Just for Fun!

Just for fun! A feast in the microwave! From Gastro Obscura. 

Photo: Gastro Obscura

Dark Coffee Ice Cream

Use the regular ice cream base (see Sweet Basil).

Optional Instructions: This is a 2023 update to this recipe - today I used 3 oz. softened Mascarpone cheese as a substitute to the cream cheese in the base recipe. I forgot the salt but I'm not sure it made a difference. I also used a combination of 2% milk, heavy cream and half&half that I had leftover from our birthday celebration and NanaPapaCamp in August. 1 cup heavy cream, 2 cups milk and the rest half&half (a bit over 1 cup.) 

In addition, I steeped the custard mixture for 5 minutes with 1/3 cup of roughly ground coffee. I placed a sieve lined with fine cheesecloth on top of the pan I use to cool the custard over ice water and let it drip. When cooled, I wrung the cheesecloth out to get all the dark custard. 

I added 1T vanilla bean paste, and 1 tsp coffee extract. When packing the ice cream I sprinkled layers with espresso sugar.

Regular instructions: After the custard is taken off the stove, stir in 1T coffee extract and 1T vanilla bean paste.  Churn and at the very last couple minutes, sprinkle in about 1/8 c. of espresso sugar.

I also added very roughly-ground Red Barn Coffee Roasters American Espresso beans to the latest batch. YUM. ( I Love this coffee which is local in MA.)

I pick up flavorings, sugars, extracts, salts, oils, vinegars etc. when in HomeGoods, any TJX store, or Williams-Sonoma in the clearance section. It's usually an incredible savings. This is how I ended up with these ingredients for the coffee ice cream. I keep the extracts in a thin cupboard that someone made out of an antique washboard (purchased in Texas in the 1990s.)

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Classic Memphis-Style Coleslaw

Coleslaw from the grocery stores seem either hit or miss. Yummy ... or you can take it or leave it. Some restaurants have such delicious coleslaw that I want to take a pound of it home with me.

I've made coleslaw before, but don't know what recipe I used. So I searched online, read reviews, and found this recipe. I changed it up a bit, but knew when I tasted the dressing that it was perfect. Not too saucy - just enough for a 16 ounce bag of coleslaw mix you either chop yourself or buy it at the store. I used a tri-color deli style mix. One reviewer stated that they hate celery so found it non-appealing. I'm so-so about chopped celery in some recipies, but love to add celery seed and celery salt to soups and salads.

Mix 1 cup of mayonnaise with 2 T dijon mustard, 2 T apple cider vinegar, 3 T sugar (I know! but it's good!), 1-2 T of finely grated onion or dried onion or 1 tsp onion powder. (I used the dried because I was in a hurry and the coleslaw will sit for a few hours hydrating the onion.) The recipe calls for 2 tsps of celery seed - I used one tsp of seed plus one tsp. of celery salt (and eliminated any extra salt. I also added a tsp of ground pepper. (Sometimes I don't use freshly ground because the pepper is too coarse for a recipe.)

Stir the sauce in with the coleslaw mix and cover. Toss again before serving.

Thanks to barefeetinthekitchen.com for the original recipe.

Carrot-Ginger-Pecan Scones

I always love scones, but you never know that you are going to get. Cake-y springy scones, tough dried-out scones, or the perfect kind that are soft (but not like cake)  and with a crunch when you bite into them.

These fit the bill. I did change the recipe. See below. I had a cup or so of leftover cream cheese frosting (from the carrot cake I made last week.) King Arthur uploaded this recipe to Facebook yesterday, so here we are. 

The best part about baking these this morning while we having a downpour all day in Florida, was that I got all the ingredients together last night. I grated sweet Florida carrots and stored them in a plastic container. I mixed the flour, salt, ginger, and baking powder together in a covered bowl. I chopped the butter into tiny squares and put it in the freezer. I measured the cream and refrigerated it with the egg. I measured the 1/2 c. brown sugar and set it aside in a Ziploc. I toasted the pecans and chopped them. 

I slept late this morning because I had been up since 2:15 am yesterday (woke to a circling helicopter and found out it was a manhunt!) When I got downstairs this morning, it was a perfect time to make the scones.

• 2/3 c. pecans
• 1 very large Florida carrot grated or 1-1/4 cups 
• 1/2 - 1 cut up candied ginger bits (cut from candied ginger or commercially packaged)
• 1/2 heavy cream
• 6 T unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 c brown sugar
• 2-1/3 flour
• 3/4 t salt
• 1 tsp ginger
• 2-1/4 tsp baking powder

Set oven temp for toasted pecans to 400 degrees. (You will turn this down to 375 degrees right as you place the baking sheet in the oven.

*Original recipe called for 1/2 tsp ginger, and1/2 tsp cinnamon and King Arthur Cinnamon Sweet Bits. I left out the cinnamon and Cinnamon Bits and replaced with more ginger and candied ginger. 

Mix the flour, salt, ginger and baking powder well. Add the butter and mix well with your fingers or with a pastry blender until all butter has been mixed in. I suppose you could do this with a food processor, processing just until the mixture looks like flour but there are no butter chunks visible. 

Whisk the cream, egg and sugar together. Make a well in the flour/butter mixture and then use a

flexible spatula or your buttered hands to mix just until no more flour shows as separate to the dough.

Mold 1/2 the dough on parchment into a round about 4" by 1". Do the same with the other 1/2. Place the rounds in the freezer and freeze for 15 minutes.

Cut the rounds with a large knife into 8 triangles each. Place on parchment on a baking sheet and turn oven temperature down to 350 degrees. Bake 25-30 minutes. Cool off the baking sheet.

Frost with a cream-cheese frosting. If not using a frosting, use a pastry brush and extra cream on the scones and sprinkle with coarse sparkling sugar. 

Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad

 

For Easter dinner this year, it was just the two of us in Verandah. We decided to grill lamb lollipops and potato salad, and, for dessert, leftover Graham Carrot Torte.

We had a few dozen Brussels sprouts left over from Beef Bolognese and Pasta. In that recipe, you remove the outer leaves and keep the rest of the sprout for later. These are what we sliced thin, removing any tough cores.

To the sprouts, add 6-10 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled and 1/3 c. raisins (or dried cranberries. Toast 1 cup of chopped walnuts in a saute pan over medium heat for 5 minutes, tossing to toast. Add to the sprouts, bacon and raisins/cranberries.

Whisk together: 

• 3/4 tsp. dijon mustard
• 2T maple syrup
• 3 T apple cider vinegar
• 3 T extra virgin olive oil
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper

Pour over salad and toss. 

Smitten Kitchen's Carrot Graham Layer Cake

I love Smitten Kitchen. This recipe came up this week on her Facebook page in time for me to make a dessert to take to an invited dinner. I also made simple Goat Cheese Ice Cream (no honey-thyme sauce or roasted cherries)  and added half a vanilla bean to the cooling custard. I'll bring just enough for a small scoop with the cake (and some to leave.)

Gerry couldn't find Graham cracker crumbs in the store, so brought home a box of crackers. About 6 crackers crumbed with a rolling pin or meat tenderizer made 3/4 cup with some to sprinkle on top.

Cake: Use 9-inch pans lined with 9-inch parchment rounds and spray with cooking spray. Next time, I will use 7-inch pans and make four layers for a pretty cake. 

Mix: 

• 1 cup of all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup finely ground graham cracker crumbs
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 3/4 tsp. fine sea salt or table salt
• 1-1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• /4 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 3/4 tsp. ground ginger. 

 Set aside.

Place in a mixing bowl:

• 3/4 c. both granulated and dark brown sugars
• 3/4 cup PLUS 3 T. neutral oil or melted butter (I used Canola oil.)  

I mixed this with a hand mixer - the recipe calls for whisking together.  Add three eggs and mix some more. I learned the lesson to crack the eggs into a separate bowl or cup and NOT crack them individually into the bowl with the other ingredients. For perhaps the first time ever. I had a bad egg while baking (broken yolk and brownish color, but not terribly foul-smelling). I had to start over with all these ingredients (sugars, oil and eggs.)

When the eggs, oil and sugars are well-mixed, add 3 cups of shredded carrots and mix well with a spoon.

Mix in the flour mixture just until all the flour is mixed and none shows separately.

At this point, I had prepared the two pans I had and cut an extra 9-inch round of parchment.

I measured one heaping cup of batter into each of the two pans and another heaping cup into a separate bowl, trying to keep the batter as even as possible.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes. Sit the pans on racks to cool for 5 minutes and then turn out on the rack (slipping a knife along the edges.) Bake the third pan for the same 15-18 minutes.

Cool each layer and then frost, layering as you go. Sprinkle with extra graham cracker crumbs.

Frosting:

• 2 8-oz packages of cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup or two sticks of unsalted butter at room temp.
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract

Beat all four ingredients well with a mixer. Keep at room temperature to frost.

Reuben Bowls

This is a recipe I found in the February 2023 Bethel Living (Maine regional free mag, page 24) that inspired me to experiment with making Corned Beef Four Ways in Two Days.

These bowls were yummy! I've adapted it a bit from the recipe.

Make twice this dressing recipe, whisking together, and setting aside.

• 1/4 c mayo
• 2 T sweet pickle relish
• 4 tsp. catsup
• 1-1/2 tsp. prepared horseradish
• 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground pepper

Make the bowl:

• 2 tsp. caraway seeds
• 1 T. extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
• 1/4 green cabbage, very thinly sliced
• 1 c. chopped fresh red peppers, separated into1/2 c each
• 1 c. shredded carrot
• 3/4 lb. cooked corned beef, sliced or shredded into bite-sized pieces (see post link above) 
• 1-1/2 c. sauerkraut, drained
• 1 c. shredded Swiss cheese
• 1/4 thinly sliced cornichon pickles
• 1 green onion, thinly sliced

In a large skillet over medium-high heat toast the caraway seeds for about 30 seconds and set them aside on a plate.

Return the skillet to medium-high heat and heat the oil. Add the onion and cook stirring slightly until lightly golden, about 3 minutes. Add the cabbage and carrot and season with salt and pepper. Add 1/2 c. red peppers and cook, stirring occasionally, until the cabbage is crisp-tender, 5 minutes. 

Stir in the corned beef and sauerkraut, tossing until warmed throughout, 1 minute more. Top cabbage mixture with Swiss cheese, cover, and cook until cheese is melty and bubbly.  OR place large spoonfuls in 4-6 small baking dishes and melt cheese briefly under the broiler. 

Scatter roasted caraway seeds and cornichons on top, then drizzle with dressing and garnish with green onion