin seed

Heat the oil in a large dutch oven over medium heat and add the cumin seeds.  When they start to pop add:

4 medium onions, chopped
2 carrots, finely diced

Cook until the onions are translucent.  Add:


2-4 cloves garlic, minced

Once the garlic starts to soften add the spices:


pinch of saffron  
1/2 tsp tumeric
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
generous grind of black pepper

Stir until the onions start to brown.  Then add:

2 cups rice - basmati is the best choice because the grains stay separate but I used sticky rice here because that's what I had and I liked the results.
1 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed

Stir for a minute and then add:

1 cup white wine -- or less I really like wine and saffron together but this might be too much for some people.  You need 4 cups of liquid total so if you use less wine use more water.
3 cups water

Bring to a simmer, put a lid on the dutch oven and simmer over very low heat for 25 minutes.  Then stir in:

2/3 cup chopped green olives - I found this olive salad at the grocery store that had a mixture of olives and jalapenos.  I loved it. 
huge handful of chopped parsley - put in a whole bunch of it if you like
small handful of chopped thyme

Taste for salt and then put the cover back on and let sit off of the heat for 10 minutes.   Then taste for salt again and serve.

Bon appetit!

French Onion Soup

Making French onion soup is a little time consuming but it's easy and the results are spectacular.   My recipe draws heavily from Alton Brown's and I think you'll like it a lot.  It's easily customized based on what you have lying around.  Obviously, it has to have onions in it but the alcohol, stock and herb mixture could totally be varied. I like my soup to have an awful lot of onions in it.  Julia Child's soup has a lot fewer onions--  so much so that she thickened hers with flour and even cornstarch as well in one of the enrichments.    I've been experimenting with stock and have concluded that, although you can never go wrong with a delicious homemade stock, this soup is more about the onions and the wine than the stock so packaged works just fine. 

Caramelize the onions.  Add to a heavy pot:

4 pounds onions
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp salt

Turn the heat to medium and cover.  Leave it alone for 20 minutes and then uncover and stir. Turn the heat down and keep stirring occasionally until the onions are caramelized and delicious.  The onions will release a variable amount of liquid and it will have a variable amount of evaporation depending on the humidity in the room.  I find that the best way to cook them is to vary covered and uncovered cooking.  If the onions are sitting in liquid they aren't going to caramelize and if they get too dry then they will start to stick.  Don't rush the caramelization process.  Expect it to take a couple of hours or maybe even more.  Rushing it will leave you with burned onions that are bitter and nobody likes that.  Alton Brown dispenses with all of this nonsense and caramelizes in the oven.  Whichever way you cook them, after a couple of hours when they look perfect add:

Two cups of white wine

let that reduce until the alcohol has burned off and you've been able to scrape all of the brown bits that were stuck to the pan up.  Then add:

4 cups beef stock
12 oz beer
Bouquet garni (thyme, parsley, bay leaves) tied together with twine on unflavored dental floss.

Simmer uncovered for an hour.  If it starts to get too thick add another bottle of beer.  Remove bouquet garni and season with

Salt and pepper to taste.

Dry out some

One loaf french bread

In the oven until very dry and lightly toasted.  Ladle soup into a bowl, top with toast and then

8 oz shredded gruyere, swiss or a combination of the two.

Mound a generous amount of cheese on top of the toast in the bowl and run under the broiler until golden and bubbly.  This is the classic method of serving this soup but a lot of people don't like it because 1) the toast eventually becomes very soggy and some people don't like that and 2) it tends to be more of a commitment to cheese than people want to make.  I think a nice compromise is to put the the cheese on top of the toast and run it under the broiler and then serve them on the side.  Purists can just pop the cheese toast into their soup in its entirety and eat it like that.  My mom liked it that way and I didn't notice any outraged Frenchmen storming the house to protest what I'd done to La Cuisine.

Bon appetit!

Cheesy Mexicali Bake

I love making casseroles.  This recipe is an homage to the fabulous classic casseroles of the 50's and 60's where dinner and culinary genius was just half a dozen cans and a bag of potato chips away.  This recipe is essentially a savory bread pudding with a Mexican theme.  I tried to give it a Betty Crocker inspired period name.  It's rich, festive and an awesome choice for brunch or dinner.


One recipe corn bread 

I bought mine at the store already made and it weighed one pound.  It should be thoroughly stale.  This recipe is pretty wet and it'll be too much so if the cornbread isn't very dry.  If it's not, stick it in the oven at 200 until it's dried and crumbly. Cut into pieces that are bite sized or maybe a little larger.  Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 13x9" Pyrex pan.

Drain:

One can chopped tomatoes
One can chili beans

Brown in a frying pan using medium low heat:

One pound mild Italian bulk sausage (not in the casing)


When brown remove from pan and set aside.   If you don't see a lot of grease in the pan then add a little oil and add:

4-6 medium onions, chopped

Cook until they start to get translucent.  When they are about halfway done add:

2-6 cloves garlic, minced

When they're cooked through but not brown turn off the heat add:

1/2 cup white wine

Stir and reduce until the wine looks syrupy.  Turn off the heat and let it cool just a bit and then add the reserved sausage mixture and then:

One can sliced olives, drained
Two cans chopped green chili
Cilantro -  Use as much as you'd like.  I used about 2/3 of a bunch.

Add the reserved corn bread and gently blend together.  You don't want the corn bread to get too broken up. When combined, gently place it into the Pyrex pan.  Distribute around the pan but don't press it down into the pan too much.  You want pieces of cornbread to be sticking up so that they don't get soaked in custard and end up being golden and chewy.

In a mixing bowl blend together:

8 eggs
2 cups heavy cream - You could substitute just about any dairy for this
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp salt or to taste
1 tsp black pepper or to taste

I had a little trouble with the chili powder clumping so be prepared to whisk that for a while if you have to.  When thoroughly smooth, slowly pour this over the cornbread in the Pyrex pan.  Cover with:

8 ounces shredded mexican cheese

And put in the oven for 30 minutes or until the custard has set, the cheese has melted and it and exposed cornbread are beginning to brown.  Remove it from the oven and let it sit for 10 minutes or longer and then cut and serve.

Bon appetit!