Coffee Heath Ice Cream

I am officially obsessed with making my own ice cream. I don't know how I didn't realize the awesome-ness and utter fulfillment of it before! Now that I'm feeling much more confident in my ice cream maker (and myself!) I've been thinking about what flavors to make next.

One of the best Ben and Jerry's ice cream flavors is their Coffee Heath Bar Crunch. This is not my opionion, it's a fact- this stuff is incredible! So, in an effort to make some at home, I found a recipe by the renouned ice creamer David Lebovitz. The base recipe is his Vietnamese Coffee Ice Cream and then I just mixed in some crushed Heath Bars....it's so simple that it's stupid, but if you try this, you won't be able to deny it's magnificents. Even my coffee hating husband agrees that this ice cream is pretty great!

One note: the recipe calls for VERY STONG coffee...take this advice. The other ingredients really mellow it out so if you want your ice cream to actually taste like a delicious frozen coffee dessert, make sure your base coffee is really strong.



Coffee Heath Ice Cream

2 cans of sweetened condensed milk
2 C. VERY strong coffee
2/3 C. whole milk
pinch of coffee or espresso grounds (optional)
Heath bar pieces (10-15 mini's, roughly chopped), plus more for garnish

In a bowl, whisk the sweetened condensed milk, coffee, whole milk, and coffee grounds together. Taste it! (This is ultimately what your ice cream will taste like...if you need a stronger coffee flavor, add a bit more coffee grounds). Freeze according to your ice cream maker directions.

Once finished, transfer your soft ice cream to a storage container. Gently mix in the Heath pieces. Freeze until firm. Sprinkle your bowl of deliciousness with even more Heath pieces. Thank me later :)

Adapted slightly from David Lebovitz

Grilled Chicken and Roasted Red Pepper Panini

This weekend I was looking for a delicious way to use our newly acquired Panini maker. My brother was crazy enough to not want it so his loss is our gain! This could easily be adapted by using leftover or rostisseire chicken. You can also load it up by using jarred spreads like the Red Pepper, Garlic, Onion one that I spied at Trader Joe's last week. YUM!

My firt attempt at Panini turned out great and was easier than I thought it would be. I could have gone little more simply and started with a grilled cheese sandwich, but that's not really my style....enjoy!



Grilled Chicken and Roasted Red Pepper Panini
yield: 4 panini

2 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
8 whole Sundried Tomatoes, Packed In Oil
3 Tablespoons Prepared Basil Pesto
1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
1/2 teaspoons Kosher Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1/4 cups Mayonnaise
2 whole Red Bell Peppers
8 whole Slices Asiago (or other Italian cheese like Provolone Or Mozzarella)
8 slices Good Whole Grain Sandwich Bread
4 Tablespoons Butter, Softened

CHICKEN

Slightly flatten chicken with a mallet (just until uniform thickness.)

In a blender or food processor, puree sundried tomatoes, pesto, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Add half the mixture to a ziploc bag with the chicken breasts. Smush around to coat the chicken, then refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

After marinating, heat heavy skillet or grill to medium. Grill or cook chicken until done. Slice chicken into strips.

SPREAD

In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise and 3 tablespoons of the sundried tomato mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed.

ROASTED RED PEPPERS

If you have a gas cooktop, blacken red peppers directly over the flame. (If you do not have a gas cooktop, blacken them directly under the oven broiler.) Completely blacken/char on all sides, then immediately seal in a ziploc bag. Allow peppers to sit, sealed, in the bag for at least 20 minutes. When cool enough to handle, remove from bag and use fingers to slip off the blackened skin. (Don’t be afraid to leave some black bits!) Lop off the top, cut in half, then seed and slice into strips. Set aside.

TO ASSEMBLE

To make the panini, spread generous amounts of the sundried tomato/pesto spread on one side of all the pieces of bread. On four of the pieces, arrange 1/4 of the chicken slices, 1/4 of the pepper slices, and two pieces of cheese. To with the other four pieces of bread with the spread face down. Butter both sides of sandwich, then grill in panini maker or on a skillet over medium-low heat. (If you use a skillet, set a heavy pan or skillet on top of the sandwich as each side browns.)

Adapted from: The Pioneer Woman

Tuxedo Cake

This cake is perfect for a fancy party, or pretend fancy party...so get baking!

If you make all three layers (as the recipe below suggests), you will end up with a very tall cake. For a dramatic effect, it's perfect. The slices look a bit funny because they are so tall, but trust me, no one complains! I don’t think that has stopped anyone from enjoying this. You can make the same amount of batter in two 10-inch round pans for a shorter cake. I like the tall cake as it's more visually impressive.

A friend and co-worker asked for a recipe that would be perfect for a shower she was hosting. She's also an avid baker and had adjusted and increased the amounts to create a stunning cake (pictured below). The original recipe is for a tall 3 layer cake and that is the recipe below.




Tuxedo Cake
yield: 1 tall 3-layer cake

For the cake:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 cups water
1 cup canola oil
4 cups sugar
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
4 cups all-purpose flour
4 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 tbsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 tbsp. vanilla extract

For the filling:
1 lb. fresh strawberries, washed, hulled, and sliced - plus more whole berries for garnish
1/4 C. sugar
1 Tb. vodka (optional)

For the frosting:
4 cups chilled heavy whipping cream
1¼ cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

For the chocolate topping:
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
½ cup heavy whipping cream
¼ cup light corn syrup
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:
To make the cake layers, preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line three 9-inch round cake pans (or two 10-inch round cake pans) with parchment paper. Butter and flour the inside edges of the pan, shaking out the excess flour.

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter, water and canola oil; heat until the butter is melted. In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar, cocoa powder, and flour; whisk to blend. Pour the melted butter mixture into the dry ingredients and whisk until smooth. Whisk in the eggs one at a time, then whisk in the buttermilk. Add the baking soda, salt and vanilla to the bowl and whisk just until incorporated. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let cool in the pans for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of each cake layer and invert onto a wire cooling rack. Allow the cake layers to cool completely before frosting, at least 2 hours.

While the cake cools, make the strawberry filling. To make the filling, mix the strawberries, sugar, and vodka in a bowl. Let the berries macerate at least 30 minutes.

To make the frosting, add the heavy cream to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whip on medium-high speed until soft peaks form. Add the powdered sugar and continue to whip until thoroughly combined and stiff peaks form. Be careful not to over-beat!

To assemble the cake, place one cake layer on a cake platter and top with some strawberries. (The berries go first...they are juicy and all of that juicy goodness will ooze into your cake and not out of the frosting.) Spread a layer of the whipped cream frosting over the top of the berries. Top with a second cake layer, more strawberries, more frosting (and the third cake layer, if using). Frost the top and sides of the assembled cake. Refrigerate until the frosting has stabilized, at least 1 hour.

To make the chocolate glaze, place the chocolate in a medium bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until simmering. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let sit 1-2 minutes. Whisk until the mixture is smooth. Blend in the corn syrup and vanilla. Pour the glaze into a pitcher or measuring cup and let cool for 10 minutes. (Do not let the glaze cool longer or it may become difficult to pour over the cake.) Slowly pour the glaze over the cake, ensuring that the top is covered and the glaze drips over the sides.

Refrigerate the cake until the glaze is set and the whipped cream frosting is firm, at least 1 hour. Garnish with extra strawberries. Slice with a long, sharp knife, wiping the blade clean between slices.

*Photo courtesy of H. Fitch. She truly did an amazing job! WOW!

Braised Short Ribs with Creamy Goat Cheese Polenta

Were you getting tired of all of the sweet posts lately? Hmmm...I wasn't! But, I thought to change it up a bit, I'd share with you a recipe that I made for dinner last week. This was the first time that I'd tried beef short ribs and they were delicious! They were infused with flavor, fall-off-the-bone tender, and really satisfying to my "meat and potato" loving husband.

You might want to make this on a weekend because it really does take some time to get the meat melt-in-your-mouth tender, but the wait is so worth it. So, before grilling season really kicks off, make one last slow-cooked comfort meal. You'll be glad you did.



Braised Short Ribs
yeild: 4-6 servings

8 whole Beef Short Ribs (**see note below)
Kosher Salt and Pepper To Taste
1/4 cups All-purpose Flour
6 pieces Pancetta, Diced
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 whole Medium Onion, Diced
3 whole Carrots, Diced
2 cups Red Or White Wine
2 cups Beef Or Chicken Broth (enough To Almost Cover Ribs)
2 sprigs Thyme
2 sprigs Rosemary

Salt and pepper ribs, then dredge in flour. Set aside.

In a large dutch oven, cook pancetta over medium heat until completely crispy and all fat is rendered. Remove pancetta and set aside. Do not discard grease.

Add olive oil to pan with the pancetta grease, and raise heat to high. Brown ribs on all sides, until well browned and cripsy. Remove ribs and set aside. Turn heat to medium.

Add onions and carrots to pan and cook for 2 minutes. Pour in wine and scrape bottom of pan to release all the flavorful bits. Bring to a boil and cook 2 minutes.

Add broth, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Taste and add more salt if needed. Add ribs to the liquid; they should be almost completely submerged. Add thyme and rosemary sprigs (whole) to the liquid.

Put on the lid and place into the oven. Cook at 350 for 2 hours, then reduce heat to 325 and cook for an additional 30 to 45 minutes. Ribs should be fork-tender and falling off the bone. Remove pan from oven and allow to sit for at least 20 minutes, lid on, before serving. At the last minute, skim fat off the top of the liquid. (You can also refrigerate the mixture, then remove solid fat from the top.)

Serve 2 ribs on bed of creamy polenta, spooning a little juice over the top.

**Note: It is really important to get good quality short ribs. Make sure they are meaty and don't look too fatty. If your short ribs are too fatty, they will not be nearly as delicious as you and your dinner guests will be wasting time picking around fat pockets (yuck!) rather than savoring the beefy goodness!

Creamy Goat Cheese Polenta
yeild: 4-6 servings

1 cup Yellow Cornmeal
1 teaspoon Salt
2 Tablespoons Butter
4 ounces, weight Goat Cheese

Bring 4 1/2 cups water to a boil.

Add cornmeal to the water in a thin stream, whisking constantly to avoid lumps.

Reduce heat to a simmer, and cook for 15 minutes, adding salt and extra tablespoons of water as needed.

When polenta is done, stir in butter and goat cheese. Check seasonings, and add salt to taste.

Serve with your favorite meat main course.

Source: adapted from The Pioneer Woman

Strawberry Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

This recipe is really different than any other ice cream I have made so far because it has sour cream in it. But before you go running away or turn up your nose in disgust at the inclusion of sour cream in ice cream, hear me out. It really is the sour cream that gives it the creamy taste and texture. This ice cream is ripe with intense strawberry flavor and the sour cream makes it super creamy while keeping it from being overly sweet. I would bet that anyone tasting this would never guess it has sour cream in it. What I do know is that this is for sure the best strawberry ice cream I have had.

I also added one vanilla bean to pair nicely with the strawberries and because I'm a sucker for those little vanilla bean flecks in just about anything. If you don't have any, that's ok. They are completely optional. But if you do...I highly recommend using the vaniila bean. It really adds that "something extra" to make this an amazing ice cream.


Strawberry Vanilla Bean Icea Cream

1 lb. fresh strawberries, rinsed, hulled and sliced*
¾ cup sugar
1 tbsp. vodka (optional)
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise with the seeds scraped from inside
1 cup sour cream
1 cup heavy cream
½ tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions:
Combine the sliced strawberries in a medium bowl with the vanilla, sugar, and vodka. Stir until the sugar begins to dissolve. Cover and let stand at room temperature for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a blender or food processor and add the sour cream, heavy cream and lemon juice. Pulse briefly until almost smooth but still slightly chunky. Chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

*Note: If you can find locally grown, farmstand strawberries, I really do recommend them for this recipe. The difference in flavor really is noticeable. You definitely get a stronger strawberry flavor than with typical supermarket berries. However, if your only option is the store-bought kind, that's ok...this recipe is still great!