Tag: Cream

Mint Matcha Ice Cream

March 14, 2014February 9, 2017

When I made the anise ice cream that I posted about last week, it made me realize how truly simple it is to make your own ice cream. I mean, if you’ve got the ice cream attachment for the Kitchen Aid like my roommate does, or some other kind of ice cream churner. I found myself asking why I hadn’t been making my own crazily flavored ice cream for years. And you know what? I didn’t have a good answer.

So I thought I might as well start now. I’ve had some matcha sitting in my drawer since I made these madeleines, and I’d been wanting to try some matcha ice cream. But I didn’t want to make JUST matcha ice cream. After thinking about what flavor combinations might work with matcha – chocolate? lemon? – I decided to go with mint. I liked the idea of the herbaceous, refreshing mint with the earthy, almost savory matcha. So, mint matcha ice cream it is!

I also decided to make this ice cream this week because I thought it might be nice to start doing some holiday-oriented recipes. And while the flavors in this recipe have nothing to do with St. Patrick’s Day, it is green. Definitely green. Especially if you make it the day before you’re planning on eating it.

After a little research, this recipe is adapted from and inspired by David Lebovitz, Kinfolk, and many other ice cream recipes all over the internet.

Mint Matcha Ice Cream

Ingredients

1 cup whole milk
2 cups heavy cream, divided
3/4 cup granulated sugar
a pinch of salt
1 cup fresh mint leaves, rinsed
4 tsp matcha green tea
5 egg yolks

Instructions

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine milk, 1 cup of cream, sugar, salt, and mint leaves. Stir until sugar is dissolved, and once the mixture is hot and steaming, remove the pan from heat, cover, and let it steep for one hour.

Fifteen minutes before your mint is done steeping, get out two mixing bowls. In one, combine the other 1 cup of cream and the matcha. Whisk together until thoroughly combined and no clumps remain. In the other mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks.

Once the mint is done steeping in the milk mixture, strain out the mint leaves, pressing them to extract all of the flavor. Re-warm the milk over low heat – you want it to be warm, not too hot – and slowly pour it into the egg yolks and whisk until combined. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan, and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a heat-proof spatula, until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of a spatula. Strain the custard into the bowl with the matcha cream, and whisk again to combine. Stir the mixture over an ice bath to cool. Once cooled thoroughly, churn in your ice cream maker according to your machine’s instructions.

Anise Ice Cream with Cardamom

March 4, 2014February 9, 2017

Anise Ice Cream // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler

I went to Seattle this past weekend. My aunt was visiting, and I needed to get out of town a bit. It turned out that he was also having this dinner with friends. He has all these friends who cook, and so they’re starting this dinner club kind of thing, like an extremely organized potluck.

It’s really cute – whoever is hosting picks a cuisine or a cookbook, and sends the guests recipes to make. My dad picked the Pok Pok cookbook, and oh my goodness, the meal was incredible. We helped him make the famous chicken wings (which were exactly like the real thing), which was so fun. And for dessert I made this dish I’ve been working on with my baker friend Caitlyn (post coming soon, we still have a bit more testing to do). Wanting something to top it with, I decided to also make some ice cream from David Lebovitz’s The Perfect Scoop. So what goes with a slightly Asian cake, and an incredibly flavorful dinner? I picked the anise ice cream, and decided to add a touch of cardamom.

This ice cream is beautiful – extremely creamy, herbaceous, and perfectly sweet, I could have gladly eaten just a bowl of the ice cream for dessert (or for a snack, which I did the next day). After making (and eating) this ice cream, I proceeded to take pictures of many recipes in The Perfect Scoop so I can make them at home… because unfortunately, I don’t have the book for myself.

Anise Ice Cream with Cardamom

Ingredients

2 tsp anise seeds
2-3 green cardamom pods
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 Tbl good quality honey
pinch of salt
5 egg yolks

Instructions

Toast the anise seeds and cardamom in a small saucepan over medium heat for about 3 minutes, or until fragrant. To the saucepan add 1 cup of the cream, the milk, sugar, honey, and salt. Keep saucepan over heat until the liquid is warm, then cover, remove from heat, and let steep for an hour.

After an hour, re-warm the milk mixture over low heat. Pour the remaining 1 cup of cream into a medium mixing bowl, with a sieve set over the top. In another bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. When the milk mixture is warm, slowly pour it into the bowl of egg yolks, whisking constantly. Then, pour the milk and egg yolk mixture back into the original saucepan and cook over medium heat. Stir it constantly, preferably with a heatproof spatula, until the mixture has thickened and coats the spatula or spoon. Pour this custard through the strainer into the bowl with the cream, and stir it so the cream is fully incorporated. Set this bowl in an ice bath and stir to cool. Refrigerate until cooled through, and then churn based on your machine’s instructions. Enjoy!

Miso Creamed Kale

January 28, 2014February 7, 2017

I’ve posted about this miso creamed kale before, in a Weekend Finds post back in October. This recipe was recommended to me by a foodie friend, whose tastebuds I respect. So I was excited when I finally got around to making it. Easy, super flavorful, and wintry (most creamed veggie dishes are, in my opinion).

Miso Creamed Kale

Ingredients

3 Tbl unsalted butter (divided)
1 large shallot
2 cloves garlic
Salt and pepper
1 bunch lacinato kale, stems removed, roughly chopped
1/2 cup shimeji mushrooms with stems or shiitake mushroom tops, sliced into strips
1 Tbl soy sauce
1/4 cup dry vermouth
1/2 cup heavy cream or half & half
1/4 cup white miso paste

Instructions

In a large pan or skillet, melt 2 Tbl of butter over medium heat. Thinly slice the shallot and garlic, and add them to the pan, along with a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Turn heat to low, and let the garlic and shallot cook for a few minutes until they’ve got a bit of color. Add the kale, and cook until it’s wilted.

While you’re cooking the kale, in another pan, melt the remaining 1 Tbl of butter over medium high heat. Toss in the mushrooms (whichever kind you’re using), and cook until… well until they’re cooked through and soft. Add the soy sauce to the mushrooms, cook for another minute, and remove from heat.

Increase the heat under the kale to medium high, and add the vermouth. Cook until it is just evaporated, then add the cream/half & half and the miso. You’ll have to do a fair amount of stirring to break up the miso and make sure everything is evenly distributed and combined. Turn your heat down to medium and cook for a couple more minutes, until the sauce is slightly reduced and thickens up a little bit. Top with mushrooms, and serve.

Dad’s Cheesecake

January 10, 2012January 31, 2017

This past Friday was Jonah’s birthday. A while back he told me that he really likes cheesecake, and I immediately thought of my dad’s insanely delicious cheesecake recipe. He has made this cheesecake for some big events over the years (I seem to remember him making like 7 for my older sister’s bat mitzvah). I swear it is the creamiest cheesecake I’ve ever had. I had never made it myself before, so I was a little nervous. I just wanted to do everything right!

Also, you should know that in our family, this recipe is pretty top secret. When I told my dad I was putting it on the blog, he may have been a little hesitant. He said “No! We have to make people beg for it! Pine after it!” So the fact that I’m just giving it to you for free is a sign of how much I love you. And that it’s so good that I want to share it with the world. It’s so good that if everyone ate it, it may bring us world peace.

Cheesecake

Ingredients

Graham Cracker Crust

1 7/8 cups graham cracker crumbs
5 Tbl sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted

Cheesecake Filling and Assembly

2 ½ pounds cream cheese
1 ½ cups sugar
2 Tbl flour
1/8 tsp salt
5 whole eggs + 2 extra egg yolks
½ cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Graham Cracker Crust

Ok, let’s start with the crust. I just picked up a box of graham cracker crumbs and got the recipe off the side of the box. In my family we like a bit of a thicker crust, so I multiplied the recipe by 1.5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine sugar and crumbs in a bowl, add the melted butter. Mix in the butter thoroughly. Pack the mixture into a spring form pan, pressing firmly into the bottom and up the sides. Bake for 8 minutes, and allow to cool before filling.

Cheesecake Filling and Assembly

Once the crust is out of the oven, turn up the heat to 475 degrees. Have the cheese at room temperature. Beat it in an electric mixer until soft and creamy. Now add in the sugar, flour, salt, and the 5 eggs, one at a time. Beat in the egg yolks, cream, and vanilla until very smooth.

Pour the cheese mixture into the spring form pan slowly. Bake in a preheated 475 oven for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 225 and bake 1 hour longer. Turn off the heat, crack open the oven door and let cake settle in oven for 15 minutes (or longer… I did probably about 30 minutes just because I was running around doing other stuff). When you crack the oven open, run a knife around the edge of the cheesecake, between the crust and pan, so that when you remove the sides of the spring form it’s easier.

Remove from the oven and cool for at least 4 hours before removing sides of spring form. It’s best to put it in the fridge so it can really settle. If you’re going to leave it overnight (like I did), be sure to cover it so it doesn’t get dried out or anything like that. The crust crumbled a lot when serving, but it’s all good because this stuff is so delicious that no one will care. It’s moist and creamy and very rich. Bon appetit!