RSS Feed

Category Archives: Ice Cream

What a Watermelon Roll!

Posted on August 3, 2010 by amydeline

My ice cream maker hates me. Honestly, I don’t blame it. It’s been sitting in my basement, neglected for years. My husband bought it for me several years ago. I was thrilled at the time. I opened the box and tenderly caressed my new toy. I had big plans. I was going to be an ice cream maker extraordinaire, put Ben and Jerry’s to shame, give Mr. Baskin and Mr. Robbins a run for their money. And you know what? In all the years I’ve had the ice cream maker, I haven’t made even one single batch of ice cream.

Sort of reminds me of the summer my dad decided he was going to become an amateur fisherman. He went out and bought all of the supplies; a couple rods, lures, and a box to keep it all in. He fished for a summer, which is more than I can say about me and my ice cream maker. But then the fishing supplies got packed away alongside the abandoned bread machine and juicer. My sister blames Price Club for all of their tantalizing deals, which repeatedly sold our father on new hobbies alongside large tubs of mayonnaise and 100-packs of toilet paper.

But this post isn’t about fishing, juice-making, or other neglected hobbies. It’s about ice cream. I was inspired to give my ice cream maker its maiden whirl by a friend of mine, who recently started a wonderful blog with her sister, www.weknowstuff.us.com. They write about all sorts of interesting topics, including childcare, healthy eating, caring for an elderly relative, and my favorite topic, recipes! In one of their recent posts, they shared a step-by-step recipe for Watermelon Ice Cream, slightly modified from an Emeril Lagasse recipe. The little chocolate chip seeds are what really sold me. I was instantly reminded of the delicious Friendly’s Wattamelon Roll, which my husband goes gaga for, and set my mind on making one.

There’s a long story here, involving the mutilation of multiple innocent watermelons, an angry and uncooperative ice cream maker, and four (yes, four) batches of watermelon ice cream/sherbert and one batch of lemon sherbert. There are tales of too icy, too creamy, and too sweet. There are tales of repentance and forgiveness. I could regale you with stories of watermelon water content, ice-crystallization, cream vs. milk, and no-sugar added. I could explain why I chose to make a sherbert instead of an ice cream. But, I won’t bore you with the details. Suffice it to say, the ice cream maker and I are now the best of friends and I mastered two beautiful, melt-in-your-mouth sherbert recipes.

Enjoy either recipe on its own or use the two recipes together to make your own watermelon sherbert roll with all the same flavor of the original Wattamelon Roll, minus the Disodium Phosphate, Red 40, and Blue 1.

But first a few tips from my weekend of ice cream making:

  • Make sure your ice cream bowl is completely and thoroughly frozen. I turned the temperature down on my freezer to get the bowl to get the bowl cold enough.
  • Leave the ice cream bowl in the freezer until the last minute. It will begin defrosting quickly once you remove it.
  • Chill your ice cream mixture before pouring it into the ice cream maker.
  • You can make ice cream or sherbert with milk or cream, but what you use will affect the texture. Choose wisely. The recipes I have provided are what I found to be the best balance of texture and taste, while keeping waistlines in mind.
  • If you don’t have an ice cream maker, you can make a decent sherbert by allowing the mixture to freeze for 30 minutes or so, then blending the partially frozen mixture in a blender. Allow it to partially freeze again. Blend again. Then, allow it to completely freeze. This process will introduce some air into the mix as it freezes and breaks up some of the ice crystal formation. It will produce a tasty sherbert but the end result won’t be as creamy or smooth as with using an ice cream maker.

Lemon Sherbert

Ingredients

  • 1 Cup Light Cream
  • 1 Cup Milk
  • 1/2 Cup Sugar
  • 1/2 cup Lemon Juice (freshly squeezed, if possible)

Directions

Combine the cream, milk and sugar until completely dissolved. Add the lemon juice. Stir to combine. Pour the mixture into your ice cream maker and freeze according to your machine’s directions.

Watermelon Sherbert

Ingredients

  • 4 cups Seedless Watermelon, chopped
  • 1 cup Light Cream
  • 1 cup Milk
  • 1/4 cup Sugar
  • 3 Tbsp Lemon Juice
  • 3/4 cup Mini Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

Directions

Puree the watermelon until it’s liquid. You should have about 3 cups of watermelon liquid. Pour the liquid in a saucepan and simmer until the liquid reduced to about 1 cup. It will appear thick and syrupy. Cool the liquid completely. In bowl, combine the milk, cream, and sugar. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Add the watermelon mixture to the cream mixture. Add the lemon juice. Stir to combine.  Pour the mixture into your ice cream maker and freeze according to your machine’s directions. When the mixture has thickened, add the chocolate chips to the machine.

To create a watermelon roll, press lemon sherbert onto the bottom and sides of a round bowl. Fill the center with watermelon sherbert and freeze. If desired, paint the exterior with green food coloring.

Another alternative is to create watermelon pops.

6 Comments

Posted in Desserts, Food, Ice Cream, Recipes and tagged , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Father’s Day Ice Cream Pizza

Posted on June 20, 2010 by amydeline

Earlier in the week, I asked my three year old if he’d like to make something special for his daddy on Father’s Day. I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised when his response was Ice Cream Pizza!

Here’s the version of Ice Cream Pizza we came up with…

First, we crushed vanilla wafer cookies.

To make our pizza crust, we combined 2 cups of vanilla wafer crumbs with 1 stick of melted butter. Then, we pressed the mixture into a tart pan and placed it in the refrigerator.

We softened ice cream and spread it onto the cookie crust, then placed it in the freezer.  Once frozen, we spread a layer of strawberry sundae topping on the ice cream as our pizza sauce.

We sprinkled shredded coconut cheese onto the sauce.

We topped our pizza with fudge and candy pepperoni.

Slice and enjoy!

2 Comments

Posted in Cookies, Cooking with Kids, Desserts, Food, Ice Cream, Recipes and tagged , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Amy vs. Baked Alaska – The Showdown

Posted on June 9, 2010 by amydeline

A tumbleweed rolls across my kitchen floor. A strange man sits at the table, whistling ominously on a stout brown jug. I step into the room, spurs glimmering. A pair of wooden saloon doors swing closed behind me with a screech. (Funny…I don’t remember installing those doors.) I tip my hat and glare at my adversary.

**Flashback twenty or so years.** A gawky teenager, dressed in leggings with slouch socks and gleaming white faux-Keds, moves easily about the kitchen. Her side-pony sways with every movement. A well worn Better Homes and Gardens Dessert cookbook, circa 1973, sits open on the counter. Bolstered with confidence after the roaring success of the previous week’s Lemon Meringue Pie, she is busy preparing Baked Alaska, never pausing for a moment to consider what lie ahead.

My adversary stands before me, dressed in gleaming white. It snickers, taunting me. I stick my tongue out and make a sour face. My weapon is drawn.

Cyndi Lauder blares in the background as the eager teen approaches the open oven, her fluffy, white creation in hand. She pops it in the oven and dances awkwardly about the kitchen for a few minutes.  The timer beeps. She bounces over to the oven, opens the door, and shrieks. Her siblings come running into the kitchen.

I belt out my battle cry and approach the snickering adversary. I take it in my hands and approach the piping hot oven. Not this time!  Not this time! I place it in the oven and close the door.

The teen and her siblings stare in horror at the tray of melted ice cream. It looks nothing like the picture in the cookbook. A single tear falls from the teen’s hazel eyes.

After five eternal minutes, I open the oven and…

My Baked Alaska

Dark Chocolate Raspberry Baked Alaska

Here’s how it’s done…

The Cake

You can use just about any flavor or type of cake for the base of the Baked Alaska. A giant cookie or brownie base would probably work nicely too!  I went searching for a dark chocolate cake recipe for my Baked Alaska. I landed upon a truly fantastic recipe from Hershey’s for Deep Dark Chocolate Cake.  This is probably the best chocolate cake I’ve ever tasted. I will definitely be using this cake recipe for future birthday cakes! I made one 9 inch round cake for my base and several cupcakes for the kids to make their own mini Baked Alaskas.

Mise en place - Everything in its place

Hershey's Deep Dark Chocolate Cake

Chocolatey Cake and Cupcakes

The Ice Cream

You can use any flavor(s) of ice cream in your Baked Alaska.  To prepare the ice cream, spray the inside of a bowl with Pam or lightly coat with vegetable oil. Then, line the bowl with plastic wrap.  This step will make it easier to remove the ice cream dome. Allow the ice cream to soften slightly.  Then, spread the ice cream in an even layer on the bottom of the bowl, being certain to fill all gaps.  Place the bowl in the freezer until the ice cream has refrozen. If using more than one flavor, freeze each layer before adding the next flavor. I layered dark chocolate ice cream with fresh raspberries, raspberry sorbet, and milk chocolate ice cream.

Raspberry Sorbet Layer

Waiting for the ice cream

The Meringue

Meringue is a mixture of egg whites and sugar, beaten until thick and glossy. Cream of tartar is frequently added as a stabilizer, but is not absolutely necessary. Egg whites should be beaten to soft peaks before incorporating the sugar.

A few tips for a successful meringue:

  • Bowl and whisk should be pristinely clean as even the slightest bit of residual fat can prevent the whites from developing.
  • Stainless steel, glass, or ceramic bowls will all work well.
  • Make sure that no trace of yolk enters the mix. Crack each egg into a ramekin or small bowl first, so if a yolk breaks, you won’t waste the whole batch.
  • Allow the egg whites to come to room temperature before beating.
  • Before beating, add 1/8 tsp of Cream of Tartar per egg white to help stabilize the whipped whites.
  • Beat the egg whites until soft peaks begin to form.
  • Use about (but no less than) 2 Tbsp of sugar per egg white.
  • If possible, use superfine sugar as it will dissolve more easily into the egg whites.
  • Gradually add sugar a spoonful at a time, until stiff peaks form. Stiff peaks will hold their shape. The meringue should be smooth and glossy.

Soft Peaks

Stiff Peaks

** I used 8 whites, 1 tsp cream of tartar, and 16 Tbsp sugar, which made enough meringue to thoroughly cover my large Baked Alaska and two of the kids’ Baked Alaska cupcakes.

The Assembly

Once the cake is baked and the ice cream is thoroughly frozen, carefully turn the bowl over and lower the ice cream dome on top of the cake. I scooped out a shallow bed for the ice cream dome to sit in, in the hopes that it would provide a better insulating seal for the meringue. This step may not be necessary, but it worked! Once the ice cream cake is assembled, allow it to freeze until very firm. I left mine in the freezer overnight. Once frozen, preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  Prepare the meringue.  Working quickly, coat the ice cream and the cake thoroughly in meringue, being careful to spread the meringue to every edge. You can use a knife or the back of a spoon to create decorative designs in your meringue.

Cake with a shallow bed for the ice cream

Cake with Ice Cream

The Final Baking

Bake on the lower rack of a 450 degree oven for 5-6 minutes until the exterior begins to brown.

Serve immediately or freeze until ready to serve. It holds well in the freezer.

Dark Chocolate Raspberry Baked Alaska with Raspberry Coulis

A few other notes and tips…

  • Make sure your meringue thoroughly coats the ice cream and cake.  This is the most important part (and probably the aspect which caused my failure so many years ago). The meringue is what insulates the ice cream from the heat.
  • Make your ice cream dome with a smaller diameter than your cake.  Most recipes don’t mention this, but I think it helps to prevent melting.
  • Inspired by this link, shared by a friend, my kids made their own mini Baked Alaskas.  I used extra batter from the cake to make a few cupcakes.  Then, we scooped out the center and filled it with softened Raspberry Sorbet.  They coated their Alaskas with the extra meringue.  Then, I put them in the oven for 5 minutes at 450 degrees.  Worked out great, just make sure you help your kids thoroughly cover the entire cupcake.
  • I served my Baked Alaska with a Raspberry Coulis.  A coulis, (pronounced koo-LEE) is simply a sauce made by pureeing fruit or vegetables and straining.  For my sauce, I pureed a handful of raspberries with a Tbps of sugar. Then, I strained the puree and discarded the seeds.

Don't mess with this cowboy!

So, did anyone else try your own Baked Alaska??  I know at least one of you did and with grand success! Anyone else?  Tell us how it went!

11 Comments

Posted in Baking, Cakes, Chocolate, Cooking with Kids, Culinary Techniques, Desserts, Food, Fruit, General Rambling and Such, Ice Cream, Recipes and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

It’s Smoothie Time

Posted on June 4, 2010 by amydeline

The sun is shining. The pools are open. The farmstands are brimming with fruit.

It’s smoothie time!!


I’ve got two tasty smoothies for you today. The first, my personal favorite, is a Mango Creamsicle Smoothie. It tastes like a creamsicle bar, with the added punch of sweet, fresh mango. The second is a smoothie I like to make for the kids because it’s made with nothing more than fresh fruit and milk. Rather than using ice in my smoothies, I use frozen fruit, which makes a thick smoothie without watering down the flavor. You can purchase bags of chopped, frozen fruit, with no added sugar or syrup.  Or chop and freeze your own fruit!

Mango Creamsicle Smoothie

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup Vanilla Frozen Yogurt
  • 1/2 cup Orange Juice
  • 1/2 cup Frozen Mango Chunks

Directions

Put all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Alternately, combine ingredients in a bowl or large measuring cup and blend with an immersion blender. (Makes 1 Smoothie)

Fresh Fruit and Milk Smoothie

Ingredients

  • 1 cup of Frozen Fruit, sliced or chopped
  • 1/2 Banana
  • 1/2 cup Milk

Directions

Put all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Alternately, combine ingredients in a bowl or large measuring cup and blend with an immersion blender. Add more or less milk, as necessary, to achieve your desired consistency.

A delicious frosty treat!

Speaking of frosty treats… There’s still time to get in on the Baked Alaska fun!!! I’ve got my flavors picked out!  Anyone else want to join in the adventure?? Just make any version of a Baked Alaska before next Wednesday and let me know how it goes!

Leave a comment

Posted in Desserts, Food, Fruit, Ice Cream, Recipes and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Grilled Ribeye Steaks and Grilled Fingerling Potatoes with Gorgonzola

Posted on May 31, 2010 by amydeline

I’m not a lawyer or anything, but I’m pretty sure there is a law that mandates grilling on Memorial Day. In accordance with this purported law, we shall be grilling steaks and potatoes tonight.

Grilled Ribeye Steak with Chipotle Butter, Grilled Fingerling Potatoes with Gorgonzola, and Corn on the Cob

I chose a thick, marbled ribeye steak and fingerling potatoes.  Russet potatoes would work well, but will need more cooking time. And, remember that chipotle butter we made last week?  Throw a dollop of that on the steak!  Sprinkle a little gorgonzola on the potatoes and serve with a piece of corn on the cob!

A little guide for grilling steaks:

  • Take the steak out of the fridge about 30-45 minutes prior to grilling to allow it to come up to room temperature. Allowing the steaks to come to room temperature facilitates even cooking.
  • Meanwhile, fire up your grill. Whether using a gas or charcoal grill (my preference), get it good and hot. Charcoal should have a coat of white ash and glow red in the middle. Distribute the coals unevenly, so that one side is stacked with coals and the other side has a lower, single layer of coals.
  • Remove the grill plate and rub it with a little olive oil to prevent sticking.
  • Just prior to grilling, season your steak with a little salt and pepper. Avoid doing this until the last minute, as the salt will draw out the juices in the steak.
  • Sear the steak over high heat for a minute or two on each side. (If using a charcoal grill, sear over the stacked coals). Searing the steak over high heat seals in the juices.
  • If using a gas grill, turn the heat down to medium. If using a charcoal grill, move the steak over the lower heat, single layer of coals.
  • Allow the steak to cook for about 3-6 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of the steak and your desired doneness. Rotate the steak 45 degrees halfway through, to give it a nice quadrillage (diamond pattern).
  • You can check the steak’s doneness by feeling the steak or using a meat thermometer.  My preference is to insert a meat thermometer into the side of the steak.  (Rare: 125 degrees,  Medium Rare: 130-135 degrees, Medium: 140-145 degrees, Medium Well: 150-155 degrees, Well: 160-165 degrees)
  • Remove the steak from the grill about 5 degrees below your desired temperature, as the steak will continue cooking off the heat.
  • Cover the steak and allow it to rest for about 5 minutes before cutting or serving. Resting allows the juices to redistribute within the steak.

Using a chimney starter eliminates the need for smelly lighter fluid.

To Grill Fingerling Potatoes:

Pour a small amount of olive oil onto a large piece of foil.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pierce each potato a few times with a fork. Place potatoes onto the oil.  Thoroughly wrap the potatoes in the foil.  Double wrap if necessary to seal in the oil. Grill for about 30-40 minutes, until fork tender. For larger potatoes, allow for longer grilling time.

Corn on the Cob:

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Put the shucked corn into the boiling water.  Boil for about 5-8 minutes.

And for dessert…

Bordeaux Cherry Brownie Ice Cream with Fresh Cherries

2 Comments

Posted in Beef, Cheese, Culinary Techniques, Food, Ice Cream, Potato, Recipes, Vegetable and tagged , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.
←
Newer Posts →
Look, Feel, Live Beautiful

Beauty Awaits

The Gourmand Mom

Good food, seasoned with a dash of life