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Archive for August, 2010

Tin Roof Ice Cream

Posted in Desserts, Ice Creams, Sorbets, and Frozen Yogurts, tagged , , , on August 23, 2010 | 2 Comments »

Tin Roof Ice Cream

What do you call an ice cream that combines a rich vanilla ice cream, chocolate covered peanuts, and a fudge ripple? Tin Roof Ice Cream, of course! (I had never heard of it before either.) :)

I expected this ice cream to be good, but it is even so much better than I expected. You start by creating a vanilla bean custard-based ice cream that is so rich and creamy. Half of a vanilla bean and 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract provide the perfect amount of vanilla flavor. I of course had to have a taste of the plain vanilla ice cream before adding the mix-ins, and it is wonderful. I might even say it is one of the best vanilla ice creams I’ve ever tasted. Mixed into the ice cream base are chocolate covered peanuts- also so much more delicious than I had imagined them to be. Finally a fudge ripple is layered with the ice cream. Yum!

I will admit that I cheated and did not make homemade fudge ripple. Instead I used store-bought chocolate fudge sauce. While the store-bought chocolate worked just fine, next time I’d like to try making my own fudge ripple using David Lebovitz’s recipe. Based on how wonderful his other recipes have turned out, I can only imagine that his fudge ripple recipe will produce an amazing result as well. I’ve included the recipe below, so that you can try it if you wish.

Tin Roof Ice Cream

Makes about 1 1/4 quarts

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 cup whole milk
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
  • 1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
  • 4 large egg yolks
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup Chocolate-Covered Peanuts (recipe below)
  • Fudge Ripple (recipe below)

Directions:

  1. Warm the milk, sugar, salt, and 1/2 cup of the cream in a medium saucepan. With a sharp paring knife, scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and add them, along with the pod, to the hot milk mixture. Cover, remove from the heat, and let steep at room temperature for 30 minutes.
  2. Rewarm the vanilla-infused mixture. Pour the remaining 1 cup cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed yolks back into the saucepan.
  3. Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula (an instant-read thermometer should read between 170-175 degrees F). Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream to cool. Remove the vanilla bean, wipe it clean of any egg bits, and add it back to the custard. Stir in the vanilla and stir until cool over an ice bath. Chill thoroughly in the refrigerator.
  4. When ready to churn the ice cream, remove the vanilla bean. Freeze the ice cream in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. While the ice cream is freezing, chop the peanuts into bite-sized pieces.
  5. Fold the peanut pieces into the frozen ice cream as you remove it from the machine, and layer it with Fudge Ripple.

Chocolate-Covered Peanuts

Makes 1 1/2 cups (I halved the recipe to make the correct amount for the ice cream)

Ingredients:

  • 4 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
  • 1 cup roasted, unsalted peanuts

Directions:

  1. Melt the chocolate, either in a double boiler on the stove or in the microwave. Stretch a piece of plastic wrap over a dinner plate.
  2. Once the chocolate is melted, remove it from the heat and stir in the peanuts, coating them with the chocolate. Spread the mixture on the plastic-lined plate and chill.

Fudge Ripple

Makes 1 cup

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup light corn syrup
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 6 tbsp. unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
  • 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

  1. Whisk together the sugar, corn syrup, water, and cocoa powder in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture begins to bubble at the edges.
  2. Continue to whisk until it just comes to a low boil. Cook for 1 minute, whisking frequently. Remove from the heat, stir in the vanilla, and let cool. Chill in the refrigerator before using.

Recipes from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

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Whole Wheat Pita Bread

Posted in Breads, tagged , , on August 17, 2010 | 8 Comments »

Whole Wheat Pita Bread

Every once in a while I become inspired to bake something that takes a little more time than the usual cookies, muffins, or bar desserts. This time, it was these whole wheat pitas that called me to devote an entire nap time plus to the kitchen (the pitas are actually really easy to make, and there was a good deal of inactive time, but you have to be available to do the next step after each rise and rest of the dough). While I am not able to spend this much time baking on a regular basis, I am glad that I tried this recipe because these pitas are delicious!

Whole wheat pitas were the second batch of homemade pitas that I’ve made. I recently made regular pitas, and now that I’ve tried the whole wheat I don’t think I’d make the plain ones again. We preferred the whole wheat pitas because of their more complex, nutty flavor. Better flavor and healthier too- whole wheat pitas win in my book!

Whole Wheat Pita Bread

Makes 8 pitas

Ingredients:

  • 2 1/4 tsp. instant yeast (I used one package and it worked just fine)
  • 1 tbsp. honey
  • 1 1/4 cups warm water (105-115 degrees F), divided
  • 1 1/2 cups bread flour, divided
  • 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour, divided
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • Cornmeal, for sprinkling

Directions:

  1. In the bowl of a stand mixer (if you do not have a stand mixer, you can mix and knead the pitas by hand), combine the yeast, honey and 1/2 cup of the water. Stir gently to blend. Whisk 1/4 cup of the bread flour and 1/4 cup of the whole wheat flour into the yeast mixture until smooth. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside until doubled in bulk and bubbly, about 45 minutes.
  2. Remove the plastic wrap and return the bowl to the mixer stand, fitted with the dough hook. Add in the remaining 3/4 cup of warm water, 1 1/4 cups bread flour, 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour, olive oil and salt. Knead on low speed until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Transfer the ball of dough to a lightly oiled bowl, turning once to coat, and let rise in a warm draft-free place, about 1 hour, until doubled in bulk.
  3. Place an oven rack in the middle position. Place a baking stone in the oven and preheat to 500 degrees F. Alternatively, you can bake the pitas directly on the oven racks.
  4. Once the dough has risen, transfer to a lightly floured work surface, punch down the dough and divide into 8 equal pieces. Form each piece into a ball. Flatten one ball at a time into a disk, then stretch or roll into a 6 1/2-7 inch circle. (If you have trouble stretching the dough, let it rest covered with a damp towel for about 15 minutes and then try again.) Transfer the rounds to a baking sheet or other work surface lightly sprinkled with cornmeal. Once all the rounds have been shaped, loosely cover with clean kitchen towels. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, until slightly puffy.
  5. Transfer 4 pitas, one at a time, onto the baking surface. Bake 2 minutes, until puffed and pale golden. Gently flip the pitas over using tongs and bake 1 minute more. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely. Repeat with the remaining pitas. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Recipe from Annie’s Eats, adapted from Confections of a Foodie Bride, originally from Gourmet, May 2003.

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Grilled Vegetable Salad in Pita Bread

Posted in Main Dish, Vegetarian, tagged , , on August 12, 2010 | 3 Comments »

Grilled Vegetable Salad in Pita Bread

I was recently organizing my recipes and came across a recipe for Fattoush, which is a Middle Eastern bread salad (a similar idea to Italian bread salad, or panzanella). It had been years since I last made this recipe, but I remembered that we had enjoyed the flavors in the dish. This time, I decided to make my own version using my first batch of homemade whole wheat pitas. (The pitas turned out amazing, so look for a post on them in the near future!) The recipe called for grilling the pitas until crisp and then tossing them with the vegetables. Instead, I served the vegetables wrapped in the pitas because I felt the pitas were so good as is (I didn’t want to change the soft texture of the pitas by grilling them).

The above photo shows the grilled vegetable salad served on top of a pita. My intention was to wrap the pita around the vegetables and eat it that way, but most of the salad ended up falling out of the pita. Brad put his veggies inside the pita pocket, which worked much better.

This vegetable salad is big on flavor, thanks to the Kalamata olives, feta cheese, green onions, lemon juice, cilantro, and grilled vegetables. The original recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of ground cumin, but I used less because I wanted the other flavors to be more prominent. I also omitted 1/2 cup of fresh mint leaves, because I’m not a big fan of fresh mint.

This salad is a good choice for a light, meatless dinner. The leftovers make an excellent lunch the next day.

Grilled Vegetable Salad in Pita Bread

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients:

  • 3 medium orange or red bell peppers, stemmed, seeded, and quartered
  • 4 zucchini, trimmed, cut lengthwise in half
  • Extra virgin olive oil (for grilling)
  • Salt and pepper
  • Cucumber, peeled, halved, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
  • 12 cherry tomatoes, each halved, or 1 whole tomato, diced
  • 3 green onions, thinly sliced
  • 1 scant cup pitted Kalamata olives, halved
  • 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
  • Pita bread (I used whole wheat)

Directions:

  1. Heat grill pan over medium-high heat (or heat outdoor grill). Brush peppers and zucchini on both sides with olive oil. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Grill peppers and zucchini until slightly charred and just tender, turning once, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a baking sheet to cool.
  2. Once cool, cut peppers into 1/2-inch sized pieces. Cut zucchini lengthwise in half, then crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces. Place in a large bowl. Add cucumber, tomatoes, green onions, olives, and cilantro and toss to combine.
  3. Whisk 1/3 cup olive oil, lemon juice, and cumin in a small bowl to blend. Season dressing with salt and pepper to taste. Add dressing to salad and toss to coat. Gently mix feta into salad.
  4. Serve the salad in whole wheat pita bread.

Recipe significantly adapted from Bon Appetit, July 2007.

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Ginger-Apricot Pie

Posted in Desserts, Pies, Tarts, Crisps, and Crumbles, tagged , , on August 3, 2010 | 3 Comments »

Ginger-Apricot Pie

Every summer I bake at least one apricot pie, using fresh apricots from the tree in my parents’ backyard. The pie is then shared at a family gathering, often our Fourth of July celebration. I have tried a few different recipes, and I love the warm spice notes from the cinnamon and ginger in this recipe. Sweet apricots, a little sugar, and some spices in a tender, flaky crust- yum!

Ginger-Apricot Pie

Makes one 9-inch pie

Ingredients:

  • 2 rolled-out Basic Pie Dough rounds (see recipe below)
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 2 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 2 pounds apricots, pitted and sliced 1/2 inch thick (about 5 cups)
  • 1 teaspoon finely grated orange or lemon zest

Directions:

  1. Fold 1 dough round in half and carefully transfer to a 9-inch pie dish. Unfold and ease the round into the pan, patting it firmly into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Trim the edge of the dough, leaving 3/4 inch of overhang. Set the dough-lined pan aside, along with the second dough round, in a cool place until ready to use.
  2. In a small bowl, stir together the sugar, cornstarch, tapioca, ginger, cinnamon, and salt. Place the apricots in a large bowl, sprinkle with the orange or lemon zest and sugar mixture, and toss to distribute evenly. Immediately transfer to the dough-lined pan.
  3. Fold the reserved dough round in half and carefully position over half of the filled pie. Unfold and trim the edge neatly, leaving 1 inch of overhang. Fold the edge of the top round under the edge of the bottom round and crimp the edges to seal. Using a small, sharp knife, cut 4 or 5 holes or slits in the top to allow steam to escape during baking.
  4. Refrigerate the pie until the dough is firm, 20-30 minutes. Meanwhile, place an oven rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F.
  5. Bake the pie until the crust is golden and the filling is thick and bubbling, 50-60 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely to set. Serve at room temperature or rewarm in a 350 degree oven for 10-15 minutes just before serving.

Basic Pie Dough

(Double the recipe to make 2 dough-rounds for a double-crust pie.)

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
  • 3 tablespoons very cold water

Directions:

Place flour, sugar and salt in food processor and pulse a few times to mix. Add in the butter, pulse a few times until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the water and pulse until the dough just comes together. Gather the dough into a ball and place on a lightly floured work surface. Flatten into a disk and roll to a round about 12 inches in diameter.

Recipes adapted from Williams-Sonoma: Pie and Tart

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