Roasted Strawberry-Buttermilk Ice Cream

I miss you. I really do. And I will be back - taking inspiration from you as soon as my wild-card July draws to a close. What I like about my kitchen is - there are no wild cards. Oh - an errant ingredient may go astray. I may get exasperated at a recipe for winking at me. But my kitchen is my private hazel wood of safety. And when 14 e-mails land in my inbox from "hair-gel man," I can roast Minnesota strawberries, sift sugar as I sift inane e-mails and anticipate a sundress-of-a-dessert. A dessert that lowers the heat index in your spirit. A creamy confection worth every caloric bite. And as you bring the rosy-tinged scoop to your lips, you know that "everything is coming up roses." And that's a promise.

Minnesota strawberries are small, berry-oozing delicacies with the smallest suggestion of tart. Before deciding to cook with them, we consumed 4 quarts of these sweet nothings every week for 3 weeks. No farm-to-fork here. It was farm-to-mouth. I can be excessive during berry season.

And then Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home by Jeni Britton Bauer visited my home. If you ever wished to embark on an Ice Cream Adventure, begin with this book. The book contains a hands-on primer in preparing your custard base, how to tell when your ice cream is done, how to store and how to play. Why roast the strawberries? So the berry-chunks don't freeze in the finished product. When roasted, some water droplets in the strawberries evaporate and a more intense berry flavor is produced.

Roasted Strawberry-Buttermilk Ice Cream Ingredients - makes 1 quart
(from Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home)
Roasted Strawberries
1 pint strawberries, hulled and halved
1/3 cup sugar (I used less)
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Ice Cream Base
1-1/2 cups whole milk
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 ounces (4 tablespoons) cream cheese, softened
1/8 tsp fine sea salt
101/4 cups heavy cream
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/4 cup buttermilk

Preparation
Strawberries: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Combine the strawberries with the sugar in an 8 inch square or ceramic baking dish. Stir gently to mix. Roast 6-8 minutes - until just softened. Cool and puree in blender. You will have extra. Use it as a strawberry sauce for pies and ice cream ("The goat cheese ice cream!" I slyly suggest.)

Ice Cream Base: Mix 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl. Separately, whisk the cream cheese and salt in a large bowl. Combine the remaining milk, cream, sugar and corn syrup in a 4-quart saucepan. Bring to rolling boil over medium to medium-high heat and boil for 4 minutes. Remove from heat and slowly whisk in the cornstarch mixture. Bring the mixture back to a boil over medium-high heat and boil for about 1 minute, stirring constantly until mixture thickens. Remove from heat.

Gradually add the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese, whisking until smooth. Add 1/2 cup of the strawberry puree and the buttermilk and blend well. Jeni has you pour the mixture into 1-gallon Ziploc freezer bags and submerge the sealed bag in an ice bath for 30 minutes (adding ice as necessary).

I poured the cooled mixture into a bowl, covered it and let it cool for 24 hours. If you have ever seen me pour mixtures into Ziploc bags you will know why I did that. I wanted the ice cream and had no intention of feeding it to my counters.

Put cold mixture into the frozen canister of your ice cream maker and process until thick and creamy (about 20 minutes in my kitchen.) Put ice cream in a storage container and seal with an airtight lid. Freeze until firm - at least four hours.

Son-person who moved out last week kindly left me the ice cream book because the salty caramel ice cream beckons. As does the Gorgonzola Dolce with candied walnuts. And then there's the Olive Oil Ice Cream with Sea-Salted Pepitas...Brown Butter Almond Brittle Ice Cream.... and because ... he does not have an ice cream maker! 

Follow the link and explore this book. Jeni explains the science of creating ice cream - so you can substitute and create for yourself. And then she offers a myriad of eclectic, delectable pairings. I can vouch that the ice cream has magical powers. 

Goat Cheese Ice Cream

I love the tang of goat cheese and I bet this would work equally well with mascarpone. In September, I may add figs. Or some roasted chestnut puree. I can make believe I am semi-sophisticated with the lush creaminess of the cheese and the surprise of the lemon. But I am really just a kid in an ice cream store playing with flavor.

Goat cheese ice cream - it's part thinking you're a grown-up and part childhood memory of churning ice cream and chasing fireflies barefoot in the still summer night. As I mixed ingredients, I was memory and anticipation. And as I waited for it to chill, process and chill again - I could slowly steer my heart back into my world and leave the busyness of June behind. I think everyone needs a dish that combines memory and anticipation, don't you?

Goat Cheese Ice Cream Ingredients
1 cup whole milk
1 cup cream
1/2 cup lemon honey
2 teaspoons lemon zest (1-2 lemons)
3 egg yolks - room temperature
6-12 ounces fresh goat cheese (depends on how much you like goat cheese - I actually used Soignon Spreadable Chevre - which is creamy and stops the ice cream from becoming grainy and I used all 12 ounces)

Goat Cheese Ice Cream - all melty and welcoming.

Goat Cheese Ice Cream Preparation
Custard Base:
Heat the milk, cream and honey in a large sauce over medium heat until simmering, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. In a medium-large bowl, beat the egg yolks until well blended and light. Slowly pour in the hot milk combination while continuing to whisk the egg yolks. Return mixture to saucepan and heat over medium heat stirring constantly under the back of the spoon is coated and the custard thickens. Remove from heat and whisk in the goat cheese and the lemon zest. Put into an ice bath to cool or put mixture in the fridge for about 6 hours.

Process in ice cream make until mixture becomes thick and pulls away from the sides - about 20-30 minutes. Freeze for 4-6 hours. Remove from freezer 15-20 minutes before serving.

Or forget about it for 45 minutes as I did and have a dessert soup. Really, it's the latest trend among busy, forgetful people.  With pureed strawberries over it. Frozen or melted, it was mighty fine. And it prepped me for phase 2 of the summer that began today: the teenagers and theatre!

A cheddar-goat-chese-quiche washed down with buttermilk raspberry cake

"It's not as bad as it looks? It's not as bad as pepperoni? Pepperoni's beef trim. It's pork trim. It's worse than meat! It wishes it were meat!"

And so goes the delightful food-centric play Food for Thought by playwright Rich Rubin that I had the honor of directing for the Lakeshore Players Ten-Minute Play Festival. The producer somehow thought I would be a good match for a play about a vegetarian-all organic woman and the boyfriend who "cheats" on her with pepperoni pizza and Twinkies. ("It was just a one-time thing. It didn't mean anything. I didn't even enjoy it all that much.") Food and theatre combined this month to do damage to my waistline. (And the truth is, I revelled in it all - the waistline blip, the play festival and the time spent with the play and my actors.) 

Whether I'm directing shenanigans with Hansel and Gretel and the Gingerbread House or figuring out how to create a 20 scoop ice cream cone for the grade school play or doling out Mars Bars and Milky Ways for the teen play about the moon landing, I have found my theatre life awash with food and my food life filled with temptations. And a few times when I came home late enough that I was morphing into a pumpkin, I had this "cheddar goat cheese with ramps" quiche waiting. Flirting. Beckoning. And I succumbed.  As did everyone in the family.

Inspired by Floriole's Cafe in Chicago, I didn't bother with the crust - I was just mad for the filling. But if you're a "crusty" person - have it your way! Husband-person who long ago decided he was a "real man who didn't eat quiche," gave in to the charms of the cheddar goat cheese and mellow spring ramps. I trust that you will, too.

Cheddar Goat Cheese Quiche with Spring Ramps
Ingredients

• 1 cup grated or shredded cheddar goat cheese
• 3/4 cup spring ramps - chopped into 1/4" pieces
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1-3/4 cups of half and half, or a mixtrure of cream and milk or just milk
• 4 eggs
• salt and white pepper to taste

  

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a 9-inch pie or quiche pan. Sautee ramps in butter until softened (about 4 minutes.) Drain ramps on a paper towel. Whisk eggs and cream until combined. Gently stir in  cheese and ramps. Salt and pepper to taste. Pout into prepared pan. Bake 35-40 minutes (until center puffs up). Cool 5-10 minutes. Carefully slide crustless quiche onto plate. Serve warm or at room temperature. It's summer - bask in the ease.

Of Muses and Meringues had a buttermilk-raspberry cake that was so light, so tender, so fluffy, I was sure it had no calories. I was wrong but let me say, it was worth it! Since toddler-hood I have been a raspberry worshiper, appreciater and lover. When husband and son were off doing the MS150 (so proud!), I was digging holes in the ground for raspberry bushes because we finally have a new sunny patch in our yard. And I will make a beeline for those berries when they come in - warding off the birds - just as I did when I was two.

Find the recipe here.It has everything you want in a summer recipe: ease, freshness, a lightness of being and the sweet without the cloying. And the bonus - you'll love Beth's blog. It's a promise.

Summer is both fertile ground for new creations and recipes that spotlight an ingredient with little fuss. Fuss in the winter.

Savor in the summer.



Copper River Salmon a la Giuliano Hazan

There are things worth walking miles for through heat and gnats and the cotton that floats through the air in June from the massive cottonwood trees: Minnesota's small, impossibly-red and summer-sweet strawberries come to mind. Or a double-cream ice cream that Wisconsin produces which really tastes childhood-memory-best when the day is 90 degrees. And then there's Copper River salmon. 

It has a lacy-delicate flavor for salmon. If the salmon was enchanted, it would be a water sprite - of the water, the air, the earth and the sky. And if these determined gilled-beings can make their way 300 miles up the Copper River - uphill to the tune of about 1,000 feet - I can walk a few measly miles in the heat and pick them up on my journey home. My local grocer has the fish flown in fresh 5-6 days a week and when I buy the Copper River Salmon - I cook them the same day.

I've tried Molly Wizenberg's Copper River salmon with creme fraiche and grilled them in foil with some white wine and herbs and a splash of lemon. And the salmon remained the star and we ate those dishes like hearty Alaskans. But this time I used Giuliano Hazan's simple recipe of dressing the salmon with Italian parsley, thyme. lemon juice, olive oil and breadcrumbs. Let's face it, the man has a pretty good pedigree when it comes to Italian cooking. And it's easy. And if you know anything about me - I am all about ease. The combination of thyme and parsley works - even though thyme is shy and parsley - is not. And there's just enough crunch from the Panko to show off the strengths of this salmon.   

Ingredients:

2 pounds Copper River Salmon fillets

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

a pinch of salt

8 sprigs of Italian parsley (I used more)

4 sprigs of thyme (I used more; yes, I'm an herb-nerd)

5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper

2-3 tablespoons fresh breadcrumbs (I used 4-5 tablespoons of Panko)

Preparation:

1. Prepare grill. 
2. Put lemon juice and salt in a small bowl and stir until the salt dissolves. 
3. Chop the herbs and have at least 2 tablespoons of the parsley and 2 teaspoons of the thyme. (Yes, I used more.) 
4. Add the herbs to the small bowl and then whisk in 4 tablespoons of the olive oil until emulsified. 
5. Season the salmon with a little salt and pepper (if the fillets are skinny really skimp on the salt or don't use it). 
6. Coat the fish with the breadcrumbs or Panko. 
7. Drizzle remaining tablespoon over the salmon and place on the grill (skin side down). 
8. Grill for about 5-6 minutes per inch of salmon - turning the salmon halfway through the brief cooking time. (We have a fish basket that makes this a cinch.)
9. Transfer to serving platter, pour herb sauce over it and serve. 
10. And savor. 

The dining room was silent. And my family (arguably one of the more conversational families on earth) remained quiet as the sounds of fork to plate and swallowing filled the room. I always hope a recipe I post entices you. And once in a while, I will be very pushy and bossy with advice to try this. And so the director in me emerges and if you like salmon, make this, grill this, serve this, eat this... now. Because after June, the Copper River salmon goes away. It's a brass ring - grab it. Life doesn't had out brass rings regularly.

A special shout-out and thanks to Chris's Gourmet Fashion for thinking of me and awarding me this. Chris dishes up gourmet with no fuss and delicious results. Pay her a visit (while you're prepping the salmon). I don't "choose" bloggers as I have to "choose actors" in my daily life and so I break tradition and offer this to my followers. Now stop reading, you have a salmon dinner to prepare!

A Blueberry Muffin Detour

I am not a super-highway sort of person. I take detours. All projects get finished but in a zig-zag way - never in a straight line.

And so it happened that I was prepping the blog for a post on recreating some lovelies from Floriole in Chicago's charming Lincoln Park neighborhood....

A neighborhood thats speaks of a kind, gentle time...

A neighborhood which contains a Cafe/Bakery that is a destination of flavor and taste. Where you throw away all reserve about your waistline and indulge.

That was my intention. The frittata sandwich with cream cheese and smoked trout on a bed of arugula was our first course. But you can figure out the recipe from the description. And do try it - the bursts of the cream cheese with the salty-smokey trout all gift wrapped in eggs and topped with peppery arugula made me want another. 

Even though the asparagus plumply sitting on toast which was generously spread with fresh ricotta was waiting. 

I'm cooking some asparagus now. You can see where that is leading.

While waiting for lunch, we gave in to the charms of perfectly browned canneles nurturing a pillowy custard inside. I don't have a huge sweet tooth but if I did not throw caution to the wind and succumb to the power of sugar once in a while, my sardonic side would be much too powerful.  

When I give in to the enchantment of sugar, I give it my all. I should have brought home a trunk filled with the crisp lime, cornmeal cookies. And a roomful of the peanut butter and jelly ones. I think I've kept my cynical part of my personality in check for awhile. I will need to figure these out. Not being a peanut butter and jelly eater, I was significantly wowed enough to let these cookies melt into my being and was prepared to walk another 12 miles with blistered feet to undo a touch of the damage.

My intention was to recreate those dishes. But then there was this detour. That Skinny Chick Can Bake posted a blueberry-sour cream muffin recipe. So, here I am - a person who doesn't usually bake, hardly ever makes a muffin - a person with an Italian blog and I am finding myself at the computer in a hypnotic trance - nodding and bowing to the monitor and saying, "Yes, I will make these, O Powerful One." And I did. With creme fraiche instead of sour cream. With the last of the frozen berries from last summer.  With my newly-developed sweet tooth courtesy of Chicago.

That Skinny Chick Can Bake's recipe is here. My adjustments are below.

Blueberry Creme Fraiche Muffins - makes 18 muffins

• 2 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
• 1-1/4 cup creme fraiche
• 2 cups blueberries

I wasn't shy with the blueberries. Despite ingredients to the contrary, I like to think of this as a fruit serving.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. For ease, use muffin liners. In a large bowl whisk flour, baking powder and salt. In a medium bowl whisk your egg. Add sugar and whisk well. Add melted butter - and yes - whisk some more. Add creme fraiche and whisk. And berries to the dry mixture and toss. Gently fold the creme fraiche goodness into the dry. Spoon batter into prepared muffin tins. Bake for 25-30 minutes (until toothpick inserted in arbitrary muffin comes out clean). Cool on wire rack. With 7 over for dinner, these last 12 minutes. (I only ate 2.)

Working in a linear fashion has its advantages. You do get things done faster. But when you detour and zig- zag, you find things. Like Mama Duck and her babes leaving your yard to make the perilous one block journey to the pond and eventually the lake.

Or that azaleas must love cold and rain. Because they never have been so magical.