My First Ice Cream!

Yum.
(Picture Courtesty of Ryan Mak)

I got an ice cream attachment for my Kitchen Aid mixer. I've had it since Christmas so even though its still Winter it was definitely time to use it. Ryan and I made Stracciatella ice cream...basically vanillia with bits of chocolate running through it.  Once again, I used a vanilla bean (from Whole Foods). I've really liked using the vanilla beans. They make everything taste very vanilla-y and make your hands smell good when you are baking with them. The recipe was pretty easy to make...the hard part was waiting for it to cool before putting it in the ice cream maker and then also waiting for it to harden in the freezer. Not easy to do! Here is the recipe...

Stracciatella Ice Cream

adapted from David Lebovitz

Ingredients:
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream, divided
1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise
6 large egg yolks
3/4 tsp pure vanilla extract

4 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Directions:

1. Combine milk, sugar, and 1 cup cream in a heavy saucepan. With tip of a knife, scrape seeds from vanilla bean into mixture, then add vanilla bean to pot as well. Bring mixture just to a boil, whisking until sugar has dissolved, then remove from heat. Cover and let stand 30 minutes.
2. Reheat cream mixture over medium heat, stirring, until hot. 
3. Whisk yolks in a medium bowl, then add half of hot cream mixture in a slow stream, whisking constantly, then pour yolk mixture into remaining cream mixture in saucepan, whisking. 
4. Cook custard over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until custard is thick enough to coat back of spoon and registers 170 to 175°F on an instant-read thermometer (do not let boil).
   Strain custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a metal bowl. 
5. Stir in vanilla and remaining cup cream, then return vanilla pod to mixture. Chill, uncovered, until cool, then chill, covered, at least 6 hours. 
6. Remove vanilla pod and freeze custard in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions.
   While ice cream is freezing, melt chocolate in clean metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water, stirring frequently, then transfer to a small ziploc bag. 
7. When ice cream has finished churning, carefully cut a small hole in the corner of the bag and drizzle chocolate in a slow stream directly onto ice cream as it churns and continue to churn 30 seconds (chocolate will harden in steaks). 
8. Transfer ice cream to an airtight container and put in freezer until firm, at least 4 hours or overnight.

My FAVORITE Dessert

 Firing the Creme Brulee!
(Picture Courtesy of Ryan Mak)

I love creme brulee. It is definitely my favorite dessert. I've always wanted to make it so when I got a big torch and ramekins for my birthday/Christmas I was all set. Making creme brulee is pretty easy, but I definitely think that fresh vanilla bean is the key to a great dessert. Ryan and I found them at Whole Foods. It looks like they will be really pricey at $150/lb, but we bought 3 beans for $3. We used Alton Brown's recipe, with the only change being that we didn't make/use vanilla sugar. Here is the recipe. YUM.

Creme Brulee

adapated from Alton Brown

Ingredients:
1 quart heavy whipping cream
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
1/2 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling
6 large egg yolks
Hot water, as needed

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Place the cream, vanilla bean and its pulp into a medium saucepan set over medium-high heat and bring just to a boil. Remove from the heat, cover and allow to sit for 15 minutes. 
3. Remove the vanilla bean and throw out vanilla bean or reserve for another use. 
4. In a medium bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup sugar and the egg yolks until well blended and it just starts to lighten in color. Add the cream a little at a time, stirring continually. 
5. Pour the mixture into 6-8 (6 to 8-ounce) ramekins. Basically, fill up to the little line on the inside of the ramekin.
   
6. Place the ramekins into a large cake pan or roasting pan. Pour enough hot water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. 
7. Bake just until the creme brulee is set, but still trembling in the center, approximately 40 to 45 minutes. Remove the ramekins from the roasting pan and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 3 days.
8. Remove the creme brulee from the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes prior to browning the sugar on top. Sprinkle sugar and spread evenly over the top of the custard. 
9. Using a torch, evenly melt the sugar until it forms a crispy top.
   
10. Allow the creme brulee to sit for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Celebrating the New Year

Lemon Mousse with Blackberries and Raspberries
(Picture Courtesy of Ryan Mak)

Here is the recipe for the Lemon Mousse I made for New Year's Eve. The recipe was pretty simple. First you make a lemon curd from eggs, sugar and lemon juice. Then you just have to whip up some cream and fold them together. This dessert was very light and lemony. I topped the mousse off with fresh berries, but since the berries aren't really in season I think it was better without them.

The recipe can be found on Pastry Pal's website. I followed the recipe exactly except for the fact that I doubled both the lemon curd and mousse. To serve, I spooned the mousse into fancy, little plastic cups and topped with a few berries.

Caramel Popcorn

To celebrate the New Year I made Caramel Popcorn (and Lemon Mousse - to be posted soon) for a pizza party potluck. It was easy enough to make but I didn't read the recipe carefully before starting and didn't realize it needed to go into the oven for 40-50 minutes. Mine probably baked for maybe 35 minutes, but it didn't seem to make a significant difference in the result. That result? Deliciously sweet caramel popcorn. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:
1 cup popcorn unpopped
1 cup butter
1/2 cup corn syrup
2 cups brown sugar
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 250F.
2. Pop popcorn and place popped corn in a very large bowl or multiple bowls. You need enough room to be able to mix the popcorn with the caramel later.
3. In a large saucepan, over medium heat, gently melt the butter
4. Stir in the corn syrup, brown sugar and salt.
5. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring the sugar mixture to a boil, stirring constantly.
   
6. Once it reaches a boil, boil for 5 minutes without stirring.
   
7. Remove from the heat, stir in the baking soda and vanilla.
8. Pour the caramel sauce over the popcorn and toss to coat thoroughly.
9. Spread the popcorn evenly onto 2 large cookie or baking sheets. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or so.
10. Remove popcorn from the oven and allow to cool.
11. Serve immediately or store in airtight container.