… we all scream-a for ice cream-a!

Despite my recent posts about pies, the truth is that the confection I have been experimenting with most lately is ice cream.  For my birthday (in February) my amazing and wonderful mother-in-law gave me an ice cream maker attachment for my KitchenAid mixer, and this summer I have been giving it a real workout! 

For the 4th of July, I wanted to make a sorbet as a palate cleanser to go with the grilled oysters I was bringing to a BBQ.  My aforementioned mama- in-law had sent a few ice cream recipe books, and The Idiot’s Guide to Ice Cream had some surprising flavors; I decided to go with cucumber.

I think I blew the mind of the farmer’s market vendor I bought the English cucumbers from by telling him my purpose— that was kind of fun.  The recipe is basically pureed cucumbers, water, lemon juice, and simple syrup; in place of the water, I used green tea, and I infused the simple syrup with mint.  It was a little sweeter than I expected, but had a wonderfully refreshing flavor, and I was surprised at how green it turned out.

I love trying exotic ice cream flavors, but the one I grew up eating is coffee, so I really wanted to find a coffee ice cream recipe I liked.  The Gourmet Cookbook includes a recipe for espresso gelato which is super simple and very light as it only contains milk, instant espresso powder, and corn starch.  I decided to make it a second time as an excuse to use up some leftover whole milk, and added some chopped bittersweet chocolate (54%) and swirled in some fruit-juice sweetened Hot Fudge.  It was fantastic!

At some point I got it into my head to make Peach ice cream.  I’m not sure how it happened, as I don’t think I’ve ever even had peach ice cream.  For this recipe, I turned to A Passion for Ice Cream, also a gift from my 2nd mom.  I think I messed up here, though, by not chopping the peaches finely enough, an error I didn’t realize until after I cooked them and mixed them into the custard.  I thought it would then be OK to use the immersion blender to puree the mix, but I think it “whipped” the cream too much, because the ice cream had a weirdly fluffy texture, especially before it really froze and as it was melting.  I also expected the ice cream to be tangier, more like a fresh peach with some cream poured over it.  I think this recipe deserves a redo, but in an effort to salvage the batch, I ate it with amaretti and fresh sliced peaches.  Poor me.

As it often goes, my favorite ice cream concoction was the one I made on a whim.  While practicing my pie for the pie contest I didn’t attend after all (post on that to come), I made my own ginger snaps for the crust.  Realizing I had  way more cookies than I needed, I picked up some beautiful Meyer lemons at the farmers’ market, and made a lemon ice cream which I sandwiched between some of the leftover cookies.  This divine flavor combination reminds me of the retro-fabulous Haddon Hall Gingerbread my aunt sometimes makes at Christmas time, but in glorious ice cream form. 

We had some boys over the a few nights later, and I cut them in half to share with them as we watched our Mad Men marathon.  I think they were impressed when I told them that I had made the cookies and the ice cream in addition to sandwiching them together.  I was mostly impressed that I shared them in the first place!  These are definitely going to be made again, but not before I try out some other flavors!  Stay tuned!

Today I am finishing my second 2010 batch of kumquat marmalade.  I am lucky to have a friend with a tree, but last year when I tried to make the jam for the first time I couldn’t find a recipe I really liked, so I’ve synthesized a few, done some testing, and here’s my own.  I guess it’s technically more of a jam since I use the whole fruit instead of just juice and peel, but whatever.  I think it’s damn tasty.

kumquat marmalade

5 cups sliced (or processed) fruit
4 cups water (filtered or spring)
3 cups honey (TJs 24 oz squeeze bottle works great)

Slice fruit as thinly as possible without cutting your finger off (I’m not kidding—these things can get pretty slippery and I lost a chunk once), reserving the seeds.  Any big pieces you can put in a food processor and pulse.  I know this is not as elegant, but it’s better than a missing digit.

Gather the seeds up in a piece of cheesecloth, tie with kitchen string, and put with the fruit and water in a big, non-reactive pot.  Cover and let sit for 24 hours (approximately).

Bring the fruit, water, and seeds to a boil (uncovered) over moderate heat, then reduce to simmer and cook 45 minutes.  Measure to see how much it’s reduced— you are aiming for 4 cups.  If it’s over, cook it a bit longer (I had to cook it about an hour last time).

Add the honey, then turn heat up to medium and bring to a boil.  Put a few small plates in the freezer for testing.  Boil, stirring, and begin testing at around 10 minutes by dropping a small teaspoonful onto a chilled plate.  Return plate to fridge for a minute, then turn plate— if it runs/ drips, it’s not ready.  If it mostly stays put and wrinkles a little when pushed with a finger or spoon, it’s ready.  This stage could take anywhere from 10 - 30 minutes or more, so stir and check frequently and use your best textural judgment— it won’t set too much more than this when it’s processed and/or cooled, so think about the consistency of it on your toast.

When done, remove from heat, remove seed bag, and ladle jam into sterilized jars.  You can either process the jars or freeze them.  I am not an expert, so I won’t give processing instructions here but there are plenty of resources for that.  If you are unsure, just freeze them anyway— that’s the safest bet and what I always do.

enjoy!

(cutting board: target/ pot: le creuset/ prep dish and lemon towel: crate & barrel/ whale towel: enormous champion, brooklyn/ canning jar: weck)