Shrimp, Chorizo, and Pineapple Quesadillas

When I retrieved my ice cream maker from its hiatus in the basement, I told myself that I wouldn’t post too many ice cream related recipes. I recognize that not everyone has an ice cream maker lying around and I’d rather post recipes that don’t require any special equipment. I’m not doing a very good job of limiting the ice cream recipes though. It’s summer and I’m really enjoying the novelty of my ice cream maker. I’ve been finding myself dreaming of ways to use it. Some of my ideas are inarguably fantastic; others not so much. Last weekend, after a few glasses of wine, I was ready to whip out the machine to make some sort of Swedish Fish ice cream. I got some strange looks from the crowd, so we abandoned that mission. But I recently had another idea that I just had to try and since there was no one around to talk me out of it, I did. To make up for the fact that I’m sharing my third ice cream recipe in the past two weeks, I’m going to throw in a super simple, delicious bonus recipe which makes a easy, tasty dinner and requires no special equipment.

Remember earlier in the week when I mentioned the candy-sweet local corn, which I added to my pesto pasta with salmon and tomatoes? I wasn’t joking when I said it was candy-sweet. It seriously tastes like it’s been watered in syrup and grown in a bed of brown-sugar soil. I fed some to the kids and told them it was candy. They never paused for a second to question it. I’ve been dreaming about that corn ever since, plotting other ways to take advantage of its awesomeness. I wanted to use it as a dessert. It’s really that sweet. Sweet corn frozen custard came to mind.

Truth be told, this recipe was not a complete success. I contemplated whether I should share it or not, but I figured that if you’re crazy about corn, this recipe might be right up your alley. I fed a spoonful to my husband without telling him what it was and his reaction was less than enthusiastic. Confused would be the most appropriate description of the look on his face as he tried to process what he was tasting. His sentiments were that you can’t just feed people a bowl full of corn ice cream; that it needs to go with something. I agree. So, I made a homemade caramel sauce and served it with a graham cracker…sort of a caramel corn sundae, I suppose.

This frozen custard has a definite sweet corn flavor. The only added sweetener comes from a few tablespoons of honey. I used buttermilk to make up part of the cream base, sort of a play on my sweet honey cornbread with buttermilk, but I think the buttermilk was a mistake. The final custard was not nearly as creamy as I’d hoped. It had more of a firm, icy texture. I’m no ice cream making expert, but I suspect the iciness was a result of the buttermilk…perhaps a freezing point issue? If I were to repeat the recipe, I think I’d use an all cream base. Fairly certain that would produce a creamier result. The recipe I’m sharing with you excludes the buttermilk.

Summer Corn Frozen Custard

Ingredients

• 3 Cobs of Sweet Corn
• 2 cups Light Cream
• 3 Tbsp Honey
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 2 Egg Yolks, lightly beaten

Directions

Boil the corn for 8 minutes. Cool. Cut the kernels off of the cob. Save the cobs. Use a blender or food processor to blend the kernels with the cream, honey, and vanilla extract. Pour the mixture in a saucepan and add the corn cobs. You can break the cobs, if necessary, to fit in the pan. Heat the mixture, stirring often, until it begins to bubble. Remove from heat. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve, pressing the mixture to remove all of the the corn-flavored cream. Add a small amount of the hot liquid to the egg yolks to temper the yolks. (Adding a small amount of the hot liquid allows the egg yolks to heat gradually and prevents them from scrambling.) Add the tempered egg yolk mixture to the hot cream. Return the mixture to a saucepan. Heat the mixture until it begins gently bubbling. Cook for about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and refrigerate until it is completely cooled. Then, pour the mixture into your frozen ice cream bowl and freeze according to your machine’s directions. Serve with caramel, if desired.

Now, on to that super easy, super delicious, no-special-equipment-required recipe. A few weeks ago, a friend of mine sent me a message wondering if I had any ideas for how to make use of some chorizo she had on hand. Yum. Chorizo. I gave her a few general ideas at the time. And then I couldn’t get chorizo off the brain. Chorizo is a spiced pork sausage that is typically available as chorizo picante (spicy) or chorizo dulce (mild). Spanish chorizo is cured and can be eaten as is. My supermarket carries cured chorizo near the deli and cheese section. Chorizo is also available as a fresh sausage which you would probably find in the meat section of your supermarket. Fresh sausage needs to be cooked prior to eating. I love the combination of chorizo with seafood, especially shrimp. It occurred to me that both shrimp and chorizo would pair well with pineapple. So, I decided to put together some super fast Shrimp, Chorizo, and Pineapple Quesadillas. I’ll definitely be making these again.

Shrimp, Chorizo, and Pineapple Quesadillas

Ingredients

• 1 cup Spanish Chorizo, chopped
• 1 cup cooked salad-size Shrimp
• 1/2 cup Pineapple, finely chopped
• 2 cups Mexican Blend Cheese
• 8 Flour Tortillas

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat the chorizo in a pan over medium heat until it begins to release its oil. Add the shrimp and pineapple. Stir to combine. When the shrimp and pineapple are warm, remove from heat. Sprinkle about 1/4 cup cheese onto each of four tortillas. Evenly distribute the chorizo, shrimp, pineapple mixture over the four tortillas. Top with another 1/4 cup cheese on each. Cover with the remaining four tortillas. Bake for about 10-12 minutes until the insides are hot and melty and the tortillas feel slightly crisp. Press down on the quesadillas about halfway through to help them melt together. Allow the quesadillas to cool for a minute or two before cutting.