It's Bananas, Baby!

I don't want to jinx it, but I must say the weather has been rather glorious lately. The sun is out, the sky is blue, the flowers are tall, and the leaves and grass are bright green. And it's warm.

It's almost nice enough to warrant some ice cream...but that would mean I would have to have some in the freezer, which I don't. (Boo.)

But, I did have some ripe bananas, so I made a lovely frozen treat using nature's ice cream -- frozen bananas. It's refreshing and sweet, and totally hits the spot. And it's kind of healthy if you ignore the peanut butter cups. But don't.

There's enough left to last the rest of the week...maybe the sun will stay around that long, too.

Peanut Butter Cup & Banana Freeze
Ingredients:
3-4 ripe bananas (peeled, sliced into rounds, then frozen)
1 tsp honey (if you discover your bananas are not quite ripe)
Handful of your favorite peanut butter cups* (unwrapped and coarsely chopped if large)
*Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups are delish!

Minimal MESS/ingredients/clean-up: Category 1

To Do:

• Blend/process the frozen banana pieces on high speed, until smooth. Have patience. It will be crumbly at first, but then suddenly, it will transform into creaminess. 
• Add in the honey, if using.
• Pulse in the peanut butter cups until combined.
• Enjoy right then and there (it will be similar to the consistency of soft serve ice cream), or for a firmer texture, pour the mixture into a freezer-safe bowl with a lid and freeze 30 mins - 1 hour.
• Scoop into bowls and drizzle with hot fudge, melted peanut butter, whipped cream or your favorite ice cream toppings.
• Go bananas!

    xoxo

Give It the Old College Try: Ice Cream 101

Hooray for Ice Cream!

My ultimate, favorite ice cream flavor is Ben & Jerry's Chubby Hubby: Vanilla malt ice cream, chocolate-covered, peanut butter-filled pretzels, with peanut butter and chocolate fudge swirls. It's to die for, and Chris and I shared quite a few pints of it in college when we first started seeing each other. For me, it's all about the salty with the sweet: the pretzels and the chocolate. And of course the peanut butter, which goes perfectly with both.

Jump ahead 16 years later, and it's not so easy to find Chubby Hubby these days. It's not at any of our local grocery stores (I've checked six different places), and the last time we found it--at a 7/11--there was only one pint left, and they didn't restock. I guess it's not B&J's most popular flavor, which is very sad. Very sad indeed.

But, Chris' Creamy Caramel Chocolate Coffee Chip Ice Cream was a hit, so when he decided to make homemade vanilla ice cream with peanut-butter filled pretzels, Nutella, and some chopped milk chocolate mixed in, I was thrilled. It turned out so good -- and so close to the real thing! But what to call it? I guess we could call Chris' concoction "Not Quite Chubby Hubby" but Chris is nowhere close to being chubby, and I get "the death look" when I refer to him as my "hubby" so I'm going to just let this one go.

You can get the Food & Wine recipe for the ice cream base here. However, Chris did not reveal the exact proportions of peanut butter-filled pretzels and milk chocolate, so I guess you'll have to just eyeball it. He did add a bit of vanilla extract to the ice cream base before chilling, which was a smart move.

Chris's College Try Ice Cream
Ingredients:
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Salt (pinch)
1 high quality milk chocolate bar, chopped into small pieces
2 TBS Nutella (chocolate hazelnut spread)
Peanut butter filled pretzels

Minimal MESS/ingredients/clean-up: Category 1

To Do:

• If you need to chill the bucket or insert for your ice cream maker, make sure you've done that already. (It needs to be frozen solid, so at least 24 hours.)
• Place a medium bowl inside a larger bowl, then fill the larger bowl with ice and water until the medium bowl is immersed in the ice water.
• In small sauce pan, combine the heavy cream, whole milk (do not substitute), sugar, vanilla, and pinch of salt.
• Bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring often with a wooden spoon so the sugar dissolves completely.

• Remove the mixture from heat and let cool a few minutes, then pour into the now-chilled medium bowl. Let cool completely, stirring occasionally. 
• Cover the cooled base with plastic wrap and refrigerate until very cold, at least an hour or overnight (ideal). 
• Prep your ice cream add-ins (in this case, chop your chocolate and stir the Nutella in a small bowl until thinned a bit). 
• Pour the chilled base into your ice cream maker along with the chocolate pieces, and drizzle in the Nutella. Freeze according to your machine's directions. 
• When ready, gently stir in the pretzels, then transfer the mixture to a freezer-proof plastic container. Cover and freeze at least 3 hours, or until firm. 
• Devour.

Hooray for Chris!
xoxo

Chris's Creamy Caramel Chocolate Coffee Chip Ice Cream

I tried to get Chris to Guest Blog today, but he wants to remain mysterious, so I'll do my best in his place. 

First of all, I should tell you that Chris HATES ice cream. I'm not kidding. You know those hot, sultry days in July and August when it is 100,000 degrees and the only thing that sounds good for dinner is a big bowl of ice cream and maybe some more for dessert? That doesn't sound good to Chris. I think we went out for ice cream twice this summer and only after I made my pouty face. 

I'm convinced he had a bad experience with ice cream as a child that he's not telling me about (my sister still has an issue with mint chocolate chip after an incident involving mineral oil when we were young--poor, A!). I'm sorry Love, but who doesn't like ice cream?

Either way, it is super ironic that Chris is actually an amazing ice cream maker.  He's already made it twice this fall and it has been fantastic.  And yes, he'll eat the ice cream he makes. Go figure. 

Here's the recipe for American-style ice cream he's been using. It's taken from a recent issue of Food & Wine magazine. Chris's adaptation is below.

It makes one quart of smooth, creamy ice cream, and you can add in whatever goodies you want once you put the base in your ice cream maker. Chris chose a luscious chocolate/coffee Java Junkie bar from Jacques Torres and some Caramel Creams for this batch.

If you have heavy cream, whole milk and sugar, you're ready to go.  And, of course an ice cream maker is important. We actually bought ours (a Sunbeam) a few years ago at Target for $6 -- you can't really pass up a deal like that, even if you think you'll never use it. Note: As long as you keep everything really cold and don't use skim milk in place of whole milk, you'll have a creamy, dreamy treat every time.

Chris's Caramel Chocolate Coffee Chip Ice Cream (Makes 1 quart)

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup whole milk

3/4 cup sugar

Salt (pinch)

1 Jacques Torres Java Junkie bar, chopped into small pieces
5 Caramel Creams, chopped into small pieces

To Do: 

• If you need to chill the bucket or insert for your ice cream maker, make sure you've done that first.
• Place a medium bowl in larger bowl, then fill the larger bowl with ice and water until the medium bowl is surrounded by coldness. (You want to keep the medium bowl cold.) 
• In small sauce pan, combine the heavy cream, whole milk (do not substitute), sugar and salt
• Bring to a simmer, stirring often so sugar dissolves completely. 

• Remove from heat and let cool a few minutes, then pour into the now-chilled medium bowl and let cool completely, stirring occasionally. 
• Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until very cold, at least an hour or overnight (ideal). 
• Prep your goodies (in this case, chop your chocolate/caramels). You should probably have about a cup or so, combined.
• Pour the chilled base into your ice cream maker with candy and freeze according to your machine's directions. 

• When ready, transfer the mixture to a freezer-proof plastic container, cover and freeze at least 3 hours, or until firm. 
• You can make this a few days in advance, but it's at its best for about 3-5 days max.

Other Ideas:

Since we're heading into the holidays, try adding a swirl of maple syrup and pumpkin pie spice to your saucepan mixture, or add a piece of cinnamon bark to steep in the milk as it simmers, then strain it out before chilling. Or, add chopped candy canes or candied ginger to your chilled base instead of chocolate or caramel.  The options are endless!

Enjoy!
xoxo

Update 33: New Year's Goal: Become an "official" Gourmess by August 2010

I was 32 when I started cooking; up until then, I just ate. --Julia Child

So, it has been a terribly hot summer, which means this lesson was a bit tricky to complete, but oh-so appropriate!

Session 24: Frozen Desserts and Meringues was a lot of fun, and who knows, I might end up opening an ice cream shoppe instead of a restaurant someday!  It was interesting to see the different kinds of frozen treats -- the French-style of ice cream was egg/custard-based and cooked, while the  American version (also called Philadelphia-style) was uncooked and more milk/cream based. The French-style ice cream was rich, but still light, and felt very elegant.  I could only eat a few spoonfuls of it, as compared to regular American ice cream, which I sometimes eat a whole pint of in one sitting (think Chubby Hubby by Ben & Jerry's). 


The first Demonstration was Glace à la Vanille (Vanilla Ice Cream).  The recipe was very similar to some of the creams and custards from Session 21. I put equal amounts of whole milk and heavy cream (2 cups plus 2 TBS of each) and a vanilla bean split in half lengthwise (seeds scraped into the milk) into a pot and brought to a boil. As soon as it came to a boil, I removed it from the heat and let it cool for about a minute. While it was cooling, I took eight egg yolks (room temperature) and blanchir (whisk until very pale yellow). 

Then, whisking constantly, I put half the hot milk/cream/vanilla mixture into the egg mixture to temper it, then added it back into the pot. I returned the pot to the heat and cooked for about 12 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon until it had thickened and coated the back of a spoon (nappant). I had to make sure that the cream was pasteurized, so I brought it to 175 degrees and kept it there for about 5 minutes, making sure the temperature didn't go beyond 180, or it would have curdled. I removed the mixture from the stove again and the put it through my trusty chinois (removed the vanilla bean pod, etc.) and into a clean bowl set over an ice bath. I stirred it for a while with a wooden spoon until there was no more steam and let it cool.  


I bought a Sunbeam ice cream maker at Target a few weeks ago -- for $6, so wasn't sure how great it would work, but I poured my ice cream mixture into the machine's bowl and turned it on for about 40 minutes.  At first, nothing really happened, but after about 15 minutes, it started to thicken and by 40, it was a creamy, custardy mixture. Then, I put it in the freezer for another 15-20 minutes.  

I handed a bowl to Chris and made one for myself. I added some blueberries to mine, but Chris wanted his plain. He loved it, and I did too. It was creamy and light and fresh -- the vanilla flavor was just right--not too intense, not too subtle. A success!!!


Next was Sorbet au Framboises (Raspberry Sorbet). The recipe called for glucose, so I had to order some -- I got it from Amazon. It is basically a liquid sugar that is half as sweet as granulated sugar. It was a clear and heavy syrup, but it didn't taste overly sweet and it didn't taste like light corn syrup, etc. It was called for in the recipe because it does not crystallize easily, which ensures smoothness in recipes like sorbets, icings, etc.  So, to begin, I  combined some sugar, water and the glucose in a medium saucepan over medium heat and simmered for about five minutes until the sugar had dissolved completely. Then, I removed it from the heat and let it cool.  While it cooled, I puréed 21 oz. of fresh raspberry purée and ran it through my chinois. 

I slowly poured the syrup into the purée, stirring frequently, but stopping every once in a while to make sure it was the right texture and sweetness. I didn't use all of the syrup as I wanted my sorbet to be a nice mix of sweet and tart. (The book reminds us that the sweetness will intensify once the mixture is frozen.) I knew it was ready when I felt a bit of resistance on the spoon when I pushed it through the bowl.  When it was, I poured the mixture into my ice cream maker and 40 minutes later, I had a lovely, ruby mixture.  I put it in the freezer for about 15 minutes more and was excited to see a lovely sorbet -- it tasted really refreshing. Tart, sweet, fruity and fresh. And the color was to die for -- and all thanks to Mother Nature!  Yum.

After that was Soufflé Glacé aux Fruits (Frozen Fruit Soufflé). First, I had to prepare my soufflé molds, so I buttered a strip of parchment paper and wrapped it around each ramekin (buttered side in) until it stood like a collar, about a half an inch above each rim, and then I put the ramekins in the freezer.  Then, I put about 3 oz. of sugar in a pan with about 2 TBS of water and brought it to a boil, then let simmer for about 20 minutes, until it was at the soft ball stage (about 234 degrees on my candy thermometer).   While the sugar was cooking, I took two large egg whites (room temperature) and beat them until soft peaks formed, then added in about 1/2 oz. of sugar and whipped until it was firm and satiny.

Then, I slowly drizzled in the hot syrup into the whites and whisked it into a meringue. I kept beating it until the mixture was cooled.  After that, I took a little over a cup of fresh mango purée and ran it through my trusty chinois. Then, I set it aside.  I put one cup and one tablespoon of heavy cream in a stainless steel, chilled bowl (over an ice bath) and whipped it until soft peaks formed, then set aside.

I folded half of the mango purée into the meringue, gently lifting it and folding it with a rubber spatula until well blended. I took the other half of the purée and folded it into the whipped cream until well mixed, and then I took the mango whipped cream mixture and folded it into the meringue mixture = a soufflé!

I removed the molds from the freezer and spooned equal amounts of the soufflé mixture into each ramekin, filling up to the top of the parchment paper collar, and then smoothed the top with a pastry spatula.  I put in the freezer overnight and then, after letting it thaw for a few minutes, I removed the collar.  Lovely!

It tasted like sunshine and the islands. Not too sweet, fruity, light and just a really nice treat.  

Finally, was Petit Vacherin Glacé (Ice Cream Cake).


The first part of this recipe was to make little meringue discs/hats for the top and bottom of the cake. So I made some meringue by combining egg whites and sugar in a heatproof mixing bowl, whisking just to combine.  Then, I filled a saucepan that was big enough to sit the bowl on with enough water to create a bain-marie (water bath), without the water touching the bottom of the bowl. I brought to a simmer over high heat and whisked the egg white/sugar mixture constantly until the sugar dissolved and the egg whites reached 130 degrees on a candy thermometer. Once it was, I removed the bowl from the saucepan and continued to whisk it until the meringue formed stiff peaks.


Then, I put it in a pastry bag and piped 2-inch circles onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. I placed the meringue circles in a 175 degree oven and baked slowly for about an hour, until they were very dry, watching to make sure they didn't color. Then, I put on a wire rack to cool.The book's circles had clearly defined swirls, but mine just melted together, but it still came out alright, so whatev!  


I whipped up some crème Chantilly (heavy cream, confectioners' sugar, vanilla) and put it in a pastry bag.  I assembled the cake: a meringue disk on the bottom (inside up), a scoop of my lovely vanilla ice cream, and another disk.  I piped the whipped cream in a nice pattern and then finished with chocolate sauce.  It was a fancy version of a sundae.  Yum.

Up next is Session 25: Mousses, Soufflés, Bavarian Creams, and Charlottes. It is the last cooking session in the book! Five recipes to go!  (OMG!) xoxoxo


P.S. So, I've been told that there is a new fan club for my blog -- but not for me. For Chris.  He's become quite the star, apparently.  He heard that too, and so I've made a promise to include him more. But only if he promises not to complain about me including him. Got it? ;)  The problem is, he's not a big fan of sweets, so I haven't been able to get any reviews from him lately...