Ice Cream for the 4th

A couple of months ago, on the occasion of my birthday, a well-meaning friend gifted me with a spiffy Cuisinart ice cream maker. A devilish red plastic contraption, built for temptation and suitable for display, and not much else, I concluded, since I am perpetually dieting and currently on the upside of that extra five pounds. I put the demon machine out of sight and out of mind, on a shelf in the junk closet of my life, with the thought that I'd maybe use it 'someday.'

Now that the 4th of July is almost upon us, I've decided to call it 'someday' and pig out. When I was growing up a family get together on the 4th meant homemade ice cream, usually fresh peach right-from-the-tree, hand cranked with ice and rock salt in my grandfather's old wooden ice cream maker. The grownups would take turns cranking, and us younguns' would take turns tasting, to make sure it was firm enough to eat. When it was done, we'd devour huge bowls of it, with tablespoons, until, inevitably, somebody got sick from all the rich food they'd consumed during the day and threw up. I remember one year my cousin T-Boy Fordham, who was home from reform school for the holiday, projectile vomited all over the picnic table and a big chunk of regurgitated peach smacked me in the eye. (I can't recall if that was before or after he'd stolen the spare tires off everybody's pickups. Or that might've been at Christmas. No matter.)

So maybe not peach then, but what? I finally settled on Blackberry and Buttermilk Sherbet (from the latest edition of 'Taste of The South' magazine), because blackberries were on sale at the Farmer's Market for $1.00 a half-pint, and French Vanilla, (from 'Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book'), just because I like it. Turns out to have been a serendipitious flavor
combination; one rich and smooth, the other fruity and tart. Perfect.

Blackberry and Buttermilk Sherbet
(makes 1 quart)

4 cups fresh blackberries, plus extra for garnish
2 cups sugar
2 cups buttermilk

Smash the 4 cups of blackberries with your favorite mashing tool (I use an immersion blender ) -- or toss them into the blender or food processor -- until completely pureed. Force blackberry puree through a coarse strainer to remove most of the seeds.

Stir in sugar. Add buttermilk and blend thoroughly (I give it a whirl or two with the immersion blender). Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours, or until mixture is very cold. (If you're in a hurry -- stick it in the freezer for a half hour.)

Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and freeze following the manufacturer's instructions.

The sherbet will be soft, almost like a thick milk shake. To freeze hard enough to scoop, transfer to an airtight plastic container, press plastic wrap directly onto the surface, and freeze until firm. (About 4 hours)


Ben & Jerry's French Vanilla Ice Cream
(makes 1 quart)

2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 cup whole milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Whisk in the sugar until well blended. Pour in the cream, milk and vanilla and whisk to blend.

Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and freeze following the manufacturer's instructions.

Mixture will be very soft. Transfer to a quart container and freeze until hard enough to scoop.

I like to serve a few scoops of each in a fancy ice cream goblet, garnished with a few blackberries, maybe a couple of crisp lemon cookies on the side. Seriously delicious.

We're All Irish on St. Patrick's Day

I was born and raised in Dublin, Georgia, have red hair, fair skin and freckles, and, when visiting Ireland, have more than once been mistaken for a local and asked directions. On the other hand I'd take a nice plate of Italian Gnocchi bathed in basil pesto, or even a slice of plain cheese pizza out of a box, over the traditional Irish meals of corned beef and cabbage, or, God forbid, Irish Stew; and both green beer and Guinness leave me longing for a crisp glass of French Pouilly-Fuissé. And don't even get me started about leprechauns. That be some seriously bad juju there.

So am I Irish? Maybe, maybe not, or, as my fondness for these Guinness Stout cupcakes might suggest, maybe just a little. In any case, as the saying goes, we're all Irish on St. Patrick's Day, even if it is just an excuse to wear green (a particularly flattering color in my case), and get sloppy drunk on stuff that you wouldn't touch any other day of the year. (If it's Irish and alcoholic, make mine Baileys. Always.) Certainly it was a good enough excuse to make these amazing gingerbread goodies for the first time. They're so good you won't need an excuse to make them again. Trust.

Guinness Gingerbread Cupcakes with Lime Frosting
(Makes 12)
1/2 cup Guinness Stout (or other stout beer)
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup finely minced candied or crystallized ginger

Lime Frosting
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 1/2 tablespoons lime juice (fresh or bottled) - or to taste
1 to 2 tablespoons milk (optional, if needed to thin)
A few drops of green food coloring (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place cupcake liners in a standard 12-cup muffin pan.

In a large saucepan (4 or 5 quarts) bring the stout, molasses and vegetable oil to a boil. Remove from heat and whisk in the baking soda. (The mixture will foam up, then settle down.) Stir in the brown sugar and let cool until just warm.

Sift together flour, baking powder, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves and salt.

Whisk eggs into the cooled stout mixture, one at a time. Then stir in the flour mixture until just mixed. Add the candied ginger. (Note: Batter will be thin and lumpy.)

Divide batter among the cupcake liners and bake 20 to 25 minutes until set in center. Cool before frosting.

In a stand mixer (with paddle attachment if you have it) beat the butter until smooth. Add half the confectioner's sugar and blend on low speed. Add lime juice, mix in, and then add the rest of the sugar, mixing on low speed until frosting is smooth and fluffy. Taste for seasoning. Add more lime juice if you want a stronger flavor. If mixture is too thick, add a tablespoon or two of milk until you get the consistency you want. At the end, add drops of green food coloring until desired color is achieved.

Frost cupcakes. Eat. Erin go Bragh.

Note: You can very easily make 24 cupcakes by doubling all ingredient quantities except the candied ginger, which I increase to 2/3 cup.

Valentine Cookies for Adults

I just whipped up a batch of these yummy treats for Valentine's Day. I call them Valentine cookies for adults. And no, it's not what you think! (Although you could make them 'that' way.) The "adult" in these cookies comes from a generous infusion of freshly ground coffee beans, and, yes, I would recommend that you hide them from the kiddies unless you want a bunch of caffeinated rug rats running about ruining your romantic celebration.

This recipe comes from Fine Cooking, and they are all that. (Seriously, how can you miss with a combination of chocolate and coffee.) The original recipe called for espresso beans, but when I discovered I was out, I substituted dark roast Guatemalan coffee beans from Starbucks and they turned out great -- sweet, rich and sophisticated, just the way I like all my Valentines!


Chocolate-Dipped Mocha Shortbread Cookies
(Makes about 4 dozen, depending on size)

1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons finely ground dark roast or espresso coffee beans
9 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 tablespoon vegetable shortening

Line two baking sheets with parchment. Combine butter, sugar and salt in stand mixer bowl. Using paddle attachment, mix on low speed until the butter and sugar are just combined. Mix ground coffee into flour and add to sugar mixture in batches, mixing on low speed until the dough has pulled together.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to about 1/4 inch thick. Cut with heart-shaped cookie cutter (or another shape fitting the occasion or your mood -- the possibilities are endless) and place on lined cookie sheets. Press scraps together, roll and cut until all the dough is used up. Refrigerate cookies on sheets about 20 minutes.

Position over racks in the upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat to 300 degrees. Bake about 30 minutes, until pale golden brown. After 15 minutes swap the position of the baking sheets and rotate 180 degrees. Cool on wire racks.

Put chocolate and shortening in the top of a double boiler over simmering water. Melt chocolate, stirring, until smooth and warm. (Do not overheat or boil!) Dip half of each cookie into the chocolate. Set back on parchment lined cookie sheets and let chocolate set up at room temperature, about two hours.

They'll thank you really care!

Cornbread For Dessert

If you like cornbread as much as I do, the idea of having it for dessert won't strike you as odd. And, quite frankly I've tasted some Yankee cornbread that was sweeter than this cake. (No offense, mind you. The moment I tasted cornbread sweetened with sugar I knew it was a match made in heaven. And, no, 'real' southerners don't put sugar in their cornbread.)

This Chardonnay and Cornmeal cake is another recipe from my Forks & Corks class at the John C. Campbell Folk School, (Thanks, Martha Vining!), and it came out just as well in my own kitchen when I tried it at home. It's a light (well, as light as anything with butter, eggs and sugar can be), quick, easy, and unexpected finish to a meal. Think of it as a cross between cornbread and pound cake, exhibiting the best characteristics of each. Your guests may be skeptical at first, (I was.), but then they'll ask for a second piece. Almost guaranteed.


Chardonnay and Cornmeal Cake

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup yellow cornmeal
2/3 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, diced
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup Chardonnay

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9-inch cake pan with baking spray and line with parchment or waxed paper.

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt into the bowl of your food processor. Add cornmeal, slivered almonds, butter and sugar. Pulse until mixture forms crumbs that clump together. Add eggs and wine and pulse until just smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 45 to 55 minutes, or until the cake starts to shrink from the sides of the pan. Cool on rack about 10 minutes before removing from pan.

Delicious plain, or serve with Creme Fraiche, whipped cream, or topped with your favorite homemade fruit preserves or jam. Better yet, if you have some of that homemade lemon curd left over, it totally rocks it!

When Life Gives Me Lemons, I Make Curd

My love affair with lemons began the day my then husband-to-be and I moved into our first apartment together, the first floor of a big, rambling duplex on 6th Street in Los Angeles, with a prolific, full-grown Meyer Lemon tree in the backyard. Our landlady, who lived upstairs, didn't care for the fruits and was content to allow them to mold and rot on the ground. I, on the other hand, had always wanted a lemon tree, if for no reason other than they were quintessentially California, and having one somehow made me feel grounded in my adopted state.

I quickly set about to rescue and use every single one of the baseball sized fruits and discovered, just as quickly, how few lemons it actually takes to make lemon anything (other than, say, lemonade). So I made lemon pies, lemon cakes, lemon cookies, lemon bread and, of course, lemon curd, and still had enough lemons left to fill up my freezer with gallon baggies of lemon juice frozen into cubes. (A trick I recommend highly whenever one has a surfeit of lemons -- fresh lemonade all year long, and what could be better than that?)

Needless to say, along the way I became addicted to lemons. Then, just when I was beginning to take them for granted, we moved away and left the amazing lemon tree behind. Ever since I've tried in vain to grow my own. My current crop of four puny semi-dwarf Meyer Lemon trees struggle along and this year threaten to bear a grand total of seven fruits. (A full seven more than they produced last season.) Fortunately I have friends who have better luck growing lemons than I do, and are happy to share their bounty. So perhaps I should say, when friends give me lemons, I make curd.

Use Meyer Lemons if you can find them. (A Chinese lemon thought to be a hybrid of a lemon and an orange or mandarin, Meyer Lemons have a thin rind and are less acidic and slightly sweeter than regular lemons.) If not, any lemons will do. This lemon curd is extremely rich and exceptionally good with biscuits, croissants, scones (my favorite serving suggestion), or even served over vanilla ice cream, and it's a great filling for pies and tarts as well. Seriously, I think it's why God created lemons.


Meyer Lemon Curd
(Makes 4 cups or half-pint jars)

2 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup grated lemon zest (about 3 lemons)
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 3 lemons)
3/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into cubes (1 1/2 stick)
7 egg yolks
4 whole eggs

Heat water in the bottom pan of a double boiler to a gentle boil.

While it heats, whisk the egg yolks and whole eggs together in the top of the double boiler. Whisk in the sugar and lemon zest. Blend until smooth and add lemon juice and butter cubes.

Place the top of the double boiler over the gently boiling water in the bottom pan and cook, stirring gently, until the mixture reaches 170 degrees on a food thermometer.

Remove boiler from heat. Continue to stir until curd thickens, about 5 minutes. Strain through a mesh strainer. Discard collected zest.

Curd will keep, covered, in the refrigerator for about a week.

If you want to can the curd, pour it into sterilized half-pint jars, and process in boiling water for 10 to 15 minutes. Makes 4 half-pints. (Note: Sources vary as to the shelf life of canned curd from three or four months to up to a year. In our house it never lasts that long anyway, but you takes your chances.)

Because its' the perfect complement to scones, I've included a simple scone recipe, so easy you can whip up a batch in a few minutes and well worth it as a special treat for breakfast or, dare I suggest, afternoon tea. (A great excuse for a party!)

Simple Raisin Scones
(Makes 8 scones)

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup, plus 1 tablespoon, sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, frozen (1 stick)
1/2 cup raisins (dried currants, cranberries work too)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 egg

Preheat oven to 400 degees

Mix flour, 1/3 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium sized bowl. Grate butter into the flour mixture and use your fingers to work the butter into the mixture. Stir in the raisins.

In a separate bowl whisk sour cream with the egg until smooth.

Using a fork, stir sour cream mixture into four mixture. Using your hands. press the dough against the bowl until it forms a ball. (The dough may be sticky, but as you press it will come together.)

Place dough on a lightly floured surface and pat into a 7-to-8-inch circle. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar. Using a sharp knife, cut into 8 triangles.

Place triangles on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake about 15 minutes, until golden.

Serve with lemon curd and fresh strawberries! Enjoy!

It Wouldn't Be Christmas Without Sausage Balls

When it comes to holiday foods we all have our guilty pleasures, those foods we don't eat (or won't own up to eating) any other time of year. This is the kind of concoction you're ashamed to admit craving, and eating it is often a private affair, like viewing pornography or cheating with your best friend's spouse. Okay, so maybe I exaggerate, but fair to say you feel the need to do penance with every bite by saying out loud, "Oh, this is so bad for me..."

So it is with sausage balls, my personal holiday food vice; unhealthy, greasy, carb laden treats likely conceived in a trailer park by a cook with more imagination than time, a block of government cheese, and a roll of Jimmy Dean sausage that was about to go bad.

My husband loves them (whatever that says about him) and they are unbelievably good. Also extremely quick and easy to make in a season of complicated, keep-you-in-the-kitchen-all-day, holiday recipes. All you need is a box of Bisquick, a pound of sausage, and a big chunk of supermarket cheddar.

Culinary abomination or national foodie treasure? You decide.

SAUSAGE BALLS

1 pound ground sausage (mild, regular or hot, depending on how spicy you like 'em)
3 cups Bisquick baking mix
4 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or to taste)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray baking sheet with vegetable oil cooking spray.

Combine all ingredients in the bowl of your food processor. Form into 1-inch balls. (Resist the urge to make them bigger. They will rise as they cook. First time I made them I ended up with tennis ball sized sausage balls. Good, but more a meal than a treat.) Bake for 18 to 20 minutes until golden brown.

Serve with a mayonnaise/mustard dip (1 cup mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon mustard), honey-mustard or other favorite condiments, or just eat as is, the way I prefer them.

Bet you can't eat just one.

Two-Buck Chuck Cranberries

Most of you already know that I'm a wine snob, but you probably didn't suspect that I'm a cranberry sauce snob too. I'm one of those people who wants turkey and dressing to eat with the sauce, but I wouldn't touch that congealed mass that comes in a can, even with your fork.

For the uninitiated, Two-Buck Chuck, aka Charles Shaw wine, is an "extreme value" wine marketed by Trader Joe's, and it sells (sold?) for, you guessed it, $1.99 per bottle. (Until January 2013, when it became Two-Fifty Chuck, at least here in California.) You can find worse wine, and it has developed a certain cachet, more for cheek than taste. But it's still not the drink you'd want to be sipping when you propose to your beloved or toast the end of your probation.  That being said, I use it unabashedly for cooking. While you wouldn't want to use a 'bad' wine for cooking, neither would you want to use a 2005 Chateauneuf-du-Pape. I always suggest you use an inexpensive wine that you wouldn't mind drinking in a pinch. Say it's 2:00 am, your boyfriend just told you he's gay, and the liquor store is closed; then Two-Buck Chuck fits the bill impressively.

This cranberry sauce is quick, easy, and if you make it once, you'll never buy canned again. I first made it in a 'Forks and Corks' cooking class (taught by the incredible Martha Vining) at the John C. Campbell Folk School, and it's so good you'll eat it with a spoon. You'll want to make a double batch of it, one to serve with the turkey and stuffing and another to serve over the delicious paneer you're going to make, from the recipe, (also from the Forks and Corks class), I've included as a little holiday lagniappe. (Yes, you can make cheese. It's a showstopper appetizer and tastes even better than it looks.)

I use Two-Buck Chuck Cabernet Sauvignon, but if you can't get it where you live any decent inexpensive Cab would work well, as would a Zinfandel or even a Syrah. Just make sure it's something you won't mind pouring in your glass to finish off the bottle once the cooking is done!

CABERNET CRANBERRIES
(yields 1 1/2 cups)

12 oz fresh cranberries
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup Cabernet Sauvignon
1 stick cinnamon
Zest of 1 orange

Pick over, rinse and drain berries.

Combine sugar and wine in a 3-quart sauce pan. Bring to a boil and stir until the sugar dissolves. Add the cinnamon stick, orange zest and cranberries. Return to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, for about 15 minutes, until slightly thickened.

Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Chill before serving. Mixture will continue to thicken as it cools and chills.

Perfect with Thanksgiving dinner or on top of homemade paneer at the Christmas party.


PANEER
(Soft Indian Cheese - yields 3 cups)

1 gallon whole milk
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
Cheesecloth
Strainer

Bring milk just to boil in a large stainless steel pot, stirring frequently to prevent sticking. (This is important 'cause if it sticks you'll end up with brown flecks in your cheese plus the pot will be a bitch to clean.)

Whisk in the lemon juice and stir 1 -2 minutes until well blended. Let sit for 5 minutes. Milk will separate and break into curds.

Pour mixture into strainer, lined with cheesecloth and set over a large bowl. Allow to drain and cool for at least one hour, pressing down occasionally to remove excess liquid. (Hint: Weigh the cheese down with a small plate centered with a heavy object, such as a can or jar of processed food. This presses the liquid out faster and helps mold the cheese to the shape of the strainer.)

When the cheese is cool and completely drained, remove from strainer, wrap and chill. Should be used within 3-4 days.

For a showstopper appetizer, invert cheese on a plate and spoon Cabernet Cranberries on top. Serve with an assortment of crackers. Bon appetit!