Ice Cream Delirium

Part of my ice cream adventures have been to master one that doesn't crystallize before you can have your next bite. As a result, I have discovered the secret to the most velvety and seductive ice cream. Ever. This base has a mouth feel that you can only experience for yourself. I'll do my best to explain (without shorting out the keyboard from drooling). Your experience may be quite different. And I'm not responsible for resulting food coma and/or egg and cream shortage in your pantry. I made a batch for a birthday party and promptly ate it. All of it. I had to make another batch.

Let's discuss ice cream. Specifically, Earl Grey ice cream. I wanted to try something different, something mild, sophisticated, simple yet complex, and bottom line: delicious. I succeeded. This ice cream is a cross between a cup of tea and a spoonful of clouds and hugs. It's thick and creamy, light and delicate. If satin could be a taste, I think this might be it. While I have a soft spot (mainly my thighs) for chunky, crunchy-topping filled ice cream slathered in hot fudge and butterscotch, there's something so deliriously satisfying about a dish of this. It's unobtrusive, sleek and if ice cream could be, polite.

You can control the strength of the Earl Grey flavor based on how long you steep and how much tea you use. I haven't tried yet, but I'm sure this would also work well for all other kinds of tea. Chai and Jasmine come to mind...

The base, sans the tea, can be used for anything. Add a vanilla bean, add cocoa powder, add any kind of flavoring. You may need to experiment a bit as liquids obviously add more volume and may damper the custard making. But it's a flexible base and so good. You could also just make the base and top it with anything your ice cream loving heart desires. There's nothing wrong with that!

Earl Grey Tea Ice Cream
makes about 1 quart

1 cup whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
2 tbs. dry non-fat milk (this is the oh-so-secret trick to smooth and dreamy ice cream!)
3/4 cup sugar
5-6 tea bags (or fewer, or more, whatever you'd like)
5 egg yolks (bring them to room temperature. It works better this way)

Warm the milk, cream, dry milk and sugar in a saucepan. Remove from heat, place tea bags in the pan, cover and steep at room temperature for an hour. Remove tea bags. Do your best to keep your spoon out of this. I mean, what could possibly be wrong with cream and sugar infused with the glorious, ethereal Earl Grey tea?

Set up an ice bath - large bowl filled with ice, medium bowl that fits nicely on top of the ice. This is to chill the mixture before putting it in the machine. May seem unnecessary, but it really helps. You ever notice that the ice cream takes forever to churn, the stuff on the sides of the maker turns into ice cubes, and it never really sets right? Yeah. Use an ice bath.

Rewarm tea-infused milk. Whisk egg yolks together in a separate bowl. Slowly pour the milk mixture into the bowl with egg yolks, whisking constantly. This is called tempering. If you have your whisk going with one hand and pour veeeeerrrrryyyyy slowly with the other, you won't end up with scrambled eggs. Everyone cautions cooks about scrambled eggs in their custards - don't be scared, don't think you can't do it, just be mindful of what you're doing.

Return the milk and egg mixture to the saucepan, and cook over medium heat, stirring and scrapping the bottom of the pan constantly until the mixture thickens to a custard and coats the spatula.

Cool the mixture over the ice bath and freeze in your ice cream maker. Serve with a big spoon, in a big bowl and I went the extra step to serve with shortbread cookies. Mm. I made my own, recipe will be soon to follow, but you can buy them. I won't judge.

Tips, Tricks, etc.

- Use the dry milk! Seriously! You can make this without it, but honestly, why screw with a good thing? It keeps well in your pantry, use it in all your ice cream endeavors, use it in sticky buns. There's no excuse.

- Be patient with the custard, but keep a close eye on it. Also do your best not to just eat it straight out of the bowl. I'm contemplating a pastry with this as it's cream...

- If you do this on a whim and your eggs are in the fridge, pull them out and set into a bowl of warm water. There is less chance of tempering going wrong with room temp. eggs.

- If you're going to add crunchy bits (cookie bits, nuts, whatever) to this ice cream or any other you make, wait until the very last moment to add them. Also, don't chop too finely. The churning blade with crush up everything a bit more and you don't want to end up with a deliriously good ice cream with cookie mush.

Fleur de what?

Complex flavor personalities excite me. While nothing is quite as delicious as the simple sweetness of a New Jersey beefsteak tomato or the earthy, primal flavor of a proper steak, a flavor you need to dig through and think about is just plain exciting. It's amazing how different flavors interact and balance each other, heighten the sensation of flavors or mellow each other. If you want an extra chocolatey chocolate for fudge or truffles, add a smidge of put-hair-on-your-chest coffee. If you want to enliven something sinfully sweet, sprinkle a little salt into it. Ever notice salt in cookie recipes? There's a method to the madness.

The chemistry and science of cooking also excites me, which is probably why I love rich, decadent caramels. Watching sugar dissolve into water, thickening, bubbling, then browning. Amazing! I won't get into the depths of science for this explanation, you can look it up if you're curious as to why all that happens. All I have to say is pay attention to what you're doing. Not just so it doesn't burn and set your kitchen on fire, although that is important, but really pay attention to the stages of cooking. You'll be better for it in the end - you'll have a better relationship with and understanding of the food you make. Cooking is not just measuring out the right ingredients, it's a tactile interaction that becomes more successful when you really get into it. Most of the recipes I've learned from the family were all measured out by the feel and texture of the ingredients together. This familiarity allows you to problem solve in the kitchen - my cream sauce is too thin, I'll whisk in a quickie rue! Or, this is way too sticky, I'll add some more flour! Being able to pinpoint a problem and quickly solve it saves you heaps of time and stress. Cooking is fun! Don't let your food beat you into submission.

Making caramel is part mad scientist, part confectioner and part culinary master. In theory it's very easy with simple ingredients, but you must have patience and must be able to react quickly. It's a finicky treat that must be loved and seduced so it gives you exactly what you were looking for. I've made three batches and the first two ended up toffee. Delicious. Tough. Frustratingly tasty. At least I could get a little frustration out when breaking the toffee with a hammer! What I've learned is there are guidelines for high altitude candy making. Of course there is, but I just didn't think about it. My toffee escapades, jaw fatigue, and resulting TMJ symptoms were a result of over cooking. Oops! For every 1,000 feet above sea level you are, reduce the final temperature by 2 degrees. (Therefore, for every 500 ft, reduce by 1 degree.) Also, have all your tools at hand and prep the pan before you start heating anything. Candy making is all in the timing and you'll need to work quickly.

With all that said...Fleur de Sel caramels. I know you've seen them in fancy pants stores and probably think you couldn't possibly make them yourself. But you can!

Fleur de what? Fleur de Sel. It's a sea salt from France. It sounds a little pretentious, I know. French sea salt? Why the heck would I need sea salt, let alone French sea salt? Have yourself a little taste test. Your standard iodized table salt will taste like salty chemical death compared to sea salt varieties. I use sea salt for everything now, fine grained for my S & P shakers, coarse for cooking. Trust me.

Fleur de Sel translates to salt flower and it's harvested by hand off the very tippy top of salt pools. It's kinda gray in color, very delicate and almost flakey, moister than other salts, and can be pricey. It dissolves quickly, so it's not to be used as other salts for seasoning while cooking, it's more of a garnish. Since so little is used at a time, it makes up for the sticker shock. Invest! Research good prices! And Dean & Deluca is having a sale on their salts. Also check out Salt Traders. Even if you just use it for these caramels, it's so worth it. You will look like the culinary rock star you always believed you were.

(Due to some bizarre technical difficulties, the recipe follows in another post)

Fleur de what recipe

Fleur de Sel Caramels:
Special tools needed are a candy thermometer (digital or plain old) and parchment paper

1 cup heavy cream
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 teaspoon fleur de sel
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup water

Line bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper. I find it easiest to cross two rectangular pieces of parchment over each other rather than trying to fit a big square into a pan. Think of the pan as the four directions - one piece north to south, the other east to west. Then lightly oil parchment. Non stick spray will work as long as it's not the butter flavor and you spray lightly.

Bring cream, butter, and fleur de sel to a boil in a small saucepan, then remove from heat and set aside.

Heat sugar, corn syrup, and water in a 3- to 4-quart heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Boil, without stirring but gently swirling pan, until mixture is a light golden caramel. Be patient, this might take a little while. But keep a close eye on it. If it burns, you'll have to toss it and start again.

Carefully pour in cream mixture while stirring the sugar (mixture will bubble up violently. Stand back a bit!) and simmer, stirring frequently, until caramel registers 248°F (if you're at sea level) on thermometer, 10 to 15 minutes. If you're higher up in elevation, reduce the final temperature by 2 degrees for every 1,000 ft above sea level. Pour into baking pan and cool 2 hours. You may sprinkle a bit more salt over the top and press into the caramel gently. Cut into 1-inch pieces, then wrap each piece in a 4-inch square of wax paper, twisting 2 ends to close. Or you can get candy wrappers from a craft store or specialty foods store and make it pretty.

These make wonderful Valentine's gifts, Birthday gifts, Christmas gifts...or you could just eat them all yourself. I won't judge.

Memory, seduction, figs and sausages

The sense of taste is apparently the second strongest sense, right behind smell. For me, taste is stronger than any other sense. I bite into something and immediately remember. The taste transports me to a place, time, being with a person, anything and it is so vivid it's like I've just stepped out of a time machine. Until now, I've only experienced this with food that other people have made prior to my attempts, like Grandma. When I recreate one of her recipes, and I succeed, I feel like I'm standing in the kitchen with her, watching her and learning.

I sat down to a birthday celebration dinner this past weekend. We laughed, we shared memories, we had a great time. But part of our hors d'oeurves was a left-over from a previous meal Lauryn made. I had made this same dish once before. The part she served was a fig sauce made with cloves, red wine vinegar and a bit of lemon amongst other ingredients. This is to be served with sausage and over rice. I bit into a fig and just stopped dead, remembering the night I served this. There's a reason dates revolve around food. It's a shared joy and pleasure that is both vital and seductive.

But these figs. Goodness. It was like an absolute emotional maelstrom whizzed through me while i was trying to decipher the textures and flavors. The plump, chewy figs with the ever so delicate crunch of the seeds followed by a zing of acidity from the red wine vinegar, then the warm spice from cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon. This is such a complex flavor personality that it makes you stop and think about it. The sweet, the savory, the tart, the seductive flavors. There's no wolfing down of this dish. It's meant to be savored and studied. It's the type of sensual explosion that requires giving yourself over to every single sensation. Truly an amazing dish and worth every minute of prep time. Since you take the time to savor each bite, you pay a different kind of attention to your surroundings. As a result, when these same sensations are triggered, it all comes flooding back.

You know those movie montages that are snap shots like seeing life flash before your eyes? I had that.

The recipe comes from "Intercourses," by Martha Hopkins and Randall Lockridge, which is a cookbook filled with a delicious how-to instructional of seduction via food. But keep in mind, the sauce must be made a day ahead. Prepare accordingly. And remember, this isn't to inconvenience you. It's to get your imagination going. Anticipation is one of the greatest factors of food and romance.

For the fig sauce:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 stick cinnamon
2 cloves
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 slice lemon
1 pound fresh or canned figs, drained

For the fig sauce, combine the sugar, vinegar, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and lemon in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the figs. Cook for 15 minutes, or until the syrup has reduced and thickened slightly. Cool the syrup overnight in the fridge.

For the sausages:
3/4 pound spicy Italian sausage links
2 teaspoons olive oil
3 tablespoons white wine
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

For the sausages, set a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat and add the oil. Add the sausages to the hot oil to brown. (I found it more efficient to slice the sausage into medallions or at least smaller pieces to cook) Pour in the wine, scraping the bottom of the pan to release any browned bits. (Cripsy bits!) Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and cook until the sausages are cooked through and the wine has evaporated. (If the sausages are starting to burn, add 1/2 to 1 cup of water and cook until all the water has evaporated.) Add the figs and their syrup to warm through. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve the sausages with the whole figs and spoon with the fig syrup.

Try it. The anticipation of making this, the anticipation of the reaction of the person you're feeding it to...just try it. You won't be disappointed. Perfect for Valentine's Day? I think so, yes.

Summer goodness

Today I'm thinking about everything good. I've found many of my old camp friends/counselors and am reminded of how wonderful those summers were and all the new things I experienced. I decided to go to camp at age 7. My brother was going, and dammit, I was going too. (Sassy from the get go). It was a farm camp in southern Vermont that had every critter that should be on a farm and it's own pond and garden and open fields and cabins and a huge gray barn and outhouses! It was magical. It was nothing like anything I had ever done before. I spent six weeks barefoot, unless I was in the barn. My hair was long and wild, my skin sun-kissed and golden. There were many firsts - rode a pony, collected fresh eggs, milked a cow, fed pigs, hiked, camped out, and picked the sweetest, earthiest wild blueberries and raspberries in the world. Holy cow. My senses were on overload and I loved every single seven-year-old second.

Let's discuss the heavenly tastes and smells that came from this summer - fresh milk, fresh eggs, fresh produce, those wild berries, and those horses. Some of these joys have stuck with me and some I will always dream of. 19 years later, I'm still riding horses. I've had my own chunky pony, Schuyler, for 14 years (pictured above) and aside from cooking, he's my greatest love and distraction. Most people find a barn's aroma to be harsh, smelly, and disgusting. I smell home. If a smile and a hug could be a scent, it would be horse fur, hay and well worn leather. Either that or freshly baked bread from Lauryn's kitchen. Or Grandma's peach pie. Or Mom's beef stew. I digress.

I spent every spare moment in that big gray barn, playing in bales of hay, grooming horses, cleaning tack. I was hooked. I'm sure there were others in prior summers, but this summer I was given the task of milking, brushing, feeding and snuggling Butterscotch the cow. 5am, every morning. I was up before the chickens. Let me tell you...nothing is as good as fresh milk. Literally, right from the cow. We hauled the pails into the kitchen and stuck them in the pasteurizer then poured the milk into huge recycled industrial mayo jars. (Anyone remember poor Bob and the Sysco truck we chalked?!) Fresh milk (non-homogenized) does this miraculous thing that grocery stores never share with us. The cream rises to the top when it's left in the fridge undisturbed. Thick, delicious, heavenly nectar of the cow gods. I dream of this natural wonder. I didn't drink coffee then, so I would scoop some of this out and put it in hot chocolate in those funny little blue enameled metal camp mugs.

Fantastic things happened when I was up that early - I sat in the kitchen with the cool counselors, smelled breakfast being prepared, scooped out fresh cream, fed all the critters and was the first camper to run through the dew-soaked grass every morning. Sometimes I even got to ring the wake-up bell and deafen myself at the same time. Awesome. Once breakfast was had, we did our chores (first time I scrubbed a bathroom, too) and had our first round of activities. So much to do!!! Tie-dye, pottery, riding, gardening, nature hikes, drawing, oh my goodness. Lunch. Afternoon activities ensued. Then dinner was either had at the brightly painted picnic tables under the shade of the huge pine tree or inside the main room if it was rainy, or up at the lean-to's which then led to back massage circles, singing, s'mores making, and trying to find the beaver family that lived in the dam up there. Only one unfortunate experience - Shadow, a gorgeous German Shepard and one of the camp staples, went swimming and decided my sleeping bag was the place to be. Soaking wet dog and soggy sleeping bag equaled a very cold and shivery me. Margaret came to the rescue and gave me her sleeping bag. C.I.T. (counselor in training) Chicken night was the only meat-eating night, every Friday. Not gourmet by any means, but there was something so satisfying about biting into a charred, kinda burnt, bbq sauce slathered chicken leg.

One of my activities was to hang out in the garden, weeding and thinning, raking, etc. I was dubbed Queen of the Garden and I believe there was a song that went with it. This particular day, Jim was in charge of the activity. We picked fresh rhubarb and various other sun-ripened delectables. He said he had a surprise project for us. We brought our baskets and buckets of summer abundance to the kitchen and we made a strawberry rhubarb crumble pie thing that we all promised to keep secret. Sugar and sweets were not part of our menu at camp. I was never upset about this because I got to taste the real sweetness of things - berries, peaches, tomatoes, corn. There were maybe 8 kids involved with this project. That night, after all had gone to bed, Jim woke the 8 of us up, giant tray o' pie in hand, and took us to Nina's back porch to devour the fruits of our labor. He said "this tastes so good because we made the effort." He was right. Nothing beats the satisfaction of succeeding at something - everything that comes out of my kitchen tastes better than any store bought anything because I made the effort and created culinary beauty out of raw ingredients. Lots of lessons about doing things for yourself rather than solely depending on others came from camp. And it all made sense, somehow.

I could easily go on for days about these summers. Such vivid memories of happiness, freedom, and laughter. I wish I could go back.

$17 worth of crab meat...awwww yeah...

Firstly, before I dive into this recipe with absolute gusto, I'd like to have a moment of silence for Lauryn's favorite bamboo spoon. Apparently the spoon didn't respect the burner's personal space, and alas...it has gone to meet the choir invisible.

I would also like to take this moment to remind you to talk to your cooking utensils and sous chefs about personal space so sad, unnecessary accidents like this don't happen. Perhaps this is a reasonable time to suggest that favorite utensils be purchased in pairs so you'll always have a spare.

On to the crab cakes! (Note the pile of crispy bits on the plates in the picture...I was feeling generous enough to share those)

I had left over lump crab meat, I had panko bread crumbs, I had mustard and mayo in the fridge, and now I have a stuffed tummy and a big smile on my face. The first round of crab meat went towards a delicious crab/sherry/cream sauce that my Mom made. Wow. I really, seriously, wanted to lick the plate after that. Okay. I did lick the plate. Then I cleaned up the mess I made from when I decided that I would make fettucine from scratch because we only had elbows and that just.wouldn't.work. I need to work on my pasta making skills. Now I'm getting distracted. Crab cakes! I knew I wanted to make something with the extra crab, not wanting to let anything so fabulous go to waste. I dug up a crab cake recipe that looked like I had at least some of the ingredients. I tweaked the recipe I found because I had half the meat necessary and not all the ingredients in my pantry. It worked despite the absentees! Also, the original recipe had about 5 hours of waiting time while things were in the fridge and the freezer, and crap on that! I was hungry! This would make a great remix of the leftovers from, perhaps, a crab boil? (If you know of any, invite me. I'll make your leftovers forget their names)

8 oz. lump crab meat
1 1/2 cups panko breadcrumbs
1/4 cup red bell pepper, minced very small
1 egg yolk
1 Tbsp. stoneground mustard
2 heaping Tbsp. mayonnaise
fresh lemon juice to taste

Toast the bread crumbs in the oven at 350 until golden brown. Soften the red pepper in a skillet. In the meantime, whisk egg yolk, mayo, mustard and lemon juice. Cool the peppers, cool the bread crumbs. Mix together mayo mixture, crab, a good handful of bread crumbs, and peppers. Stick 'em in the freezer for 15 minutes or so. Start thinking about your side dish - I decided on broiled asparagus with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Pull the meat out of the freezer and form into patties - they will not hold together very well, so be careful. Roll in the left over bread crumbs. Prep another skillet with melted butter (or olive oil if you're trying to be healthier). Gingerly place the crab cakes in the pan and brown on medium-high heat. Try the two spatula method to flip these puppies over - scootching a cake onto one spatula with another. Once they are browned on both sides, serve 'em up!

I recommend this sauce for them:
heaping spoonful of mayo
half that amount of mustard
fresh lemon juice

Mix and slather.

The first bite tells you everything you'll ever need to know about your cooking skills. The intonation of the "mmm" gives everything away. Remember that for when you're a dinner guest. People who spend time making a meal pay attention to the sounds of the guests and your response could either make a new best friend (who can cook! Sweet!) or a brand new enemy. Be careful. I received an "mmm" that was deep, hearty and translated to "this is better than breathing air." Epic win!

Parmesan Crusted Chicken

A request came by asking if I would discuss this. Yes. Although discussion may be muffled by sounds of chewing and "mmm" and "wow...that's good." This is one of my favorite recipes and really very simple. It jazzes up chicken in a way that only the Italian cheese makers/magicians could do. This recipe is perfect for those of you who are bored with the same old chicken recipes. You just cannot go wrong with the nutty, earthy flavor of Parmesan. And when you get a good piece on your antipasto platter? Heaven on earth. This is an ideal quick-fix for single persons, a make-it-seem-like-you-worked-all-day date night meal, or something to0 keep your family in line. If you're like me and keep a brick of Parmesan in the fridge and chicken in the freezer, then you are all set.

I've whipped up this recipe in a couple different ways and each way is fabulous. Sometimes I follow the recipe exactly and dredge in breadcrumbs, sometimes just the cheese. Mind you, this is the only dish I nearly set my kitchen on fire with. Keep an eye on it - it can get away from you if you stop paying attention. I blame my distraction on Obama's State of the Union address.

I always add the lemon juice because I love citrus as a layer of flavor. Citrus is like instant summertime and always perks up a meal. I've used chicken breasts, tenders, and thighs, all of which do well. I recommend the thighs be boneless, just for ease of cooking. Also, if I'm in an especially Jersey Italian kinda mood, I'll pound out the chicken and make it so wonderfully thin. I grew up in NJ with an Italian side of the family and full-thickness chicken just wasn't an option when breading it. Now that I'm thinking back, I bet this would make a killer chicken parm sandwich...if only I could get those proper, sturdy hard rolls with the awesome crust that gets crumbs everywhere...mmm. Now those are good.

By far, the best part of this meal are the little crispy bits left in the pan after the chicken is cooked. Don't throw those away. Please. The thought of that makes me sad. If you want to make quinoa or rice to go with this, cook the grains as directed on the box and then toss in the pan after the chicken's out. Or just eat the crispy bits once they've cooled. You've done the work to make this meal and deserve the crispy bits!

Here's the recipe as I found it and initially followed it (and fed to my friends, who all really liked it, so I know it's good). I'll make notes of variations and some hints below:

6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups dry breadcrumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
Lemon wedges to serve

Between sheets of wax paper, pound chicken with either a rolling pin or a meat tenderizer mallet (not the pointy side! Use the flat side!) This is great if you've had a stressful day. Just make sure to move all fragile things out of the way. Let the meat rest in a baking dish with 4 tablespoons of lemon juice. Prepare the dredging assembly line - one bowl with beaten eggs and lemon juice and another bowl with the Parmesan, breadcrumbs and lemon peel. Heat up a skillet with a couple tablespoons of butter. Place some of the coated chicken into the skillet and let brown to crispy, cheesy delight! Don't crowd the pan! (As mentioned above, save those crispy bits for either a snack or to mix with side dish grains) Cook the chicken thoroughly and until they are golden on both sides - probably 2 minutes. Since you pounded the chicken into submission, a thinner piece means faster cooking time! Have a plate ready with a piece of foil to keep the first batch warm while cooking the second batch. Serve with lemon wedges. Ta da!

Hints, Tips, Variations:

- Leave out the breadcrumbs if you're watching your carb intake.

- Use tenders for extraordinary chicken fingers - you won't need to pound these out, but keep an eye on them. Since they're thicker, it's a fine line between browning and burning the cheese while waiting for the chicken to cook.

- If you're making tenders, use a marinara for a dipping sauce.

- When buying Parmesan, make sure there are lots of spots. The cheese should be a gorgeous aged yellow with whitish spots. These spots equal serious deliciousness.

- If you get a huge block, cut it in half and freeze part of it. That way you'll always have fresh Parmesan on hand! In some places it may also be cheaper to buy larger. It's also cheaper to buy it solid and grate it than to buy it pre-grated. But use your own judgment - sometimes that time is better spent on other projects.

- Crispy bits! Just eat them.

- Keep an eye on it. Don't burn your kitchen down.